The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the

Defence Forces The phrase Defence Force(s) (or Defense Force(s) in US English - see spelling differences) is in the title of the armed forces of certain countries and territories. Defence forces *Ambazonia Defence Forces *Artsakh Defence Army *Australian Defence ...

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 ...

and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in

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 ...

, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier maritime defence organisations, the Naval Service was formed in 1946. Since the 1970s a major role of the Naval Service has been the provision of fisheries protection in Ireland's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Other roles include sea patrol, surveillance, and smuggling prevention. Occasionally the service undertakes longer missions in support of other elements of the Defence Forces, Irish peacekeepers serving with the United Nations, or humanitarian and trade missions. From July 2017 the Naval Service has participated in the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is al ...

mission which focuses a number of EU navies on humanitarian and training roles in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. This mission entitled " EU Navfor Med" is the first time Ireland has taken part in a multi-role and multi-national naval operation. Ships in the Irish Naval Service are designated with the

ship prefix A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship that has historically served numerous purposes, such as identifying the vessel's mode of propulsion, purpose, or ownership/n ...

of ''

Long Éireannach (Irish for "Irish ship") is the designation given to ships in the Irish Naval Service's fleet. In this context it is abbreviated to ''LÉ'', as in LÉ ''Eithne'' or LÉ ''Deirdre''. It has been used since December 1946 when the Irish Naval ...

'' (Irish Ship), which is abbreviated to LÉ.

History

Irish Naval Service recovering bodies from the Air India Flight 182 disaster

Coastal and Marine Service

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 ...

of 1921 stipulated that the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between ...

, which in the event came into being in December 1922, was to be given the responsibility to police its customs and fishing, while Britain and its

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 ...

would remain in control of Irish waters. In 1923, the Coastal and Marine Service (CMS) was created, and one year later it was disbanded. During the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

, in August 1922, a ship belonging to the British & Irish Steam Packet Company, ''Lady Wicklow'', led by Captain Patrick Ryan, was used to bring

Irish National Army The National Army, sometimes unofficially referred to as the Free State army or the Regulars, was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922 until October 1924. Its role in this period was defined by its service in the Irish Civil War, ...

troops around the coast to

Fenit Fenit () is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on north side of Tralee Bay about west of Tralee town, just south of the Shannon Estuary. The bay is enclosed from the Atlantic by the Maharee spit which extends northwards from ...

, the port of

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Count ...

, in County Kerry. This naval involvement technically preceded the foundation of the Irish state, as at the time Ireland was still part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...

.''Articles of Agreement between Great Britain and Ireland'', 6 December 1921 (Irish Free State established pursuant thereto on 6 December 1922) Built-in 1890 in Dublin Dockyard, the ship measured . In all, 450 troops, including officers, were landed. Tralee was later captured from local republican forces. , formerly the British armed steam yacht ''Helga'', which had been used by the Royal Navy to shell Dublin during the

1916 rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

, was the only CMS ship during this period. The CMS ship ''Muirchu'' continued to patrol Irish fisheries. ''Muirchu'' was re-armed in 1936 and purchased by the Irish government on advice of members of the later named

Maritime Institute of Ireland The Maritime Institute of Ireland (MII) was founded in 1941, at a time when World War II was raging and many seamen were in great peril of either being severely injured or losing their lives. Ireland, being an island nation, was dependent on the se ...

for fisheries protection. In 1938, the United Kingdom handed over the three

treaty ports Treaty ports (; ja, 条約港) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Japanese Empire. ...

(Cork Harbour, Bere Haven and Lough Swilly). Consequently, the

withdrew from Cork Harbour in July 1938. ''Fort Rannoch'' was added to the Irish fleet at that time.

Marine and Coastwatching Service

In 1939 the Irish Government ordered two motor torpedo boats (MTBs) from Vosper Thorneycroft. When

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

began in September 1939 the Marine and Coastwatching Service was set up. In order for Ireland to remain neutral, it became clear that a full naval service would be required. The government consequentially ordered an additional four MTBs. By the end of 1940 the Irish Marine and Coastwatching Service consisted of six MTBs and four other assorted craft. During the war the service protected fisheries, regulated merchant ships, and laid mines off Cork and Waterford. In June 1940, an Irish Marine and Coastwatching Service MTB returned to

after making two trips to rescue British and French soldiers during the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allies of World War II, Allied soldiers during the World War II, Second World War from the bea ...

. By 1941 the Marine and Coastwatching Service consisted of 10 craft (6 MTBs plus 4 assorted vessels) and about 300 all ranks. In 1942, the service was renamed the ''Marine Service''.

Naval Service

In September 1946, the Marine Service was formally disbanded and the Naval Service established as a permanent component of the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used i ...

. The Naval Service purchased three s from the United Kingdom in 1946 and 1947. The tradition of naming Irish Naval Ships after figures in

Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...

began, and the ships were named , and . These three ships were to become a key part of the Naval Service in the 1950s and 1960s. The first formal training of Irish naval cadets took place at the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

, Dartmouth, UK, in 1947. In 1970, ''Cliona'' and ''Macha'' were withdrawn from service and scrapped, leaving ''Maev'' as the sole ship in the Naval Service. ''Maev'' was withdrawn from service in 1972.

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

documentary: "The Navy" In 1971, the Naval Service commissioned three armed s: ''Grainne'', ''Banba'' and ''Fola''. The LE

In 1971, the Naval Service commissioned Verolme Cork Dockyard to build an offshore patrol ship. Named , it was the first naval vessel purpose-built in Ireland to patrol its waters. The exclusive economic zone of Ireland was increased in 1976 from to . The subsequent strain put on the Naval Service prompted funding from the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lis ...

to acquire five additional vessels, four of which were eventually built. Meanwhile, the former Irish lights vessel ''Isolda'' was purchased to act as a

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

, bearing the pennant number A15 and renamed . It served until being sold for scrap in 1984. A Danish stern trawler ''Helen Basse'' was also leased for a year, serving under the name LÉ ''Ferdia'', pennant number A16."Ships – history"
, Irish Defence Forces website The 50th anniversary of the Naval Service took place in 1996. Celebrations included a fleet review by President

Mary Robinson Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...

. In 1999, a new ship was delivered to the Naval Service, marking the beginning of a new class of larger patrol vessels followed by , commissioned in September 2001 replacing LÉ ''Deirdre''. Best 18 (9576262758)

While most missions undertaken by the Naval Service are in Irish waters, on occasion longer missions are undertaken in support of Irish peacekeepers serving with the United Nations, representing Ireland, or in support of Irish trade missions. In 2002, LÉ ''Niamh'' delivered supplies to Irish troops in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

, then continued on a trade promotional tour to India, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Korea, and Japan, becoming the first Irish naval vessel to cross the Equator. In 2006 travelled to Argentina, attending ceremonies connected with the 149th anniversary of the death of Irish-born

Admiral William Brown "Admiral William Brown" is a song written and first performed by the Wolfe Tones in 1982, the year of the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The song recounts the biography of Irish-Argentine admiral William Brown (1777–185 ...

, founder of the Argentine Navy, and also visited ports in Uruguay and Brazil. In 2010, ''Niamh'' travelled to the Americas, visiting Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the United States. In 2010, two new ships were planned for the Naval Service. The first, , was delivered in April 2014 replacing LÉ ''Emer'', and the second, LÉ ''James Joyce'', replaced LÉ ''Aoife'' in 2015. The option for a third, LÉ ''William Butler Yeats'', was exercised in June 2014 and commissioned in October 2016. The new ships displace over 1,900 tons, have a top speed of 23 knots, a range of 6,000 nautical miles. They are armed with an OTO Melara 76 mm/62, and have a longer deck area that can accommodate deep-sea search-and-rescue submarines and unmanned aircraft. In May 2015, it was announced that the Naval Service would deploy a ship to the Mediterranean to form part of the EU humanitarian response to the

European migrant crisis The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...

. The fleet flagship, ''Eithne'', left Cork on 16 May 2015 for an eight-week deployment to the region, during which time the ship picked up a total of 3,377 people in the waters between

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. In July, the mission was extended with the deployment of first, ''Niamh'' from July to September, and then ''Samuel Beckett'' from September until November. In July 2022, in advance of the proposed arrival of a number of replacement vessels, the fleet's three oldest vessels (''Eithne'', ''Orla'', ''Ciara'') were decommissioned.

Organisation

Naval Headquarters

The Naval Service is headed by Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service (FOCNS) Commodore Michael Malone who is based at Naval Headquarters (NHQ) in Naval Base Haulbowline. NHQ oversees all aspects of the Naval Service, with a number of commands under it: Naval Operations Command (NOC) and

Naval Support Command The ''Marineunterstützungskommando'' (MUKdo) is a command authority of the German Navy. The advance detachment began in the spring of 2012 in Roffhausen near Wilhelmshaven on the site of the former Olympic works with the establishment of the o ...

(NSC). The

Naval College A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

, like the DFTC is of an equal footing with the two commands, with all three headed by an officer commanding who report directly to the FOCNS of NHQ. Commodore Malone is the first marine engineer to be appointed as FOCNS, his prior appointment was as Officer Commanding Naval Support Command (OCNSC).

Naval Operations Command

Naval Operations Command is the principal command component of the Irish Naval Service responsible for all day-to-day activities of the service, both at sea and on shore. One of three major command components of the NS this command is responsible for overseeing the work and mission objectives of all Irish naval vessels at sea who report directly to Naval Operations Command at Naval Base Haulbowline. The command is a direct subordinate to NHQ and is overseen by Officer Commanding Naval Operations Command (OCNOC). The OCNOC reports directly to the head of the Irish Naval Service, the FOCNS.

Naval Support Command

Naval Support Command oversees the personnel, logistical and technical resources of the NS, allowing the service to meets its operational and training commitments. Ship procurement, maintenance, repair, provisions, ordnance, food, fuel, personnel and transportation are handled by Naval Support Command. Naval Support Command is headed by Officer Commanding Naval Support Command and reports directly to the FOCNS.

Naval College

The Naval College is the principal naval military college in Ireland providing training to cadets, NCO's and recruits of the Irish Naval Service. The Naval College trains and educates personnel for service, providing a mixture of different courses ranging from officer training right through to

Naval Engineering Naval architecture, or naval engineering, is an engineering discipline incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software and safety engineering as applied to the engineering design process, shipbuilding, maintenance, an ...

. The Naval College is based out of the Naval Service's headquarters at Naval Base Haulbowline but also provides classes and lessons in non-military naval training at the nearby

National Maritime College of Ireland The National Maritime College of Ireland ( ga, Coláiste Náisiúnta Mara na hÉireann, NMCI) is a public maritime college located in Ringaskiddy, County Cork, Ireland. It is a constituent college of the Munster Technological University. F ...

(NMCI) in

Ringaskiddy Ringaskiddy () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the western side of Cork Harbour, south of Cobh, and is 15 kilometres from Cork city, to which it is connected by the N28 road. The village is a port with passenger fer ...

. The Naval College contains a number of schools providing specialist courses including the Officer Training School, the Military and Naval Operational Training School and the School of Naval Engineering. The Officer Commanding Naval College reports directly to the FOCNS.

Specialist units

The Naval Service has a number of specialist units that handle unique and varied tasks within the service.

Diving Section

The Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) (Irish: Rannóg Tumadóireachta na Seirbháse Cabhlaigh), formally part of NOC's shore operations section, is a specialist unit of the Irish Naval Service, a branch of the Defence Forces, the military of Ireland. The Naval Service Diving Section specialises in underwater diving tasks for the Naval Service, and since its formation in 1964 has become Ireland's most advanced diving team, aiding other state agencies in various specialist roles. Various mission roles of the NSDS include search and recovery, underwater survey, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) underwater engineering and military diving training. They have conducted combat diving training for

Army Ranger Wing , image = , caption = Shoulder flash and insignia of the Army Ranger Wing , dates = – present , country = , branch = , command_structure = Defence Forces , garrison = DFTC, Curragh Camp, County Kildare , size = Classified , typ ...

members after selecting combat diving as a speciality.

Naval Intelligence Cell

The Naval Intelligence Cell, part of the NOC's Intelligence and Fisheries Section, is responsible for the collection, collation and dissemination of naval intelligence and is the naval component of the Defence Forces' Directorate of Military Intelligence.

Fishery Monitoring Centre

The Fishery Monitoring Centre, part of the NOC's Intelligence and Fisheries Section, oversees the identification, monitoring and surveillance of fisheries vessels in Irish waters as part of the

Vessel Monitoring System Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) is a general term to describe systems that are used in commercial fishing to allow environmental and fisheries regulatory organizations to track and monitor the activities of fishing vessels. They are a key part of ...

. The Fishery Monitoring Centre coordinates with fisheries agencies in other countries.

Roles and capabilities

The Naval Service's military roles and the functions it carries out are more those of a coast guard rather than that of a conventional navy. Lacking both anti-submarine and anti-aircraft capabilities, and without standoff weapons such as

surface-to-surface missiles A surface-to-surface missile (SSM) or ground-to-ground missile (GGM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea and strike targets on land or at sea. They may be fired from hand-held or vehicle mounted devices, from fixed ins ...

, the Naval Service's ability to control Ireland's territorial waters and provide close naval support is extremely limited. Sea lift is also limited and ad hoc. The Naval Service's non-military capabilities in aid to the civil power and other government departments is fishery protection, search and rescue, drugs interdiction and dive support.

Irish territorial waters and EEZ

Since the 1960s Ireland has seen its jurisdiction over the North Atlantic extend from (pre-1967) to (pre-1990s). This was increased to again in 1994 when the introduction of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gave approval to the 1982

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 ...

(UNCLOS). This convention grants the state sovereign rights over the seabed, its subsoil and the water adjacent to the seabed within the 200 nautical mile limit. Negotiations are taking place that could see the influence of coastal states extended beyond the 200 nautical miles of EEZs. Part VI of UNCLOS concerns a coastal state's continental shelf out to from the coastline. In 2007, Ireland became the first country to gain approval for the extension of its continental shelf, to the west of the island, and now has responsibility for an area of some – an increase of 100 per cent. Among the tasks mandated to the NSDS include the following; * Search and recovery * Underwater survey * Explosive ordnance disposal * Underwater engineering * Military diving training

EU Navfor Med

In July 2017, the Irish government agreed to allowing the Naval Service to join other EU member state navies in

Operation Sophia Operation Sophia, formally European Union Naval Force Mediterranean (EU NAVFOR Med), was a military operation of the European Union that was established as a consequence of the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks with the aim of neutralising esta ...

(the EU operation focused on refugee smuggling in the Mediterranean). Since 2015 the Irish Navy has had bilateral agreement called

Operation Pontus Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

with the

Italian Navy "Fatherland and Honour" , patron = , colors = , colors_label = , march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...

in regards to Mediterranean search and rescue operations. In order for Ireland to join the mission it required the passing of the so-called "triple lock system". This requires cabinet, '' Dáil'' and UN approval. In its previous stance the Irish Navy was limited in its remit and sourcing of intelligence due to its lack of participation in EU Navfor Med. There was also a lack of force protection in the event of an attack on Irish vessels but this changed with the go-ahead for EU participation.

Assets

Until 2014, all Naval Service vessels had been named with (mainly female) names taken from

and

Irish folklore Irish folklore ( ga, béaloideas) refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance, and so forth, ultimately, all of folk culture. Irish folklore, when mentioned to many people, conjures up images of banshees, fairies, leprechauns and people gat ...

. However, the four newest in the fleet, LÉ ''Samuel Beckett'' (commissioned 17 May 2014), LÉ ''James Joyce'' (commissioned in September 2015), LÉ ''William Butler Yeats'' (commissioned 17 October 2016) and LÉ ''George Bernard Shaw'' (commissioned 30 April 2019) take their names from Irish literary figures. The

''LÉ'' stands for ''

'', "Irish Ship" in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

Current fleet

Other assets

The Naval Service also operates smaller training vessels and rigid-hulled inflatable boats. Air assets to support naval patrols are provided by the Air Corps with their two

CASA CN-235 The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles ...

maritime patrol aircraft and

AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including VI ...

helicopters operated from

Casement Aerodrome Casement Aerodrome ( ga, Aeradróm Mhic Easmainn) or Baldonnel Aerodrome is a military airbase to the southwest of Dublin, Ireland situated off the N7 main road route to the south and south west. It is the headquarters and the sole airfield of ...

, Baldonnel, County Dublin. In July 2015, the Irish Naval Service began using an Irish-based

satellite communications A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

system for its fleet, with new systems and equipment installed on all vessels. The Irish National Space Centre (NSC) at Elfordstown,

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

, County Cork, and

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...

based company Voyager IP provided the contract.

Acquisitions and future

In October 2010, contracts were signed for two new "offshore patrol vessels" (OPVs). The contract provided an option for a third vessel – which was later taken-up. A fourth vessel in the same class was ordered in June 2016. Constructed by Babcock Marine in the UK to VARD Marine's PV90 design, the first ship, ''Samuel Beckett'', was delivered in May 2014. The second ship, ''James Joyce'', was delivered in 2015. The third, ''William Butler Yeats'', was floated out in March 2016 and delivered later that summer. A fourth, named ''George Bernard Shaw'', was delivered in late 2018, and commissioned in April 2019. These ''Samuel Beckett''-class OPVs replace the older vessel classes, such as the ''Emer'' class. A number of these purchases were informed by a Whitepaper on Defence which expected acquisition of three new naval vessels over 10 years from 2015 to 2025. As well as the acquired and ordered OPVs, the whitepaper covered a multi-role vessel (MRV) – which would be potentially enabled for helicopter operations and have a freight carrying capacity – to replace the flagship LÉ ''Eithne''. In 2017, a delegation of

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

(DoD) officials and members of the Defence Forces visited New Zealand to inspect the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...

(RNZN) multi-role vessel ; it was suggested that a vessel of this type, capable of accommodating and deploying a full infantry company either by

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

or helicopter, and with a fully equipped hospital, was what the Defence Forces were looking for, for the type of military and humanitarian missions undertaken by Ireland. Plans expected that LÉ ''Ciara'' and LÉ ''Orla'' be replaced with similar vessels, but with

counter-mine Tunnel warfare involves war being conducted in tunnel and other underground cavities. It often includes the construction of underground facilities (mining or undermining) in order to attack or defend, and the use of existing natural caves and ...

and counter-IED capabilities. In August 2021, the ''Irish Examiner'' reported that the DoD was considering acquiring two former RNZN

Lake-class inshore patrol vessel The Lake-class inshore patrol vessel (also known as the ''Rotoiti'' class and the Protector class) is a ship class of inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) and the Irish Naval Service which replaced the RNZN's s in 2 ...

s. If acquired, it was speculated that these vessels would be based on the east coast and operate mainly in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

with the primary role of fisheries protection in light of

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 Central Eur ...

. By March 2022, the DoD had confirmed the acquisition of two such retired RNZN vessels, HMNZS ''Rotoiti'' and HMNZS ''Pukaki'', for €26 million. The ships are due be transported from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

to Ireland in 2023. The two vessels are intended to replace LÉ ''Orla'' and LÉ ''Ciara'' and reportedly require less crew to operate.

Decommissioned

The following vessels have served in the service's fleet: * (1946–1970) * (1946–1972) * (1947–1970) * (1971–1987) * (1971–1984) * (1971–1987) * (1972–2001) * (1976–1984) * (1977–1978) * (1978–2013) * (1979–2015) * (1980–2016) * (1984–2022) * (1989–2022) * (1989–2022)

Weapons

Personnel and ranks

As of May 2016, there were 1,094 personnel of all ranks in the Naval Service, plus approximately 150 in the

Naval Service Reserve , image= Naval Service Reserve crest.png , image_size = 200 , caption=Crest of the Naval Service Reserve , dates= 1 October 2005–present , country= , allegiance= , branch= Naval Service , type= Naval Reserve , role= , size= 115 active personn ...

. The Naval Service is headed by a general officer commanding (GOC) known as the "flag officer commanding the naval service" (FOCNS), who holds the rank of

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

. Non-military training takes place alongside Mercantile Marine personnel at the

, near to the Haulbowline base.

Footnotes

External links

Official Defence Forces website

Official Naval Service website

{{Navies in Europe 1946 establishments in Ireland Military of the Republic of Ireland