An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir Dec 2016 / Jan 2017 www.dfmagazine.ie 16 | footsteps of those who laid the foundations of the Service in September 1946. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 gave the Irish Free State respon- sibility to police its customs and fisheries, while the UK retained all powers in relation to maritime defence and retained the Treaty ports of Swilly, Cork and Berehaven. While there was a maritime element to the Civil War, the reality is that from the end of that conflict in 1923 Ireland possessed no real naval force. The Coastal and Marine Service was created that year but was disbanded only a year later. In 1938 the Treaty ports were handed back to the state and in 1939 the Marine and Coastwatching Service was founded to regu- late merchant ships and protected fisheries off the coast, using their six motor torpedo boats and some other vessels. In 1942 this was renamed the Marine Service and in 1946 the Naval Service was established. The fledging service required vessels to form the core of a permanent naval force needed to protect Irish sovereignty. This led to the purchase of three corvettes from the UK, which were named LÉ Cliona, LÉ Maev and LÉ Macha. These served the state faithfully until the lowest ebb of the Service was reached in 1970 when two were scrapped and LÉ Maev alone constituted the extent of our naval forces. (For some unknown reason, Ireland had long suffered from a degree of 'sea blindness' leading to this shameful neglect, which has thankfully had no parallel since.) LÉ Maev was withdrawn from service in 1972 and three mine sweepers LÉ Gráinne, LÉ Banba and LÉ Fóla were commissioned. The minesweepers kept the Naval Service going until it entered the patrol vessel era, which was a real leap forward that saw new ships being built in Ireland, to an Irish design, for Irish waters. To keep these vessels at sea requires many different trades, specialist technicians, logisticians and civilian dockyard craftsmen working in what often seems to be organised chaos. It requires schools and colleges to instruct and educate new generations of sailors in the arts of seamanship, many of which are still as much a part of a working sailor's routine today as they were 70 years ago. The basic mariner is produced by the Naval College where civil- ians are transformed into sailors with all the skills required to be part of a disciplined, functional and adaptive force. The Naval College and its partner the National Maritime Col- lege are also where naval NCOs are forged, by training in leader- ship and by their own individual specialist training, into young leaders who are at the forefront of the professionalism that allows the Naval Service to perform at the level it does. The Naval Service has always produced strong independent NCOs, due in no small part to nature of their work at sea where it is often necessary to instantly react to save life or limb without reference to higher authority, relying first on their own experi- ence and training: 'A sea captain when he stands upon the bridge.' The commissioned ranks also have a tradition of producing highly capable officers, who have led the service from those hor- rendous days of only one seagoing vessel to exciting days of the production of Irish-built ships and on into the modern era. The main direction of that modern leadership has been pro- vided by the current chief of staff, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, who, when Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, clearly articulated what the Naval Service could and would do at every opportunity. He led the way in the foundation of the National Maritime College of Ireland in Ringaskiddy, currently the only joint military/ civilian third-level institution in the state. This recognition of the Naval Service as an able and willing partner has allowed it to become a platform of innovation, and, in the years to come, having the Irish Maritime Energy Research Cluster (IMERC) based so close to Haulbowline will surely benefit both the state and the Service. Current Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, Commo- dore Hugh Tully, has successfully guided the service through the last number of years, overseeing much-needed major works on the ships, ensuring that the outputs of the Service were main- tained as far as possible. All the while he must control the ever- increasing operational tempo of the Naval Service, in particular the difficult and dangerous rescue operations in the southern Mediterranean. While the modern Naval Service is equipped with several state- of-the-art vessels, the last remaining Irish-built ship, LÉ Eithne, still renders excellent service. Manufactured in the Velrome Dock- yard in Cobh in 1986, she proved her continued usefulness when Ireland first committed the Naval Service to render aid to Italy in May 2015. Other long-serving vessels still in service are LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara, coastal patrol vessels whose high speed and manoeuvrabil- ity have provided the Service with an unrivalled inshore capability and are a formidable asset. LÉ Róisín and LÉ Niamh, now in their middle life, have proven to be exceptional ships since 2000 and 2001, respectively, and their basic layout and design forms the core of the newer, larger vessels that came after them. They have a balance of size, speed, arma-

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