LÉ ''Deirdre'' (P20) was a ship in the Irish Naval Service. She was named after

Deirdre Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...

, a

tragic heroine A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. In his '' Poetics'', Aristotle records the descriptions of the tragic hero to the playwright and strictly defines the place that the tragic hero must play and the kind of man he must be. Aristotle ...

from

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...

who committed suicide after her lover's murder. Built in 1972, ''Deirdre'' was built as a replacement for the s, and one of the first vessels custom-built for the Irish Naval Service. She was to have longer range and be a more seaworthy ship for work in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

. ''Deirdre'' became the prototype for the later -type vessels. ''Deirdre'' undertook a number of search and rescue operations throughout her careers. For example, ''Deirdre'' was one of the vessels involved in the 1979 Fastnet race rescue operations, assisting the crews of two yachts. In 1990, during the rescue of a Spanish trawler crew in

Bantry Bay Bantry Bay ( ga, Cuan Baoi / Inbhear na mBárc / Bádh Bheanntraighe) is a bay located in County Cork, Ireland. The bay runs approximately from northeast to southwest into the Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 3-to-4 km (1.8-to-2.5 mil ...

, a member of ''Deirdre'''s crew died – and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and Spanish Cross of Naval Merit. By the time of the vessel's naval decommissioning in early 2001, ''Deirdre'' had travelled approximately 450,000 nautical miles. She was replaced by a Róisín-class patrol vessel. ''Deirdre'' was sold at public auction for IR£190,000 in 2001. She was purchased by the English yacht chartering company Seastream International for conversion into luxury charter yacht ''Tosca IV'' for the company's owner, businessman Christopher Matthews. Speaking on the radio, a Seastream spokesman appeared pleased with their bargain as they had been prepared to bid up to IR£500,000. The auction starting price had been IR£60,000. The conversion in a Polish shipyard was not completed as the English owner died. In 2007 she was towed to Brazil for further refit and completion. Substantially complete, she arrived at

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

in September 2012 for final outfitting as ''Santa Rita I''. However, in August 2014, ''Santa Rita I'' was towed to

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,378 at the 2000 census. As of 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,908. The city is named after the portio ...

, for breaking.

References

1972 ships Deirdre-class offshore patrol vessels Former naval ships of the Republic of Ireland Ships built in Ireland {{Ireland-maritime-stub