WORLD renowned explorer Jim McNeill has chosen Ennis writer and children’s entertainer Anthony Galvin to take part in one of the most important and ambitious polar expeditions of our time.

He will be part of a crew attempting to be the first ever to reach the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility, collecting vital climate change data on route.

Mr Galvin, 56, is a popular children’s entertainer from Ennis. He is known throughout the country as Tony Baloney, and has performed all over Europe, including several winters in Lapland.

A former journalist, he has written a number of books, including Family Feud, about the Limerick gang wars.

Defined as the furthest point from land on the Arctic Ocean, and therefore its centre, the Northern Pole of Inaccessibility remains the last truly significant place in the Polar Regions yet to be reached by humankind and is over 270 miles further than the Geographic North Pole.

The whole journey will be nearly 1,300 kilometres from the northern shores of Canada.

The expedition is not only a record-setting adventure but will be gathering crucial data on the condition of the ocean for the NASA funded National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) scientists, led by Nobel Prize winning scientist Walt Meier.

These, along with weather data, measurements of pollution and counting polar bears that may be encountered, deliver the reality of climate change and make the whole endeavour worthwhile and purposeful.

Having been selected for the Ice Warrior #LASTPOLE Expedition Mr Galvin is undergoing an intensive training programme to take on one of four 20-day legs, pushing the route across the Arctic Ocean.

Mr Galvin said, “Since my teens I have had an obsession with the Arctic, reading everything I could get my hands on, and even writing a book about the search for the pole myself.

“It is so exciting to finally get onto the frozen polar sea, and experience it first hand. And the scientific aspect of the trip is an added bonus.”

Explorer, expedition leader and Founder of Ice Warrior, Jim McNeill said: “I’m delighted to have Anthony in the expedition team and look forward to training him in every aspect which will make him a competent polar traveller.”

McNeill is looking for more “highly motivated individuals who want to go way beyond their comfort zones and push the boundaries of mental and physical endurance in a wholly worthy and justifiable cause”.

If you think you’re up for it, visit the website www.ice-warrior.com where there is a downloadable enrolment form.