An Cosantóir

23 LT CDR M BRUNICARDI LÉ JAMES JOYCE Travelling under the Tower Bridge in London, England LÉ NIAMH escorting Sailing Vessel MAKAYABELLA after interdiction LT (NS) Brunicardi carrying the Naval Colours in Dublin as part of the 100 year anniversary of the 1916 Rising The real map of Ireland from a Naval perspective through or touch on our waters. Plus that is to say nothing of critical undersea cables carrying data and other important information, as well as more and more off-shore wind farms. "We only have nine ships and some would say we need more to cover the area we have responsibility for. But we have very sophisticated monitoring technology which allows us to keep an eye on ships and movements etc. Each of our ships is now a sensor which feeds near real-time information back to the Naval Base where it can be analysed. The Naval Service is constantly watching and monitoring. We are the principal sea going agency of the State and are the deterrent, just like the Garda patrol car at the side of the road. Strong international links and co-operation are also vital. The Naval Service is part of MARSUR (the European Maritime Surveillance Network) which shares maritime information for Situational Awareness and also the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre – Narcotics (MAOC-N). These linkages have been very important and have aided the Navy - working as part of the Joint Task Force, with An Garda Siochana and Revenue Customs Service - to stop nearly 1 billion Euro of narcotics entering Ireland or the European Market. Mike and his Maritime Interdiction Operations Team working from LÉ NIAMH actually boarded the Sailing Vessel MAKAYBELLA in 2014 discovering a huge quantity of cocaine bound for Europe. "This is vital work but the interdiction is the last and critical part in getting boots on deck of these smuggling boats. That's why the Navy maintains a presence at sea at all times and aims to stop the illegal shipments". Recalling his participation in Operation PONTUS in the Mediterranean, when the Naval Service heroically rescued thousands of migrants from the sea, Mike says: "We did not bat an eyelid when asked to help out. It was an incredible experience. We played a key role there and I am very proud of our people. When Government asked the Navy "could they do it?", the Navy turned LÉ EITHNE around in 2 weeks from Routine Operations to Humanitarian SAR operations. In the Mediterranean, as he tells it, they were rescuing people who they didn't know and were unlikely to meet ever again. But with Operation FORTITUDE and the battle to stem the COVID invasion, it was different: "These were our friends, our own communities. While we didn't know the individuals, these were Irish people who needed our help and it was very satisfying to be able to give that help." He was Captain of the LÉ JAMES JOYCE which was one of the many Navy Ships docked in Dublin and provided an emergency testing centre for the HSE. "In January 2020 something was happening in China but soon enough it was like a tidal wave washing across the world and was going to impact Ireland eventually. The Defence Forces were asked to provide support and we did that willingly." "Because of our experience internationally – including refugee rescue in the Mediterranean - we knew how to put people at ease. We supported the National Ambulance Service and HSE in running community testing centres from our ships in Galway, Dublin and Cork. "People coming in were frightened. They didn't know what they were facing and were fearful. Our people, even though they were in full PPE, put people at their ease, to calm them down, to talk to them…… this is what we do, as a Navy, as Irish people, we're natural talkers which can ease the tension/fears and ultimately support the citizen who needed it". It proved a very rewarding experience. "We put our ships in to Galway, Dublin and Cork and put our people on the frontline. We were happy to be serving our people, these were our communities, and they knew that we were there to help them. When they saw the ships, they saw the flag and they saw our people, they relaxed because they knew help was at hand - symbol of the State standing ready to help and look after them. I believe it also gave people at lot of hope, at a time when they didn't know quite what we were facing as a country." That particular role ended in June 2020 and the Navy has gone back to its framework operations of Maritime Defence and Security Operations. However, Operation FORTITUDE continues, including Defence Forces personnel helping out at vaccination centres and at hotels where incoming travellers are quarantined. The Air Corps are delivering vaccines around the country. The Defence Forces as a whole is still very active in the battle against this virus. Mike explains the balance between life on shore and at sea. "You rotate in and out of appointments. When you go to sea you leave behind your shore- based appointment." But being at sea during a global pandemic can cause its own issues. "At sea everything was as normal as it could be, we maintained some level of our normal life at sea but with added protections measures to ensure our personnel and ship did not get compromised with the virus. But, in the COVID environment and in strict lockdowns, I was thinking about my wife Julie back home in Kinsale having to look after our two children Tadhg (6) and Niamh (4), my parents and family. I was one of 44 personnel on LÉ JAMES JOYCE who were experiencing the same worries and as the Captain, I had to ensure that my personnel and their families were supported while dealing with all the COVID restrictions." He sums up the conflicts a sailor's life brings: "I hate going to sea, but I love being at sea, the Navy has given me great opportunities, professionally, academically and personally. It is a tough but rewarding career".

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