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Displaying items by tag: European

#Rowing: Ronan Byrne won his repechage and will compete in the A Final of the men’s single sculls at the European Under-23 Championships in Ioannina in Greece on Sunday. Lightweight single sculler Hugh Moore will compete in the B Final and the double of Ross Corrigan and Alex Byrne the C Final. Both crews placed fourth in their repechages.

European Under-23 Championships, Ioannina, Greece, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (A Byrne, R Corrigan) 6:46.07. Repechage (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to C Final): 4 Byrne, Corrigan 6:50.42.

Single Sculls – Heat One (First to Final; rest to Repechage): 2 R Byrne 7:06.43. Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final: 1 Byrne 7:11.85

Lightweight Single – Heat One (First to Final; rest to Repechage): 5 H Moore 7:38.67. Repechage (First Two to A Final; rest to B Final): 4 Moore 7:21.09.

Women

Four, coxed – Exhibition/Race for Lanes: 3 Ireland 7:24.60

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s first outings at the European Under-23 Championships in Ioannina, Greece, sent three of the four crews to repechages. Ronan Byrne, who took silver in the double sculls at the senior World Championships, needed to win his heat of the single, but finished second behind Stefanos Ntouskos of Greece. The men’s double and lightweight single will also have to compete in repechages to progress.

 The women’s coxed four finished third in their five-boat race for lanes.    

European Under-23 Championships, Ioannina, Greece, Day One (Irish interest)

Men

Double Sculls – Heat One (First Three to A/B Semi-Finals; rest to Repechage): 4 Ireland (A Byrne, R Corrigan) 6:46.07.

Single Sculls – Heat One (First to Final; rest to Repechage): 2 R Byrne 7:06.43.

Lightweight Single – Heat One (First to Final; rest to Repechage): 5 H Moore 7:38.67.

Women

Four, coxed – Exhibition/Race for Lanes: 3 Ireland 7:24.60

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Shane O’Driscoll and Mark O’Donovan took fifth in their B Final of the pairs, 11th overall, at the European Championships in Strathclyde Park in Scotland. In overcast but calm conditions, Ireland started well, but Germany took over and held the lead to 1500 metres. By then they were already under real pressure from Ollie Cook and Matt Rossiter from Britain, who took over and won. O’Driscoll won a battle with Ukraine at the back of the field but while they had the fastest final 500 metres they could not get past the Netherlands or Russia, who finished fourth and third. Germany were second.

European Championships, Day Three, Strathclyde, Scotland (Irish interest)

Men

Pair – B Final (Places 7 to 12): Britain 6:36.77; 5 Ireland (M O’Donovan, S O’Driscoll) 6:44.58.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland finished fifth in the A Final of the women’s eight at the European Under-23 Rowing Championships today. The crew, stroked by Emily Hegarty were well behind the top four, which fought it out for medals, but beat Germany, as they had in the race for lanes on Saturday. Russia took gold, Romania silver and Britain won a battle for bronze by .36 of a second from Belarus.  

European Under-23 Championships, Kruszwica, Poland, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Single Sculls – A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Czech Republic 7:34.58, 2 Ireland (A Goff) 7:37.64, 3 Sweden 7:42.26.

Semi One: 1 Austria 7:32.69, 2 Turkey 7:34.45, 3 Slovenia 7:40.16

A Final: 1 Czech Republic 7:44.38, 2 Austria 7:46.64, 3 Slovenia 7:48.58; 5 Ireland (A Goff) 7:58.72.  

Women

Eight – A Final: 1 Russia 6:45.58, 2 Romania 6:46.44, 3 Britain 6:49.16; 5 Ireland (R Gilligan, N Landers, C Feerick, C Dempsey, A Corcoran, O Forde, S O’Connor, E Hegarty; cox C O’Connell) 7:11.26

 

Published in Rowing
Tagged under

#Rowing: Ireland’s Andrew Goff finished fifth at the European Under-23 Rowing Championships in Poland today. Jan Cincibuch of the Czech Republic won gold. He finished ahead of Austria, Slovenia and Turkey, who battled it out for the other medals, with Turkey’s Enes Yenipazarli missing out, though he had shown real guts to take on Cincibuch. Goff was not able to bridge the gap to this leading group.

 The Ireland women’s eight are set to compete in their A Final in Kruszwica at 1.45 Irish time.

European Under-23 Championships, Kruszwica, Poland, Day Two (Irish interest)

Men

Lightweight Single Sculls – A/B Semi-Final Two (First Three to A Final; rest to B Final): 1 Czech Republic 7:34.58, 2 Ireland (A Goff) 7:37.64, 3 Sweden 7:42.26.

Semi One: 1 Austria 7:32.69, 2 Turkey 7:34.45, 3 Slovenia 7:40.16. A Final: 1 Czech Republic 7:44.38, 2 Austria 7:46.64, 3 Slovenia 7:48.58; 5 Ireland (A Goff) 7:58.72.  

 

Published in Rowing

#Canoeing: Liam Jegou finished 17th in the under-23 C1 semi-final at the European Junior and Under-23 Championships in Hohenlimburg, Germany today.

 The France-based competitor incurred a two-point penalty on the first gate, and while he did not touch or miss another gate his time put him three seconds outside the top 10, who qualified for the final.   

Published in Canoeing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Aoife Casey and Margaret Cremen took a silver medal at the European Junior Rowing Championships today in Germany. The Skibbereen/Lee crew took second behind dominant crew Germany, and ahead of Italy, who took bronze. In a strong field, Denmark, the Czech Repbublic and Britain took the next three places. Ireland had the best last 500 metres, pushing up on Germany, but Italy came strong at the end to give the girls in green a small scare.

Casey, a daughter of Ireland coach Dominic, represented Ireland as a junior at the World Championships last year, while Cremen took a bronze medal at the Coupe de la Jeunesse in 2016.

Ireland’s three other crews placed in the top 10 to make it a very satisfactory campaign in Krefeld.

European Junior Championships, Krefeld, Germany (Selected Results; Irish interest, Day Two)

Men

Pair – Semi-Final B: 6 Ireland (A Johnston, R Corrigan) 7:17.95. B Final: 4 Johnston, Corrigan 7:20.57.

Sculling, Quadruple – Semi-Final B: 5 Ireland (J Quinlan, J Keating, M Dundon, B O’Flynn) 6:20.31. B Final: 4 Ireland 6:24.6

Women

Pair – Semi-Final A: 4 Ireland (G McGill, E O’Reilly) 7:51.31. B Final: 3 Ireland.

Sculling, Double – Semi-Final B: 2 Ireland (A Casey, M Cremen) 7:26.83. A Final: 1 Germany 7:21.64, 2 Ireland 7:25.84, 3 Italy 7:28.32; 4 Denmark 7:31.32, 5 Czech Republic 7:40.58, 6 Britain 7:44.31.

 

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Ireland’s Margaret Cremen and Aoife Casey finished second in their semi-final and will compete in the A Final of the double sculls at the European Junior Rowing Championships in Krefeld in Germany. The Skibbereen/Lee combination were just .31 of a second off winners Denmark in their race and had the second-fastest time overall as they head into the A Final.

Three other crews – the men’s pair and quadruple and the women’s pair – finished outside the A Final places.

European Junior Championships, Krefeld, Germany (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Men

Pair – Semi-Final B: 6 Ireland (A Johnston, R Corrigan) 7:17.95.

Sculling, Quadruple – Semi-Final B: 5 Ireland (J Quinlan, J Keating, M Dundon, B O’Flynn) 6:20.31.

Women

Pair – Semi-Final A: 4 Ireland (G McGill, E O’Reilly) 7:51.31.

Sculling, Double – Semi-Final B: 2 Ireland (A Casey, M Cremen) 7:26.83.

Published in Rowing

#CANOEING: Jenny Egan brought Ireland a first senior medal at the European Canoe Sprint Championships when she took bronze in the Women’s K1 5,000 metres in Racice in the Czech Republic today. Egan, from the Salmon Leap club in Leixlip, was part of a successful breakaway at 1,000 metres with Maryna Litvinchuk of Belarus, who took gold, and Irene Burgo of Italy, the silver medallist. Less than two-thirds of a second divided the three.

Ireland paracanoeist Patrick O’Leary finished fourth in his KL3 200 metre final. Robert Oliver of Britain took gold. O’Leary was just a third off a second of taking bronze.

European Canoe Sprint Championships, Racice, Czech Republic (Selected Results; Irish interest)

Saturday

Men

K2 200 – Heat Three (First Three to A Final; 4-7 to B Final; rest out): 1 Serbia 31.676; 8 P Egan, S Dobrovolskis 34.808.

C1 200 - Heat Three (Winner to Final; second to seventh to semi-final): 1 Portugal (H Silva) 39.236; 7 A Jezierski 43.220. Semi-Final: Jezierski did not start.

K1 200 – Heat Two: 6 T Brennan 37.596. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final, 4-7 to B Final): 1 Latvia (A Rumjancevs) 36.072; 7 T Brennan 37.852

Paracanoe KL3 – A Final: 1 Britain (R Oliver) 40.88; 4 P O’Leary 42.536.

Women

K1 200 – Heat Three (Winner to Final; second to seventh to semi-final): 1 Serbia (N Moldovan) 40.236; 7 J Egan 43.384. Semi-Final (First Three to A Final, 4-7 to B Final): 1 Russia (N Podolskaya) 42.196; 7 Egan 45.344.

Sunday

Men

K1 200 – B Final: 5 T Brennan (14th overall)

K1 5,000 – A Final: 18 P Egan 22:58.09.

Women

K1 5,000 – A Final: 1 Belarus (M Litvinchuk) 22 mins 19.25 seconds, 2 Italy (I Burgo) 22:19.68, 3 Ireland (J Egan) 22 mins 19.9 seconds.

K1 500 – B Final 6 J Egan 2:00.376. (15th overall)

K1 200 – B Final: 7 J Egan 44.896 (16th overall)

Published in Canoeing
A new edition of the North Western Waters Atlas has just been published, showing the key biological features of the waters around Ireland. The Atlas brings together in one volume the answers to such diverse questions as: How is rising sea temperature affecting plankton species in European seas? Where do fish spawn around Ireland and the UK? What is the distribution of seabirds, sea mammals and deepwater corals? How are these areas protected? How many tonnes of fish were landed from ICES Areas VI and VII last year? Why do fishers need to discard fish? Where do vessels from other European member states fish within the Irish EEZ? And how do the many other marine activities fit in around all this?

This second edition of the Atlas of the North Western Waters is now available for free download here. It has been funded under the EU MEFEPO (Making the European Fisheries Ecosystem Plan Operational) project, made up of ecologists, economists, management experts and fisheries scientists who are trying to make ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) a reality in Europe. EBFM seeks to support the 'three pillars of sustainability' (ecological, social and economic) and as such includes human activity in the ecosystem.

The Atlas is intended for policy makers, managers and interested stakeholders. Its purpose is to provide a broad overview of the ecosystem of the NWW Regional Advisory Council (RAC) area with the science kept as clear and concise as possible and technical language kept to a minimum.

"Next year the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive requires an analysis of the features, pressures and impacts on member states' waters and the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy will put more emphasis on regionalising management," said Dr. Cormac Nolan of the MEFEPO project at the Marine Institute, "so this new edition of the North Western Waters Atlas, and the work of the MEFEPO team behind it, is both timely and valuable."

The first edition of the Atlas, published in 2009, was extremely well received and this 2nd edition has been updated and revised in response to stakeholder feedback. The Atlas provides up-to-date information on the physical and chemical features, habitat types, biological features, birds, mammals, fishing activity and other human activities taking place within the NWW region. There are new chapters on elasmobranchs and mariculture and the hot topic of discarding is covered in more detail. Background material on four NWW fisheries (mackerel, hake, Nephrops and scallop), which have been used as case studies in the MEFEPO project, is also presented.

Published in Marine Science
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About the Irish Navy

The Navy maintains a constant presence 24 hours a day, 365 days a year throughout Ireland’s enormous and rich maritime jurisdiction, upholding Ireland’s sovereign rights. The Naval Service is tasked with a variety of roles including defending territorial seas, deterring intrusive or aggressive acts, conducting maritime surveillance, maintaining an armed naval presence, ensuring right of passage, protecting marine assets, countering port blockades; people or arms smuggling, illegal drugs interdiction, and providing the primary diving team in the State.

The Service supports Army operations in the littoral and by sealift, has undertaken supply and reconnaissance missions to overseas peace support operations and participates in foreign visits all over the world in support of Irish Trade and Diplomacy.  The eight ships of the Naval Service are flexible and adaptable State assets. Although relatively small when compared to their international counterparts and the environment within which they operate, their patrol outputs have outperformed international norms.

The Irish Naval Service Fleet

The Naval Service is the State's principal seagoing agency. The Naval Service operates jointly with the Army and Air Corps.

The fleet comprises one Helicopter Patrol Vessel (HPV), three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), two Large Patrol Vessel (LPV) and two Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPV). Each vessel is equipped with state of the art machinery, weapons, communications and navigation systems.

LÉ EITHNE P31

LE Eithne was built in Verlome Dockyard in Cork and was commissioned into service in 1984. She patrols the Irish EEZ and over the years she has completed numerous foreign deployments.

Type Helicopter Patrol Vessel
Length 80.0m
Beam 12m
Draught 4.3m
Main Engines 2 X Ruston 12RKC Diesels6, 800 HP2 Shafts
Speed 18 knots
Range 7000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 55 (6 Officers)
Commissioned 7 December 1984

LÉ ORLA P41

L.É. Orla was formerly the HMS SWIFT a British Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the waters of Hong Kong. She was purchased by the Irish State in 1988. She scored a notable operational success in 1993 when she conducted the biggest drug seizure in the history of the state at the time, with her interception and boarding at sea of the 65ft ketch, Brime.

Type Coastal Patrol Vessel
Length 62.6m
Beam 10m
Draught 2.7m
Main Engines 2 X Crossley SEMT- Pielstick Diesels 14,400 HP 2 Shafts
Speed 25 + Knots
Range 2500 Nautical Miles @ 17 knots
Crew 39 (5 Officers)

LÉ CIARA P42

L.É. Ciara was formerly the HMS SWALLOW a British Royal Navy patrol vessel stationed in the waters of Hong Kong. She was purchased by the Irish State in 1988. She scored a notable operational success in Nov 1999 when she conducted the second biggest drug seizure in the history of the state at that time, with her interception and boarding at sea of MV POSIDONIA of the south-west coast of Ireland.

Type Coastal Patrol Vessel
Length 62.6m
Beam 10m
Draught 2.7m
Main Engines 2 X Crossley SEMT- Pielstick Diesels 14,400 HP 2 Shafts
Speed 25 + Knots
Range 2500 Nautical Miles @ 17 knots
Crew 39 (5 Officers)

LÉ ROISIN P51

L.É. Roisin (the first of the Roisín class of vessel) was built in Appledore Shipyards in the UK for the Naval Service in 2001. She was built to a design that optimises her patrol performance in Irish waters (which are some of the roughest in the world), all year round. For that reason a greater length overall (78.8m) was chosen, giving her a long sleek appearance and allowing the opportunity to improve the conditions on board for her crew.

Type Long Offshore Patrol Vessel
Length 78.84m
Beam 14m
Draught 3.8m
Main Engines 2 X Twin 16 cly V26 Wartsila 26 medium speed Diesels
5000 KW at 1,000 RPM 2 Shafts
Speed 23 knots
Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 44 (6 Officers)
Commissioned 18 September 2001

LÉ NIAMH P52

L.É. Niamh (the second of the Róisín class) was built in Appledore Shipyard in the UK for the Naval Service in 2001. She is an improved version of her sister ship, L.É.Roisin

Type Long Offshore Patrol Vessel
Length 78.84m
Beam 14m
Draught 3.8m
Main Engines 2 X Twin 16 cly V26 Wartsila 26 medium speed Diesels
5000 KW at 1,000 RPM 2 Shafts
Speed 23 knots
Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 44 (6 Officers)
Commissioned 18 September 2001

LÉ SAMUEL BECKETT P61

LÉ Samuel Beckett is an Offshore Patrol Vessel built and fitted out to the highest international standards in terms of safety, equipment fit, technological innovation and crew comfort. She is also designed to cope with the rigours of the North-East Atlantic.

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel
Length 90.0m
Beam 14m
Draught 3.8m
Main Engines 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw
Speed 23 knots
Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 44 (6 Officers)

LÉ JAMES JOYCE P62

LÉ James Joyce is an Offshore Patrol Vessel and represents an updated and lengthened version of the original RÓISÍN Class OPVs which were also designed and built to the Irish Navy specifications by Babcock Marine Appledore and she is truly a state of the art ship. She was commissioned into the naval fleet in September 2015. Since then she has been constantly engaged in Maritime Security and Defence patrolling of the Irish coast. She has also deployed to the Defence Forces mission in the Mediterranean from July to end of September 2016, rescuing 2491 persons and recovering the bodies of 21 deceased

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel
Length 90.0m
Beam 14m
Draught 3.8m
Main Engines 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw
Speed 23 knots
Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 44 (6 Officers)

LÉ WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS P63

L.É. William Butler Yeats was commissioned into the naval fleet in October 2016. Since then she has been constantly engaged in Maritime Security and Defence patrolling of the Irish coast. She has also deployed to the Defence Forces mission in the Mediterranean from July to October 2017, rescuing 704 persons and recovering the bodies of three deceased.

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel
Length 90.0m
Beam 14m
Draught 3.8m
Main Engines 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw
Speed 23 knots
Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 44 (6 Officers)

LÉ GEORGE BERNARD SHAW P64

LÉ George Bernard Shaw (pennant number P64) is the fourth and final ship of the P60 class vessels built for the Naval Service in Babcock Marine Appledore, Devon. The ship was accepted into State service in October 2018, and, following a military fit-out, commenced Maritime Defence and Security Operations at sea.

Type Offshore Patrol Vessel
Length 90.0m
Beam 14m
Draught 3.8m
Main Engines 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw
Speed 23 knots
Range 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots
Crew 44 (6 Officers)

Ship information courtesy of the Defence Forces

Irish Navy FAQs

The Naval Service is the Irish State's principal seagoing agency with "a general responsibility to meet contingent and actual maritime defence requirements". It is tasked with a variety of defence and other roles.

The Naval Service is based in Ringaskiddy, Cork harbour, with headquarters in the Defence Forces headquarters in Dublin.

The Naval Service provides the maritime component of the Irish State's defence capabilities and is the State's principal seagoing agency. It "protects Ireland's interests at and from the sea, including lines of communication, fisheries and offshore resources" within the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Naval Service operates jointly with the Army and Air Corps as part of the Irish defence forces.

The Naval Service was established in 1946, replacing the Marine and Coastwatching Service set up in 1939. It had replaced the Coastal and Marine Service, the State's first marine service after independence, which was disbanded after a year. Its only ship was the Muirchú, formerly the British armed steam yacht Helga, which had been used by the Royal Navy to shell Dublin during the 1916 Rising. In 1938, Britain handed over the three "treaty" ports of Cork harbour, Bere haven and Lough Swilly.

The Naval Service has nine ships - one Helicopter Patrol Vessel (HPV), three Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV), two Large Patrol Vessel (LPV) and two Coastal Patrol Vessels (CPV). Each vessel is equipped with State of the art machinery, weapons, communications and navigation systems.

The ships' names are prefaced with the title of Irish ship or "long Éireannach" (LE). The older ships bear Irish female names - LÉ Eithne, LÉ Orla, LÉ Ciara, LÉ Roisín, and LÉ Niamh. The newer ships, named after male Irish literary figures, are LÉ Samuel Beckett, LÉ James Joyce, LÉ William Butler Yeats and LÉ George Bernard Shaw.

Yes. The 76mm Oto Melara medium calibre naval armament is the most powerful weapon in the Naval Services arsenal. The 76mm is "capable of engaging naval targets at a range of up to 17km with a high level of precision, ensuring that the Naval Service can maintain a range advantage over all close-range naval armaments and man-portable weapon systems", according to the Defence Forces.

The Fleet Operational Readiness Standards and Training (FORST) unit is responsible for the coordination of the fleet needs. Ships are maintained at the Mechanical Engineering and Naval Dockyard Unit at Ringaskiddy, Cork harbour.

The helicopters are designated as airborne from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours, and 45 minutes at night. The aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, on inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains and cover the 32 counties. They can also assist in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and can transport offshore firefighters and ambulance teams. The Irish Coast Guard volunteers units are expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time of departing from the station house in ten minutes from notification during daylight and 20 minutes at night. They are also expected to achieve a 90 per cent response time to the scene of the incident in less than 60 minutes from notification by day and 75 minutes at night, subject to geographical limitations.

The Flag Officer Commanding Naval Service (FOCNS) is Commodore Michael Malone. The head of the Defence Forces is a former Naval Service flag officer, now Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett – appointed in 2015 and the first Naval Service flag officer to hold this senior position. The Flag Officer oversees Naval Operations Command, which is tasked with the conduct of all operations afloat and ashore by the Naval Service including the operations of Naval Service ships. The Naval Operations Command is split into different sections, including Operations HQ and Intelligence and Fishery Section.

The Intelligence and Fishery Section is responsible for Naval Intelligence, the Specialist Navigation centre, the Fishery Protection supervisory and information centre, and the Naval Computer Centre. The Naval Intelligence Cell is responsible for the collection, collation and dissemination of naval intelligence. The Navigation Cell is the naval centre for navigational expertise.

The Fishery Monitoring Centre provides for fishery data collection, collation, analysis and dissemination to the Naval Service and client agencies, including the State's Sea Fisheries Protection Agency. The centre also supervises fishery efforts in the Irish EEZ and provides data for the enhanced effectiveness of fishery protection operations, as part of the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The Naval Computer Centre provides information technology (IT) support service to the Naval Service ashore and afloat.

This headquarters includes specific responsibility for the Executive/Operations Branch duties. The Naval Service Operations Room is a coordination centre for all NS current Operations. The Naval Service Reserve Staff Officer is responsible for the supervision, regulation and training of the reserve. The Diving section is responsible for all aspects of Naval diving and the provision of a diving service to the Naval Service and client agencies. The Ops Security Section is responsible for the coordination of base security and the coordination of all shore-based security parties operating away from the Naval base. The Naval Base Comcen is responsible for the running of a communications service. Boat transport is under the control of Harbour Master Naval Base, who is responsible for the supervision of berthage at the Naval Base and the provision of a boat service, including the civilian manned ferry service from Haulbowline.

Naval Service ships have undertaken trade and supply missions abroad, and personnel have served as peacekeepers with the United Nations. In 2015, Naval Service ships were sent on rotation to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean as part of a bi-lateral arrangement with Italy, known as Operation Pontus. Naval Service and Army medical staff rescued some 18,000 migrants, either pulling people from the sea or taking them off small boats, which were often close to capsizing having been towed into open water and abandoned by smugglers. Irish ships then became deployed as part of EU operations in the Mediterranean, but this ended in March 2019 amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment in the EU.

Essentially, you have to be Irish, young (less than 32), in good physical and mental health and with normal vision. You must be above 5'2″, and your weight should be in keeping with your age.

Yes, women have been recruited since 1995. One of the first two female cadets, Roberta O'Brien from the Glen of Aherlow in Co Tipperary, became its first female commander in September 2020. Sub Lieutenant Tahlia Britton from Donegal also became the first female diver in the navy's history in the summer of 2020.

A naval cadet enlists for a cadetship to become an officer in the Defence Forces. After successfully completing training at the Naval Service College, a cadet is commissioned into the officer ranks of the Naval Service as a Ensign or Sub Lieutenant.

A cadet trains for approximately two years duration divided into different stages. The first year is spent in military training at the Naval Base in Haulbowline, Cork. The second-year follows a course set by the National Maritime College of Ireland course. At the end of the second year and on completion of exams, and a sea term, the cadets will be qualified for the award of a commission in the Permanent Defence Force as Ensign.

The Defence Forces say it is looking for people who have "the ability to plan, prioritise and organise", to "carefully analyse problems, in order to generate appropriate solutions, who have "clear, concise and effective communication skills", and the ability to "motivate others and work with a team". More information is on the 2020 Qualifications Information Leaflet.

When you are 18 years of age or over and under 26 years of age on the date mentioned in the notice for the current competition, the officer cadet competition is held annually and is the only way for potential candidates to join the Defence Forces to become a Naval Service officer. Candidates undergo psychometric and fitness testing, an interview and a medical exam.
The NMCI was built beside the Naval Service base at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, and was the first third-level college in Ireland to be built under the Government's Public-Private Partnership scheme. The public partners are the Naval Service and Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the private partner is Focus Education.
A Naval Service recruit enlists for general service in the "Other Ranks" of the Defence Forces. After successfully completing the initial recruit training course, a recruit passes out as an Ordinary Seaman and will then go onto their branch training course before becoming qualified as an Able Body sailor in the Naval Service.
No formal education qualifications are required to join the Defence Forces as a recruit. You need to satisfy the interview board and the recruiting officer that you possess a sufficient standard of education for service in the Defence Forces.
Recruit training is 18 weeks in duration and is designed to "develop a physically fit, disciplined and motivated person using basic military and naval skills" to "prepare them for further training in the service. Recruits are instilled with the Naval Service ethos and the values of "courage, respect, integrity and loyalty".
On the progression up through the various ranks, an Able Rate will have to complete a number of career courses to provide them with training to develop their skills in a number of areas, such as leadership and management, administration and naval/military skills. The first of these courses is the Naval Service Potential NCO course, followed by the Naval Service Standard NCO course and the Naval Service senior NCO course. This course qualifies successful candidates of Petty officer (or Senior Petty Officer) rank to fill the rank of Chief Petty Officer upwards. The successful candidate may also complete and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Leadership, Management and Naval Studies in partnership with Cork Institute of Technology.
Pay has long been an issue for just the Naval Service, at just over 1,000 personnel. Cadets and recruits are required to join the single public service pension scheme, which is a defined benefit scheme, based on career-average earnings. For current rates of pay, see the Department of Defence website.