Irish Naval Service; World Ship Society, Monograph no 4
Kendel, Cumbria: World Ship Society, 1982. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Pamphlet. 72 pages. Illustrations. Small ink mark on rear cover. Includes Foreword, Notes, Acknowledgments and Sources, Index of Ships, and General Index. Topics covered include The Royal Navy and the Irish Free State; Termination of the Treaty Ports; Maritime Eire; The Naval Service; and Ship List (Patrol Vessels, Training Schooner, Mine Planter, Motor Torpedo Boats, Corvettes, Coastal Minesweepers, Training and Supply Ship, Offshore Patrol Vessels, and New Construction OPV. Appendix A is the Department of Defence Fleet. Appendix B are Flags of the Irish Naval Service. Appendix C is Uniform/Rank Structure/Insignia. The principal aim of this work is to cover the development of the Irish Naval service and to detail its ships. However, in doing so it has been necessary to describe in some depth the political and military background of the pre-Naval Service days. The Naval Service is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier maritime defence organizations, the Naval Service was formed in 1946. Since the 1970s a major role of the Naval Service has been the provision of fisheries protection in Ireland's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Other roles include sea patrol, surveillance, and smuggling prevention. Occasionally the Service undertakes longer missions in support of other elements of the Defence Forces, Irish peacekeepers serving with the United Nations, or humanitarian and trade missions. Ships in the Irish Naval Service are designated Long Éireannach, which is abbreviated to LÉ. LÉ Eithne is the current flagship of the Naval Service. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 stipulated that the Irish Free State would be given responsibility to police its customs and fishing, while the United Kingdom would remain in control of Irish waters. In 1923 the Coastal and Marine Service (CMS) was created, yet merely one year later it was disbanded. During the Civil War, in August 1922, a ship belonging to the British & Irish Steam Packet Company, Lady Wicklow, led by Captain Patrick Ryan, was used to bring Irish National Army troops around the coast to Fenit, the port of Tralee in County Kerry. This naval involvement technically preceded the foundation of the Irish state, as Ireland was still part of the UK at the time. Built-in 1890 in Dublin Dockyard, the ship measured 262 by 34 feet (80 by 10 m). In all 450 troops, including officers, were landed. Tralee was later captured from local republican forces.
Muirchú, formerly the British armed steam yacht Helga, which had been used by the Royal Navy to shell Dublin during the 1916 rising, was the only CMS ship during this period. The CMS ship Muirchu continued to patrol Irish fisheries. Muirchu was re-armed in 1936 and purchased by the Irish government on advice of members of the later named Maritime Institute of Ireland for fisheries protection. In 1938 the United Kingdom handed over the three treaty ports (Cork Harbour, Bere Haven and Lough Swilly). Consequently, the Royal Navy withdrew from Cork Harbour in July 1938. Fort Rannoch was added to the Irish fleet at that time. In 1939 the Irish Government ordered two Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) from Vosper Thorneycroft. When World War II began in September 1939 the Marine and Coastwatching Service was set up. In order for Ireland to remain neutral, it became clear that a full naval service would be required. The government consequentially ordered an additional 4 MTBs. By the end of 1940 the Irish Marine and Coastwatching Service consisted of 6 MTB's and 4 other assorted craft. During the War the Service protected fisheries, regulated merchant ships, and laid mines off Cork and Waterford. In June 1940, an Irish Marine and Coastwatching Service Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) returned to Haulbowline after making two separate trips to rescue allied soldiers during the Dunkirk evacuation. By 1941 the Marine and Coastwatching Service consisted of 10 craft (6 MTBs plus 4 assorted vessels) and about 300 all ranks. In 1942 the Service was renamed the Marine Service. In September 1946, the Marine Service was formally disbanded and the Naval Service established as a permanent component of the Irish Defence Forces. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Irish Naval Service, Irish Ships, Irish Free State, Coastwatching, Merchant Shipping, Patrol Vessels, Motor Torpedo Boats, Corvettes, Minesweepers, An Slua Muiri, Offshore Patrol Vessels
ISBN: 0905617215
[Book #80080]
Price: $100.00