Irish Naval Service

Irish Naval Jack

The Irish Naval Service is the navy of the Republic of Ireland and is one of the three standing branches of the Irish Defence Forces (Ă"glaigh na hÉireann). Its main base is in Haulbowline, County Cork.

Naval service vessels are all named with traditional Irish female names, taken from history and Irish mythology. The ship prefix LÉ stands for Long Éireannach, "Irish ship" in the Irish language.

Current strength

The patrol vessel, LÉ Emer (P21).

Its current strength is eight offshore patrol vessels.
* LÉ Emer (P21)
* LÉ Aoife (P22)
* LÉ Aisling (P23)
* LÉ Eithne (P31)
* LÉ Orla (P41)
* LÉ Ciara (P42)
* LÉ Niamh (P52)
* LÉ Róisín (P51)
* Smaller training vessels and inflatable sea going craft
*Air assests are provided by Air Corps such as the 2 CN-235 Casa Maratime patrol aircraft operated from Baldonell Aerodrome in Co.Dublin.
*Search and Rescue helicopters are operated under contract by the Dept. of the Marine and are crewed and maintained by the Coast Guard.
*There are currently 1444 personnel of all ranks in the service. (Including aprox 400 Reserves)
*Current bases include:Cork Naval Base Headquaters, Reserve stations at Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Galway and Cork Naval HQ.

Decommissioned

*LÉ Muirchú
*LÉ Deirdre (P20)
*LÉ Grainne (CM10)
*LÉ Banba (CM11)
*LÉ Fola (CM12)
*LÉ Macha (01)
*LÉ Maev (02)
*LÉ Cliona (03)

Ranks

Commissioned Ranks

* Commodore
* Captain
* Commander
* Lieutenant Commander
* Lieutenant (Naval Service)
* Sub Lieutenant
* Ensign

Non-Commissioned Ranks

* Warrant Officer
* Senior Chief Petty Officer
* Chief Petty Officer
* Senior Petty Officer
* Petty Officer
* Leading Seaman
* Able Seaman
* Ordinary Seaman

History

External links

*Official defence forces website
*Official naval website
*Current ships
*History