“The Fram”, the original Norwegian polar exploration ship, which was used by the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team to become the first explorers to reach the South Pole, will turn green in Oslo on St Patrick’s Day as part of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening. This sees a host of major landmarks and iconic sites around the world illuminated in green for St Patrick’s Day.

Like Norway, Ireland is one of only a small number of countries around the globe which can boast of having had a member of the polar expeditions during the heroic age of polar exploration. To highlight this link, the Irish Embassy in Oslo is hosting its St Patrick’s Day reception on the deck of the ship. Aidan Dooley has been invited to perform excerpts of his acclaimed play Tom Crean: Antarctic Explorer at the reception.  Amundsen is a very revered figure in Norway and the Embassy is hopeful that the highlighting of the link between his efforts and those of Crean will help to reinforce the strong links between Norway and Ireland.