An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir June 2020 www.dfmagazine.ie 18 | BY RUAIRÍ DE BARRA 'GO MAIRIDIS BEO' 'Go Mairidis Beo'. This is a motto which is widely used by the Irish Air Corps. Its accepted translation is 'So others may live', which echos the US Air Force pararescue motto. It is also often used by the Irish Coast Guard helicopter search and rescue service, and other services who save lives at sea; such as the incredible work undertaken by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. It stands as a statement of commitment, from people who will place the lives of others above their own. It also is very apt to apply it to Irish Naval Service sailors, who in all weathers will put to sea in small RHIB 1 , against the fury of the ocean and into the face of the storm to save their fellow mariners who are in peril on the sea. The tremendous work completed by Naval crews during Operations PONTUS and SOPHIA in the southern Mediterranean, where during these deployments over 18,000 people were rescued from dilapidated craft, will always stand as a mark of the commit- ment of the Naval Service to the safety of life at sea. How- ever, those missions, despite their exceptional difficulty, and the harrowing scenes encounters, and most sadly the loss of life witnessed, are only one chapter in the long history of the Naval Service. This a short account of one pervious chapter in that history of service. 30TH ANNIVERSARY This year the 30th An- niversary of death of L/Sea Micheal Quinn DSM was commemo- rated on the Naval Base, Haulbowline. It is important that the next generation of sailors, soldiers and air crew, who through their service inherit the traditions and the history of Óglaigh na hÉireann, know the stories behind the names of buildings and plaques. It is important for the friends and families of the deceased that their loved one's memory is preserved. The simplest acts of commemoration, such as where the oral history of past events and people, is passed on to new entrants, is as important as a large annual parade. The Naval Service has often played a role in the making of the history of our island nation, and it is so important the stories of the sailors who are central to that history, are not lost as time moves on. This is most especially true in the fast-paced cycle of modern life. NUESTRA SENORA DE GARDTOZA On the night of the 30th January 1990 the LÉ DEIRDRE was at anchor in Lawrence's Cove in the shelter of Bere Island from severe gale force winds. A terrible drama was unfolding close 1 RHIB: Rigid Hulled Inflatable Boat. 18 | L/Sea Micheal Quinn DSM

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