An Cosantóir

51 Other arms shipments had made it through before, and the Marita Ann was not the last attempt. In 1987 the Eksund was intercepted by the French Customs Service of the coast of Brest. It contained a staggering 150 tons of munitions, including surface-to-air missiles and anti-tank rockets. The four PVs and LÉ EITHNE held the line from 1987 until the purchase of the Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPVs) in November 1988. LÉ DEIRDRE Over half a million miles of ocean had passed under LÉ Deirdre's hull before she was decommissioned. She was the original of the species of Irish patrol vessels, and over her long career, she delivered at every turn. From MV Claudia in 1973, to arresting an entire Dutch fishing fleet of ten vessels in 1977, to saving lives in 1979 during the Fastnet Yacht race disaster, this proud warship gave her all. It was from LÉ DEIRDRE that Leading Seaman Mickael Quinn cast off on a rescue mission in January 1990, and gave his life so that others might live. She was sold in 2001 to a prospective conversion and retirement as a luxury yacht. After changing hands several times, this proud warship, the first of her class meet with a rather ignominious end in a breakers yard in Jacksonville, Florida. She will forever be remembered by those who served and sailed on her. LÉ EMER In the course of her long service, LÉ EMER made history. She was the first NS vessel to carry out a UNIFIL resupply mission in 1979. She was there for Fastnet, and Martia Ann. She boarded fishing vessels in the thousands, and made detentions in the hundreds. She was replaced by LÉ SAMUEL BECKETT, yet to those who formed her crews, she remains irreplaceable. LÉ EMER was decommissioned and sold in 2013 to the Uniglobe Group. She still sails today as a training ship of the Nigerian navy, as due to unforeseen circumstances the Nigerian government impounded EMER on her arrival. She was commissioned and renamed as the NNS Prosperity A497. LÉ AOIFE The 'Wicked Witch of the West' sailed out of Velrome for the first time in 1979, and it departed Verolme for last time in 2015, as P62 of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. LÉ AOIFE joined her sister PVs in a long and proud career of service of the Irish coast, and many foreign trips, including joining the annual resupply missions to UNIFIL many times. She went to the aid of HMCS Chicoutimi, a Canadian submarine which suffered a devastating fire in 2004, and FAITH OF THE PV'S LE Emer underway preparing for RAS with LE Aisling. Photo: SCPO Ruairí de Barra she helped to coordinate the international rescue effort of British, American and Irish naval and civilian vessels which rescued the crew and towed the submarine back to Faslane on October 10. Sadly Lieutenant (RCN) Chris Saunders lost his life in this terrible incident. She was donated to Malta to assist them in dealing with the migration crisis in the Southern Mediterranean, while they waited for their own patrol vessel to be built. Some of the sailors on service during Operations PONTUS and SOPHIA took the opportunity to visit her in her new home. A fitting end for a proud ship that had endured the worst of the wild Atlantic weather, to be able to continue her long history of service in assisting in the efforts to save lives at sea, and protect another island nation. LÉ AISLING Time marches on, and LÉ Aislings decommissioning after 36 years of the most loyal service was meet with the heaviest of hearts. The last of her class, she was second to none. Her crews remember their time onboard with incredible fondness, and she had carried them over 628,000 nautical miles over the years. Onboard they had faced danger, saw adventure, witnessed tragedy, and made lifelong friends. She will be long remembered as a happy ship. She was there for the Marita Ann and the sinking of the Sonia, and she held the front line during the Air India disaster. LÉ AISLING also saw the first female ships commanding officer in 2008 when Lieutenant Commander Roberta O'Brien took command. LÉ AISLING was sold to a Dutch brokerage firm in 2017. This aging warship, which was fully decommissioned prior to her departure from Irish waters, passed quickly through several hands and eventually it sailed to Libya where the Libyan National Army under Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar renamed it as Al-Karama (Dignity). This raised the disturbing spectre of a strange reunion in the Mediterranean of serving and former Naval vessels encountering each other. Sailing into History When LÉ AISLING departed it truly was the end of an era. Once decommissioned the PVs began the final voyage of sailing into history. The slips of Velrome have been silent for many years, and who knows if an Irish warship will be ever built again at home. The myths and legends will grow with each passing year, whenever old shipmates gather and spin a yarn. But from the day they left the slips in Rushbrooke, to the day they left the lower harbour, they each left an indelible mark of the Navy and on the sailors who called them home. The PV were a familiar sight around the coast on MDSO patrols. Photo by SCPO Gordon Kinsella The PVs were excellent sea going vessels. Pictured here exercising with a Coast Guard helicopter. Photo by SCPO Gordon Kinsella The BOFORS 40mm was the main armament of the PV's. Photo: SCPO Ruairí de Barra

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