Artist Danny Osborne was entranced by the beauty of the Arctic when he took part in a special expedition.
Nine years later, in 1989, he convinced his doctor wife Geraldine to take the plunge and embark on an adventure with their three young children Tempy (5), Orla (2½) and Oisín (1).
It was no easy journey to one of the most isolated parts of the world, where the family joined the tiny Inuit settlement of Grise Fiord over a thousand kilometres above the Arctic Circle.
They left the safety of their home in Beara, Cork to spend the dark winter at temperatures below -40°C living in this northernmost community of Canada while training their dog team and preparing for a perilous dog sledge journey across the frozen sea to retrace the route of the last Inuit migration to Greenland.
Using the knowledge gained by Danny after he took part in the gruelling first Irish Arctic Experience, the family had the time of their life and embraced their amazing adventures.
Along the way they formed deep connections with the local Inuit community who shared their traditional knowledge, country food and exceptional resilience.
Somewhere Cold is written with warmth, humour and honesty. It reveals the battles the family had when faced with eating raw fish and wearing caribou skins to cope with the freezing temperatures.
Keen to enjoy as much as they could of this wonderful way of life, the family swopped mobile snowmobiles for husky sledges.
Danny used his expertise to train a team of dogs in the wilds of Ellesmere Island ready for a trip across the sea ice to Greenland where he built a sledge and a box for the children to shelter in on long journeys.
But the unseasonably warm weather led to the ice melting and the family having to charter a plane home to Grise Fjord.
After a year in the wilderness, the family headed home to Cork but continued to visit Canada’s High Arctic every year.
In 1999 when the region was finally designated an independent territory, Nunavut, the family wanted to be part of it. They planned to spend two years there but ended up staying 13 years, with Geraldine working as an associate chief medical officer.
The move meant they had to deal with huge local issues linked to the local’s mental health, but they were up to the challenge and despite moving back to Cork, their hearts still live on this wonderful corner of the world.
Published: 21st October 2025
UK Price: £20.99 / €19.99
ISBN: 978-1781178-775
Format: 210 x 150mm, Hardback
Pages: 288 pages
Somewhere Cold
By Geraldine Osborne
Published by Mercier Press
Somewhere Cold is available to buy on the Mercier Press website, at Waterstones, Coles Books, Browns Books and on Amazon.
Author Bio:
Rebecca Hay is an experienced travel writer and member of The British Guild of Travel Writers. Follow her adventures with her family on Twitter and Instagram @emojiadventurer and on Facebook via EmojiAdventurers2.
Images courtesy of Mercier Press
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