Navy plans 'Meet the Fleet' to mark 75th anniversary

The LÉ William Butler Yeats: Ireland's naval fleet will be open to the public in September to mark its 75th anniversary. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The naval service is planning to send its fleet into Dublin City and Cork City in September to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding and open the ships to the public.

The fleet, minus one ship, which will be on patrol, will visit Dublin on Wednesday, September 1, and will overnight in port. It will sail into Cork City on September 4, again overnighting.

It will also send ships on similar visits to places with which they are twinned, such as Waterford, Galway, Limerick, and Dun Laoighaire, later in the year.

It's hoped the The 'Meet the Fleet – It's Your Navy' tours will be well-attended by the public, provided there's no major upsurge in Covid-19 variants, and no further tightening of restrictions.

When the naval service celebrated its 50th birthday, a number of foreign navies sent ships to Ireland to mark the occasion. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, this won't happen this year.

"As the current flag officer commanding the naval service, it is both an honour and a privilege to be in command to mark the 75th anniversary," Commodore Michael Malone said. "The naval service has a very proud history and tradition of serving the people of Ireland quietly, out of sight and over the horizon.” 

“The personnel of the navy and I are looking forward to engaging with the people of Ireland again, as we return to some level of normality, while still dealing with this pandemic,” he said.

The naval service was officially formed in 1946. However, in 1923, after independence from the British, Ireland formed the Coastal and Marine Service, made up of a mish-mash of fishing vessels, tugs, and river patrol boats.

It was disbanded the following year and, until the rumblings of  the Second World War, in 1938, there was little or no interest in protecting out maritime resources.

That same year, the British handed back the treaty ports, including Haulbowline, to the Irish Free State. As a global conflict beckoned, the Irish government established the Marine and Coastwatching Service and equipped it with hastily purchased motor torpedo boats (MTBs) and a couple of other assorted vessels. At the end of the war, in 1945, the service was disbanded.

The naval service was officially formed the following year. Its first three ships, 'flower class' corvettes  — Cliona, Maeve, and Macha — were purchased from the British.