Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

When the P60 class L.E. Samuel Beckett took up critical supporting duties along with the army to assist the HSE establish a Covid-19 virus testing centre on the Liffey in Dublin last month, a further two navy patrol vessels have…

Defence Force staff set up a tented field hospital beside the Naval patrol ship, LE William Butler Yeats, yesterday (sun) in preparation for use as a Covid-19 testing centre writes Lorna Siggins A marquee was erected beside the ship in…

The Tánaiste Simon Coveney said Ireland was effectively doubling the size of the health service - and would use army-style field hospitals if required in the worst-case scenario. The (Naval Service) patrol ships deployed to Dublin, Cork and Galway now…

The Naval Service the Irish Examiner understands is preparing to bring back into service its flagship, LÉ Eithne, to carry out Covid-19 virus testing in Cork city. The vessel has the largest upper deck space (as above) of any of…

The Naval Service patrol ship LÉ WB Yeats has berthed in Galway for potential use as a testing facility for the Covid-19 virus writes Lorna Siggins The ship is one of three Naval Service vessels requested for use by the Health…

Vice Admiral Mark Mellett DSM, Chief of Staff of (Óglaigh na hÉireann) the Irish Defence Forces among them the Naval Service, has reflected on this St. Patrick’s Day that we can pause, nourish and gain resilience with words like Seamus Heaney’s…

Naval Service vessel the LÉ Samuel Beckett arrived in Dublin this morning (Sunday 15 March) as part of Óglaigh na hÉireann’s efforts to generate more capacity to help the HSE during the current Covid-19 response. The Irish Defence Forces said:…

In an urgent need to address gaps in maritime and air security, and the threat posed by cyber attacks, they feature prominently in submissions made to the country's first national security strategy. A total of 60 submissions have been made…

Near gale force and gusty south-west winds have forced a  change of venue for a Galway 2020 International Women’s Day event on board the Naval Service patrol ship LÉ Niamh on Sunday morning. The patrol ship was to have hosted…

Lieut Cdr. Roberta O’Brien the first female captain of an Irish Naval Service patrol vessel, LÉ Aisling in 2008, is among speakers at an International Women's Day Luncheon event held today in Cork, writes Jehan Ashmore. The Irish event in association…

No surprises for the bad weather that featured in several of the winning images at the 42nd annual awards of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland. Marc O’Sullivan’s Lowry-esque streetscape of pedestrians caught in a summer shower took the top…

According to Gazette.ie, Chief of staff of the Defence Forces, Vice Admiral Mark Mellett told the Slandáil National Security Conference on Wednesday that climate change is driving tension and insecurity but this cannot be separated from other themes such as…

There are fears that the Naval Service due to under-resources won’t be able to combat maritime drug shipments while at the same time adequately patrolling EU fishery waters post-Brexit. As the Irish Examiner reports, concerns have also been raised that…

A delay in the deployment of a patrol ship for three days recently was forced upon the Naval Service because it could not find the minimum number of sailors required. The patrol vessel LÉ Ciara, writes The Irish Times, is…

The LÉ Róisín, reports TheJournal.ie, is to undergo a €250,000 facelift as Ireland’s Naval Service works to upgrade its fleet.  The Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) was built at Appledore Shipyards in the UK and entered service in 1999. Since 2016,…

The Defence Forces growing manpower crisis has left the Naval Service unable to confirm if it can bring two tied-up ships back into operational service this year. In an unprecedented move last June, it was forced to bring LÉ Eithne…