Since 2010 Tim Foley has been the driving force of a campaign to honour a man with a remarkable story. Tom Crean, the subject of the new book 'Crean -The Extraordinary Life of an Irish Hero,' was born and raised a few miles away from the author's father, on the breathtaking Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland.
Tim's narrative in this standalone biography is based on many years of research and study into the life of Crean, who joined the Navy at 16-years-old and who embarked upon a career that saw him become a member of three major, pioneering Polar expeditions of the 20th century.
The story commences in late 19th century Ireland under the governance of the British Empire and continues through Crean's career in the Royal Navy whilst serving under the leadership of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton over the course of three Antarctic expeditions, Discovery, 1901-1904, Terra Nova, 1910-1913 and Endurance, 1914-1916.
After serving an unhappy apprenticeship under the strict governance of the Navy at the age of 16, Able Seaman, Tom Crean found himself thrust into a major international incident on his first Naval assignment to Central America. It sparked another miserable period of his Naval career and resulted in demotions until an opportunity arose that would lead him to the place where he became most associated with - Antarctica.
Crean found his true calling during the heroic age of exploration on the frozen continent. Four of the chapters in the book focus on documented tales of Crean's remarkable heroism that brought about the life-saving rescue of 25 of his colleagues over three separate occasions.
We are then taken through to Crean's retirement and his return to a changed country in the aftermath of rebellion and in the midst of a War of Independence that came at a great personal loss to Tom Crean.
The book goes on to question why and how Crean's story was largely forgotten during his lifetime and after his death and reveals the surprising source of the first ever documented account of Crean's Polar feats that was written in 1952.
Born in 1877, the son of a farmer into an impoverished life in County Kerry, Ireland, Tom Crean's tale is one of suffering. successes and sadness but above all, it's a story of an unassuming man who displayed unparalleled bravery to save the lives of others whilst subject to the harshest conditions on the planet.
A long seasoned student of Tom Crean, Tim Foley has, since 2010, been the driving force of a campaign to earn Crean official recognition from his country, Ireland, for his heroic contributions while serving on three pioneering expeditions to Antarctica in the early 20th Century. The campaign platforms that Foley created have generated many thousands of fans worldwide who have been introduced to Crean's story through Foley's writings and research. Much of Foley's research for Crean's biography has brought to light a host of new information about his subject and his account also addresses erroneous information that has been presented as factual in previous accounts of Tom Crean's life. After three years of research at some of the most respected archives in the world, both on and offline, this fully referenced biography, chronicles an accurate account of Tom Crean's life and career before and after he joined the Royal Navy in 1893. Tim Foley is a Manchester born second generation Irish author whose father was born a short distance from Tom Crean's birthplace near Annascaul, County Kerry, Ireland. Although this biography is his first published book, Tim Foley is an established writer and has had a number of his articles published in magazines. After a long career as a Kitchen Contractor, Foley worked as a Project Manager and is credited as such for a number of Home/DIY related UK television programmes. Since first discovering Tom Crean's story, his major subject of study has been the life of the Kerry man. To discover more about the book, the author and Tom Crean there is website dedicated to the book at www.tomcreanbook.com
