"WE'RE live mules, rather than dead lions!"
Never short of a neat quote from their mighty hero Shackleton, six clean shaven members of the Irish Antarctic Expedition landed on greenish ground yesterday after their long sojourn down on the "Big White".
They bore important news. After 2,500 miles of sailing in some of the world's wildest waters, they could confirm that the Southern Ocean was the worst sea on the planet.
And? And, yes, Shackleton was a wonder, but they could find no evidence of his social reputation as a womaniser.
And? And yes, they were still speaking to each other, they said, in spite of large personal egos that sometimes clashed.
The only excess baggage they admitted to carrying home with them was a half tonne of equipment which had been charged at minimal rate by Iberian Airways in Argentina. "They classified us as distressed sailors, because we'd lost our boat," the expedition manager, John Bourke, explained.
All that remains of the 23 foot Tom Crean - in which they had attempted to repeat the Shackleton rescue operation of 1916 from Elephant Island to South Georgia - is its mizen sail. Electronic gear and radios had been transferred during the 45 minute rescue in horrible seas to their shadow yacht, Pelagic.
Jarlath Cunnane, the Mayo construction manager who both built and was forced to scuttle the craft, was philosophical. The frostbite he had acquired was really just a touch of "frostnip", he said.
Well tanned and washed, none of the climbers and sailors looked traumatised after their ordeal, which included three capsizes in 24 hours in a force 10 storm.
"We did the traverse, we visited all of the Shackleton sites in South Georgia, and we achieved some of our objectives," Frank Nugent, former Everest mountaineer, said.
His joint leader, the Galway hooker skipper, Paddy Barry, confirmed that he would not be making midnight flits to Dublin Zoo to look longingly at penguins.
Michelle Barry, seven year old daughter of Kerry restaurateur Mike - nicknamed the "Tom Cruise" of the expedition - had more important things to talk about at Dublin Airport than heroic exploits and wild adventures. She had four new teeth, she told her father with a wide grin.
The expedition did have enough food for their return journey to Argentina from South Georgia, but it did become monotonous, John Bourke said.
The meat of two reindeer, shot on the British military outpost, sustained them. That and the calls received from supporters at home, which were like a "dope fix," he said.
Paying tribute to the expedition sponsors, including Esat Digifone and the Minister of State for Sport, Mr Bernard Allen, Mr Bourke said that the wives had contributed the most.
A film of the expedition, made by cameraman Mick O'Rourke for Murray Media, is due to be televised later this year.
Mr Jonathan Shackleton, a descendant of the Kildare explorer, said he was delighted to see them all back. He is seeking support for a permanent exhibition to Sir Ernest in his home county, Kildare.
He still has Shackleton's original sledge. "If there was some permanent tribute, I would be willing to part with it," he said.
