The Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland was both an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

's post and a naval formation of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

. It was based at Queenstown, now

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

, in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

from 1797 to 1919. The admiral's headquarters was at Admiralty House, Cobh.

History

The

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...

led to Cobh, then usually known as Ballyvoloon or The Cove of Cork, being developed as a British naval port, and assigned an admiral. The first appointment of an "Admiral Commanding in Ireland" or "Commander-in-Chief, Cork" was in 1797. The post remained unfilled between 1831 and 1843. It was renamed "Commander-in-Chief, Queenstown" in 1849 following a visit by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...

during which she renamed the town of

"Queenstown". The post became "Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland" in 1876. The full title of the incumbent following the establishment of the post of

Admiral Commanding, Coastguard and Reserves C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''. History "C" ...

in 1903 was Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland and Deputy to the Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves for Coastguard Duty in Ireland. In July 1915, not without misgivings in some quarters, Vice-Admiral

Lewis Bayly Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

was appointed to the post. Bayly was tasked with keeping the approaches to Britain safe from U-boat attacks. In 1917, Bayly, promoted to admiral and given the title Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland, was given command of a mixed British-American force defending the

Western Approaches The Western Approaches is an approximately rectangular area of the Atlantic Ocean lying immediately to the west of Ireland and parts of Great Britain. Its north and south boundaries are defined by the corresponding extremities of Britain. The c ...

. He took as his chief-of-staff the American captain

Joel R. P. Pringle Vice Admiral Joel Roberts Poinsett Pringle (February 4, 1873 – September 25, 1932) was a senior officer of the United States Navy, serving from 1894 to 1932. Career Pringle, born in Georgetown, South Carolina, was appointed to the United Sta ...

. Bayly had a good working relation with his U.S. counterpart William Sims. He held this post until 1919. The post became "Commander in Chief, Western Approaches" in 1919, and was disestablished at the end of the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

in 1922. That year the town reverted to the name Cobh. The

continued to station ships in Ireland, in accordance with the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

until 1938. After Ireland's independence, the Royal Navy presence generally consisted of two destroyers, with one usually anchored in the Cobh roadstead, opposite

Haulbowline Haulbowline ( ga, Inis Sionnach; non, Ál-boling) is an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. The world's first yacht club was founded on Haulbowline in 1720. The western side of the island is the main naval base and headquarters f ...

, and another either on roving patrol, or moored at Berehaven. These 'guard ships' were withdrawn and the harbour forts (probably including Fort Westmoreland, Fort Carlisle, and Fort Camden (

Crosshaven Crosshaven () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in lower Cork Harbour at the mouth of the River Owenabue, across from Currabinny Wood. Originally a fishing village, from the 19th century, the economy of the area became more re ...

) were handed over to the Irish Government in 1938.

Commanders

Commanders included:
= died in post

Commander-in-Chief, Cork

*Vice-Admiral Robert Kingsmill (1797-1800) *Vice-Admiral Lord Gardner (1800-1807) *Vice-Admiral

James Hawkins-Whitshed Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hawkins-Whitshed, 1st Baronet, (1762 – 28 October 1849), was a Royal Navy officer. He saw action in command of a sloop at the Battle of Martinique during the American Revolutionary War. He went on to serve under ...

(1807-1810) *Vice-Admiral

Edward Thornbrough Admiral Sir Edward Thornbrough, GCB (27 July 1754 – 3 April 1834) was a senior, long-serving veteran officer of the British Royal Navy during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. He saw action in the American Revolutionary War, ...

(1810-1813) *Vice-Admiral

Herbert Sawyer Admiral Sir Herbert Sawyer KCB ( fl. 1783–1833) was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the American Revolution, the French Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of Admir ...

(1813-1815) *Rear-Admiral Benjamin Hallowell (1816-1818) *Rear-Admiral Josias Rowley (1818-1821) *Rear-Admiral Lord Colville (1821-1825) *Rear-Admiral

Robert Plampin Vice-Admiral Robert Plampin (1762 – 14 February 1834) was a British Royal Navy officer during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, serving in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, but best know ...

(1825-1828)

Commander-in-Chief on the coast of Ireland

*Rear-Admiral Charles Paget (March 1828 – 1831)The Gentleman's Magazine
1839, p 657-8, accessed 28 October 2007 The post remained unfilled between 1831 and 1843

Commander-in-Chief, Cobh

*Rear-Admiral Hugh Pigot (1844-1847) *Rear-Admiral

Thomas Ussher Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Ussher KCH CB (1779 – 6 January 1848) was an Anglo-Irish officer of the British Royal Navy who served with distinction during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and who in 1814 conveyed Napoleon Bonaparte ...

(1847-1848)

Commander-in-Chief, Queenstown

*Rear-Admiral Donald Mackay (1848-1850) *Rear-Admiral

Manley Dixon Admiral Sir Manley Dixon, KCB (3 January 1757; 8 February 1837) was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born into a military family in the late 1750s or early 1760s, Dixon joined the Navy an ...

(1850-1852) *Rear-Admiral John Purvis (1852-1855) *Rear-Admiral

George Sartorius Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rose Sartorius (9 August 1790 – 13 April 1885) was an officer of the British Royal Navy. After serving as a junior officer during the Napoleonic Wars, he was present, as a post-captain, at the surrender of Na ...

(1855-1856) *Rear-Admiral Henry Chads (1856-1858) *Rear-Admiral Charles Talbot (1858-1862) *Rear-Admiral Sir Lewis Jones (1862-1865) *Vice-Admiral Charles Frederick (1865-1867) *Rear-Admiral Claude Buckle (1867-1868) *Rear-Admiral Frederick Warden (1868-1869) *Rear-Admiral Arthur Forbes (1869-1871) *Rear-Admiral Edmund Heathcote (1871-1874) *Rear-Admiral Robert Coote (1874-1876)

Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland

*Rear-Admiral Henry Hillyar (1876-1878) *Vice-Admiral William Dowell (1878-1880) *Rear-Admiral Richard Hamilton (1880-1883) *Rear-Admiral Thomas Lethbridge (1883-1885) *Rear-Admiral Henry Hickley (1885-1886) *Rear-Admiral Walter Carpenter (1887-1888) *Rear-Admiral

James Erskine James Erskine may refer to: *James Erskine, 6th Earl of Buchan (died 1640) *James Erskine, 7th Earl of Buchan (died 1664), Earl of Buchan *Sir James Erskine, 2nd Baronet (c. 1670–1693), of the Erskine baronets * James Erskine (Aberdeen MP) (born ...

(1888-1892) *Rear-Admiral Henry St John (1892-1895) *Rear-Admiral Claude Buckle (1895-1898) *Rear-Admiral Atwell Lake (1898-1901) *Vice-Admiral

Edmund Jeffreys Admiral Edmund Frederick Jeffreys CVO (1 October 1846 – 19 March 1925) was a Royal Navy officer who became Senior Officer, Coast of Ireland Station. Naval career Jeffreys became commanding officer of the cruiser in July 1888 and commanding of ...

(1901-1904) *Vice-Admiral Angus MacLeod (1904-1906) *Rear-Admiral Sir George King-Hall (1906-1908) *Rear-Admiral Sir Alfred Paget (1908-1911) *Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Coke (1911-1915)

Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland

*Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly (1915-1919) (title changed from Senior Officer, Coast of Ireland, to Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland on 4 June 1917)Dreadnought Project
- ADM 196/38 f. 84

Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches

*Admiral Sir Reginald Tupper (1919-1921) *Admiral Sir Ernest Gaunt (1921-1922)

References

{{Royal Navy fleets Commanders-in-chief of the Royal Navy Military units and formations established in 1797 Military units and formations disestablished in 1922 Military units and formations of the Royal Navy in World War I 1797 establishments in the British Empire