Three members of the 60-strong crew of LÉ James Joyce are returning for the second time to the Mediterranean Sea because they are anxious to help exploited refugees.

Naval vessel the LÉ Róisín rescued 371 migrants in three separate search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean yesterday.

The LÉ Aisling, which intercepted the IRA gun-running ship Marita Ann in 1984 and recovered bodies from Air India flight 182 in 1985, is being decommissioned, writes Sean O’Riordan.

The crew of LÉ Samuel Beckett edged close to their 1,000th refugee rescue in the Mediterranean Sea after they were involved in three operations yesterday — rescuing a total of 316 people.

The crew of the LÉ Niamh handed over to Italian authorities around 30 people smugglers during the ship’s tour of duty in the Mediterranean Sea, which resulted in the rescue of 4,127 refugees.

Proud families gathered on the quayside yesterday to welcome home the crew of LÉ Niamh, who apart from rescuing migrants, assisted in the birth of one and the double resuscitation of an infant who nearly drowned.

LÉ Samuel Beckett will depart her base in Haulbowline, Co Cork, this morning to take over refugee rescue missions in the Mediterranean from LÉ Niamh.

Our navy continued its admirable work in the Mediterranean over the weekend when the LÉ Niamh rescued 225 people 112km north east of Tripoli on Saturday night. The 139 men, 74 women and 12 children rescued are receiving water, food and medical assistance. The LÉ Niamh had rescued 1,772 migrants before this most recent operation.

The personnel of the LÉ Niamh, and the LÉ Eithne before her, are a source of national pride as they continue their life-saving Mediterranean missions.

The LÉ Niamh, which rescued almost 400 migrants from the Mediterranean in one operation this week, has arrived in the Italian city of Palermo.

A specialist team has flown out to Sicily to offer counselling to crew members on LÉ Niamh, who have been given a four-day break from migrant rescue operations.

Irish Naval crew on board the LÉ Eithne used colouring books and toys to calm the fears of children they plucked from tiny boats floating dangerously in the Mediterranean.

The tugboat Gerry O’Sullivan sprayed arcs of water, other Navy ships sounded their horns in salutem and families cheered and waved flags on the quayside as the LÉ Eithne pulled into base.

Simon Coveney believes the Navy will take part in more overseas missions in the future, is committed to buying it more new ships and described the welcome home for LÉ Eithne as the "highlight" of his career as defence minister.

Irish Navy vessels the LÉ Eithne and LÉ James Joyce were welcomed into Cork Harbour earlier today; Graham Dwyer’s girlfriend said today that she is pulling back from the relationship; and cannabis could help heal fractured bones. Here’s this evening’s irishexaminer.com round-up.

Naval Service history was made yesterday as LÉ Éithne and LÉ Niamh saluted each other in the Mediterranean, with the former heading home and the latter on her way to rescue migrants trying to get from North Africa to Europe.

Families are expected to crowd the quayside in Haulbowline next Friday to welcome home the 69-strong crew of LÉ Eithne after a rescue mission which saw them pluck 3,376 migrants from unseaworthy craft in the Mediterranean Sea.

Irish Naval personnel who have rescued over 3,400 migrants in the Mediterranean are not getting proper pay allowances.

Defence Minister Simon Coveney has said he believes the crew of the LÉ Eithne are not under “any undue pressure” despite rescuing almost 3,000 people from rafts in the Mediterranean in recent weeks.

A €50m new ship undergoing final sea trials, the LÉ James Joyce, could be delivered to the Naval Service within days.

The Naval Service’s flagship LÉ Eithne had a record-breaking day yesterday when she picked up a further 647 refugees who were packed into two dangerously unsafe wooden barges.

The number of lives saved by the Naval Service flagship LÉ Eithne passed the 2,000 mark after she picked up her largest number of migrants in any one day of operations off the coast of Libya.

The Naval Service LÉ Eithne has conducted its biggest migrant rescue operation to date when it took onboard 467 adults and children who had been trying to reach the EU in a dilapidated wooden barge and rubber raft.

Naval Service flagship LÉ Eithne has saved more migrants’ lives after picking up the occupants of a small fibreglass boat who had run out of food, water and fuel five days into an attempted crossing of the Mediterranean Sea.

IT is impossible to say that the 649 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean by LÉ Eithne and her crew since the vessel left Cork 19 days ago, would not have survived had the vessel not been in the area.

LÉ Eithne was steaming towards the Sicilian port of Palermo last night with 410 migrants she had rescued from the Mediterranean Sea.

The Naval Service’s flagship LÉ Eithne is today steaming close to Gibraltar on her way to the Mediterranean, where she is being deployed to save migrants from drowning.

The Cabinet has approved sending LÉ Eithne on a mission to prevent migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean.

The LÉ Eithne is expected to be given the order to deploy in the Mediterranean after next Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, at which Minister for Defence Simon Coveney will almost certainly get approval from colleagues to send it on a humanitarian mission to save drowning refugees.

It may be twinned with Waterford, but the Maltese military’s ‘snub’ of an offer to take the naval vessel LÉ Aoife free of charge has angered Cork county councillors.