An Cosantóir

22 LT CDR M BRUNICARDI LT CDR MIKE BRUNICARDI LÉ JAMES JOYCE on Patrol in Ireland As the old saying goes: "Join the Navy and see the world". In Lt Cdr Mike Brunicardi's case, he found it to be true. "Here was a 21-year-old fellah from Fermoy in the middle of Tokyo meeting a global mix of people on the deck of LÉ NIAMH", he recalls about an early visit to the Japanese capital on board the LÉ Niamh as part of a Defence Forces and Enterprise Ireland trade mission. That was only one experience over a distinguished career which has taken him from around the world, including routine patrolling involving Maritime Interdiction Operations, to rescuing stricken migrants in the Mediterranean, to assisting the civil powers in the fight against COVID. But then Mike strongly believes that the multi-faceted role of the Naval Service and the many services it provides, often goes unrecognised by the general public. "We operate over the horizon, as I put it, out of view of the general public, but we are happy operating that way, working for the protection of the country and its citizens." For Mike, a career with the Navy wasn't too hard a choice. His grandfather Niall and father Daire were both in the Naval Service. "In secondary school it was in my mind. I guess I followed in the family footsteps and I joined the Naval Service in 2001." Commissioned in 2003, Mike served in a variety of posts on different ships until his most recent posting which was as Officer Commanding LÉ JAMES JOYCE. He played a major role in the early COVID testing programme. Now he is 2nd in Charge of Planning Policy at Naval HQ and also serves as Press and Information Officer for the Naval Service. One early mission, while still a Cadet, Mike recalls was a visit to South East Asia in 2002; when the LÉ NIAMH visited Malta, Eritrea, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Tokyo. "The ship was used to promote Ireland, its people and businesses (small, medium and large) as a destination and also as a place to do business. It was a great experience for a "young person just starting out on a Naval career." Remarkably, while in Inchon in Korea he met an Irish man from the same estate that he grew up in back in Fermoy! Even more poignant was a visit to the LÉ NIAMH when it was moored in Hong Kong Harbour by an Irish emigrant who had lived there since 1968. "He lived overlooking the Harbour and told me how he had watched ships from the US, the Royal Navy and Australia, coming in over the years and he was so proud to see the Irish Tricolour flying on the LÉ NIAMH." A similar mission to London on the LÉ JAMES JOYCE in 2019 was another memorable experience. "We were deployed to London for a diplomatic mission for the St Patrick's Day festival. We hosted the Minster for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Irish Ambassador to the UK and over 250 diplomats from around the world, based in London. The Ships Company then took part in the St Patrick's Day parade which was great for us and a highlight of the deployment." As well as performing an important service on behalf of Ireland, the event also brought home to Mike the flexibility of the Naval Service ships. "It provided a unique venue for the event and showed we can do a lot more than people think." While there, the LÉ JAMES JOYCE was berthed alongside the famous HMS BELFAST which meant they got a spill over of visitors from the popular tourist attraction. "People coming to visit HMS BELFAST would see us and that we were open to visitors and come on board out of curiosity. It was a great opportunity to engage with people, especially non-Irish people. You could help turn people's attitudes around. Some people didn't even know Ireland had a Navy!" Interestingly, that was an attitude he had encountered back in his home town of Fermoy at the start of his career. "I told someone that I was joining the Navy and they were concerned that I would have to leave home and go to England to do this. They thought I was joining the Royal Navy and did not realise Ireland had a Navy." That mis- understanding has certainly long disappeared as the Naval Service has very publicly proven its presence in terms of Maritime Defence and Security Operations, Search and Rescue, drugs seizures, fishery protection, migrant rescue in the Mediterranean and their recent work on COVID. "Those deployments to London and Asia showed not only the flexibility of our ships, but also that sailors can become diplomats, from junior ranks up to the highest. We are representing Ireland, and always proud to do so." Mike believes that as a Nation, we suffer from "sea blindness". In other words: Ireland is surrounded by water but many don't realise what we have under that sea and how large an asset we have. "If you were to turn that into land and paint it green, Ireland would be one of the biggest States in Europe. People are astonished when they hear that," he says. So that brings a huge responsibility for the Naval Service, whose duty it is to protect that valuable asset. Ireland is positioned on the North Western edge of Europe. This geostrategic position places Ireland to the fore of many global trade routes. He points to the huge volume of sea and air traffic which pass Lt Cdr Mike Brunicardi By Tony O'Brien Photos provided by LT CDR Mike Brunicardi

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