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THE IRISH NAVAL Service vessels the LÉ Aoife and LÉ Emer were well known around the country – but the two latest vessels will be called decidedly more high-brow names.
The LÉ Aoife and Emer were both recently decommissioned, and Minister for Defence Alan Shatter TD announced yesterday that a decision has been made on the names of the two new ships.
The first of the ships is scheduled for delivery in January 2014 and will be named LE Samuel Beckett, while the second ship will arrive in early 2015 and will be named LE James Joyce. Beckett and Joyce are, of course, two of Ireland’s most famous literary figures.
The Minister said in response to a parliamentary question that the names “will facilitate greater recognition of the ships when they visit foreign ports and when they are operating in the international maritime domain”.
It is my view that these names portray a very strong sovereign link between the State and the Naval Service and sets the tone both domestically and abroad in reflecting on a more modern Ireland and Naval Service organisation.
Fine Gael TD for Wicklow, Andrew Doyle, welcomed the decision, saying that naming them after these famous Irish writers “will set the tone both for Ireland and overseas as a nation with a modern Naval Service and one with a strong international maritime presence”.
He added that Minister Shatter has been working closely with the Irish Defence Forces, particularly the Irish Naval Service, to ensure that an adequate number of vessels are patrolling Irish waters at any given time.
In 2012 alone, 1,258 patrol days were covered along with 1,329 vessel boardings, ensuring Ireland remains equipped for maritime patrol and maintains a steady fleet of eight patrol vessels.
The LÉ Emer and LÉ Aoife will be decommissioned in September 2013 and September 2014 respectively, and Doyle said that the Department of Defence has recently brought in people to assist them with the sale of the two ships.
The LÉ Emer has been in service since 1978 and LÉ Aoife since 1979.
According to that article the 2 ships have already been decommissioned?
“The LÉ Emer and LÉ Aoife were decommissioned in September 2013 and September 2014 respectively,”
Hopefully the new vessels will have a successful career in Irish service as the LÉ Emer and LÉ Aoife.
I’m assuming those dates are a year early or we’d be a ship down the whole time?
Ships are referred to as “she” odd to use a male name for a naval ship.
LÉ Oscar Wilde next? Or LÉ Maeve Binchy?
Can’t call it Oscar Wilde – it would never be able to pass a buoy. (It’s an old Oscar Wilde joke about when he didn’t escape to France. Don’t shoot me!)
Pity we fight like poets too.
LÉ Amanda Brunker
Le Brendan Behan.
Le patrick kavanagh I reckon. ..or le michael collins
They do say the pen is mightier than the sword. Let’s compose our enemies into submission!!!!!!
LE Bono!!
Aren’t ships female?
I thought so too but the Americans call their ships after former presidents, cities and states.
Boats are female. Navy ships mean business. So why name them after kitchen slaves :)
It’s just a western tradition to refer to a ship as “she” rather than its full name. Russians usually use “he.” The Brits used to call some frigates after useful traits in war like Indefatigable, Surprise, Retribution. The French called some ships after their great rivers, like the Loire. All those would have been called “she” by their crews when talking about it.
You realise that men dominate the culinary arts industry, right? So essentially you are saying “why name them after men”. In which case I would have to agree with you. Because yes, women do mean business.
I’m pretty sure Joyce and Beckett would be disgusted at military vehicles using their names for a bit of cheap PR. Beckett especially considering his role in the resistance.
We have just 8 ships patrolling the largest sea area in Europe,half of which are not available for duty at any one time, when it has always been noted that a bare minimum of 12 ships are needed,but at least the new ships will be more advanced than the old ones and therefore more efficient for the job of protecting us from drug smugglers and trying to prevent our seas from being plundered.
They use aircraft to assist the ships
Dirty scurvy dogs…
Waste of diesel money.
Love telling my 2 daughters they ars named after 2 naval vessels
You called your daughters James & Samuel?
I’m no expert, but I seem to remember that James Joyce was a pacifist who; obviously, hated war and anything to do with it. So I think it highly likely he would have hated having his name on a Naval ship. Doesn’t surprise me that an ignoramus like Shatter is involved.
Joyce was far from being a Naval man, he did like a bit of leg though
Its not a war machine, its a protection vessel to stop illegal activity in our seas.
It doesn’t matter, its part of the armed forces of a country, Joyce didn’t like armed forces, so I think he wouldn’t like his name on the ship.
You’re right, you’re no expert, the naval service is part of the Defence Forces (emphasis on defence) and is more like the US coast guard, even a pacifist understands that you have to protect territorial waters
It’s like naming a Navy vessel after John Lennon. I don’t think he’d recognise the distinction of it being a defensive vessel, of course all military forces worldwide call themselves defence forces. Joyce didn’t like armed forces, navy forces, wars, countries, nationalism, he had quite left-wing beliefs, he hated the Irish state that was the result of the revolutions in 1920’s, and he felt those revolutions should have gone further. So I seriously doubt, that a man with beliefs like that, would want his name on any military vessel, craft etc of any state,much less this one.
To be honest, i would much prefer they kept Irish sounding names.
Naomh Ankela ?
+100 I think that the Irish names made them unique to our countries history and heritage without trying to cash in on the accomplishments of some writer /poet.
Its ironic too, because in Ulysses, the Citizen, who is the racist nationalist, is shown, mockingly, day dreaming about having “our own” navy ships someday.
@richardmccarthy I agree. They say it is to be facilitate in foreign ports but I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t know these men were Irish.
Oh oh, can we buy a battleship mr shatter?
Yes Adrian we can and send it to help the Israeli navy.
No I was thinking of launching it into space,
U mean a ‘BattleStar?
I could get behind that! :)
I was on Emer last year, impressive vessel but dated!
they were forper patrol vessels from hong kong
Do not think so, Emer was built in Cork in 1978 just after Deirdre. I could be wrong but certainly do not think they came from Hong Kong.
I was on Emer last year too and she definitely wasn’t dated. A bit annoying with her texts after alright though.
Classic…!!!
I’d say you were
Apoligies LÉ Orla & LÉ Ciara
http://www.military.ie/naval-service/fleet/coastal-patrol-vessel/
Orla and Ciara came from Hong Kong…
Ridiculous idea. Ships like aircraft carriers and battleships are memorable internationally. Names of small patrol ships aren’t. I bet most who aren’t deep into naval history can name a US aircraft carrier but can’t name a US Coast Guard ship. Bring back the traditional naming structure.
USCG Eagle, finest one of them all
Ya that’s fine for the US Navy but we don’t have that many vessels so I think it’s only right that they are named as they are as important to us as the aircraft carriers etc are to the US.
USS Liberty?
Paddy, the USS Liberty wasn’t a patrol ship. She was an electronic spying vessel that was involved in a major international incident. Two completely different things.
More names for the boys
Will the new boats have cartoon characters associated with them, as the older ones did?
Seaman staines :)
Love your avatar Wynnner!
Should they not be called the NAMA and the Bail Out? more fitting if you ask me.
There’s a touch of Back To The Future here. The ships WERE decommissioned in September 2013 and 2014. Eh?
Scheduled to be decommissioned. The order had gone through for it. So thats why its in the past tense.
Joyce travelled on a BRITISH passport, and refused the offer of an Irish document.
Why name an Irish vessel after him? Might as well call it LE Leopold Bloom!
Aw that’s a pity. The Irish names were nice,and also unique!
This is shameless cashing in on our literary giants; both of whom left Ireland due to it’s repressive atmosphere and then died abroad. It would be more in our line to reflect upon why they left and consider what remains of that theocracy.
Are Joyce and Beckett even on the LC English course? If not, wouldn’t it be more in their line to teach them in school than to name military vessels after them…?
The Leaving Certificate course alternates the poets year on year so students have a diversity to learn from. It would get awfully boring of they kept the same poets.
I always thought it was bad luck to rename a ship?
They are new ships.
Apparently it’s bad luck to read the article…
This fellow Shatter is a right bloody eejit.
These are not warships, more like war-canoes
Why writers?
For the love god can we start commemorating other famous people too?
James Joyce Bridge in 2003, Sean O’Casey Bride in 2005, Samuel Beckett Bridge in 2007 and from the looks of it, Bram Stoker Bridge in 2013. And then these two ships.
We had a nickname for the old Arran islands ferry Naomh Aine (pardon the spelling)
But we knew her as “The great white stomach pump”
What’s next? LE Bono, LE Danny O’Donoghue, LE Dolores O’Riordan
From Shatter, I wouldn’t be surprised.
These two were both great Literary figures but two ” socially challenged” individual’s. why not called after some famous Irish inventor or modern hero ( Veronica Guerin ).
Ah that’s a shame. I liked the tradition of giving them female Irish names. Aisling, Aoife, Orla, Emer etc. I assume it was because vessels are referred to with the female pronoun. I also reckon the two name thing doesn’t roll of the tongue quite as easily.
I suspect that most of the world won’t recognise the Irishness of the new names. With names like Aine, Emer, Aoife, etc the Irishness is obvious. Ships are always female so male names aren’t appropriate.
I suggest you write to Obama and tell him to change the names of all his carriers bearing the names of dead presidents
That’s an american tradition. Doesn’t pertain to us. We HAD our own tradition. Are we not flogging the poets at this stage? We can’t name a bloody thing in this country unless it’s a bloody writer.
Smiley said “ships are always female” with no reference to Irish ones. I just pointed out that other countries have different traditions. To be honest I think you’re right, between bridges and boats poor old Beckett is getting very nautical. I doubt any of those writers would have been interested in putting their names to a naval vessel. The LE Ronan O’Gara anyone?
How about the LE Paul O Connell and put the fear if god in them.
The LE Munster Back Row From A Few Years Ago?
The names, from the ships I’ve looked up anyway seem to come from folklore, eg the LÉ Eithne “is named after Eithne, a tragic heroine and the daughter of the one-eyed Fomorian King, Balor in an early Irish romantic tale”.
John M, Beckett is probably getting seasick in his grave!
The Michael Collins, good strong name there.
How about Saoirse, irish girls name and means freedom so double whammy coming up to 2016. Or at least name them after one of the signatories of the proclomation. I mean we’ve had these ships for donkeys yrs, we’ll probably have the new ones for the same. We won’t get the chance to name a national vessel again any time soon!
Did I miss out on half of 2013 & the whole of 2014?? The second last paragraph makes me think I have seeing how it says,
“The LÉ Emer and LÉ Aoife were decommissioned in September 2013 and September 2014 respectively, and Doyle said that the Department of Defence has recently brought in people to assist them with the sale of the two ships.”
Galldú gan ghá
Should be called, Michael Collins or Tom Barry
It’s just shows a dreadful lack of imagination. Lets pick two writers who someone in the civil service has heard of and name the ships after them, even though Joyce and his most famous character were pacifists and neither author has any particular association with the sea.
You don’t even need to try to think of other names e.g. Erskine Childers, owner of Asgard,’gun runner’ and author of ‘Riddle of the Sands’ one of the best nautical adventure novels ever written. John Barry, Admiral from Wexford, founder of the US Navy, Ernest Shackleton born near Athy, famous explorer. The list is endless, we’re an island nation.
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