Guard. As the rain it fell,they stood in silent sentinel,youth whose life barely fills a page,for those, alas, who will never age,most gave their life on foreign soil,where the cedar bleeds or in Katangian dust.
Guard
Lord of Connaught
Lord of Connaught. The last Lord of Connaught is still,silent are the hills,which once quivered with the ancient sound,echoing round Belleek Castle & the Moy.
Ship Shape and Ready for Action.
House 50. The delivery of a professional service by the Navy with a high degree of certainty requires specific fleet standards, quality control and the monitoring of personnel and equipment in action. The standards necessary to operate the fleet, are the ‘bedrock’ of an effective service. Their importance is heightened when the ships taskings become more complex. It was deemed vital to establish an organic operational evaluation capability in order to meet the delivery of these requirements and to this end, in September of 2008, the Flag Officer Commanding Naval Service (FOCNS) directed the establishment of the NS Fleet Operational Readiness, Standards and Training (FORST) section within Naval Operations Command (NOC).The aim of FORST is to facilitate organisational learning and continuous improvement by highlighting best practice and the fleet standardised processes required for the generation, maintenance and evaluation of our operational capability (GMEOC).
Burning Bibs
Burning Bibs. That moment went fascination and opportunity collide,The wonderment of innocence and a terrible price extracted on a child,Copy cat,flickering flames,melted plastic and pain.
Rebuilding Somalia – “The sea is our future”
Rebuilding Somalia – “The sea is our future” This article will also feature in the upcoming edition of Emergency Service Ireland magazine.The horn of Africa for decades has been a much-troubled location. Recently Paul O’Brien MA delivered an overview of the conflict in this publication and in this follow-up article, I will focus on the efforts underway to rebuild the country.A lasting peace will be built not only by the absence of conflict but by resetting the foundations of the state; this must bring together many different interconnected parts to provide a place where a functioning government can use its natural resources for the benefit of all its citizens.One of the greatest resources open to Somalia is the sea. They have the longest coastline on mainland Africa and in the middle East, at 3,025km. The waters off Somalia have become synonymous with piracy and lawlessness, yet this will be one of the key areas where economic activity is brought back to the impoverished country, which is balanced on a knife edge with regards to its own security and stability.
Vickers Petters Engine Restoration
Technical Training School, Irish Naval ServiceH aulbowline Island, located in the second largest natural harbour in the world, where the Lee flows down to meet the sea, is a place of rich history. Tucked away in an unassuming corner of a disused building, a historical gem had been awaiting rediscovery…In 2012 while passing the Seamanship Bay on the Naval Base during some renovation works PO/ERA Alan Duggan chanced to come across a collection of old machinery. He spotted what he thought might be a type of ‘Hot Blub’ stationary engine and he began to seek out information as to how it came to be there.
Words
Words. The words were sent out of the window and into the world,Spiralling nouns danced on the breeze and prose rose on light airs,Gusting gales could not the verbs shake loose from bonds of rhyme,The poets thoughts set loose upon the wind and free.
Birthday Salute to the Naval Service:
Lá breithe shona duit, tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh. On the 1st of September, the Naval Service will slip into its seventy-fourth year and go about its duties with the same quiet professionalism that it has always had and hopefully always will. The crews of the modern navy who have acquitted themselves so well off the coast of Libya are following in the footsteps of those who laid the foundations of the Service in September 1946.The Naval Service is the principal sea going agency of the State and performs a whole host of duties for the government and other stakeholders. Fisheries protection in Irelands Exclusive Economic Zone, narcotics & arms interdiction, search & rescue; these are only some of the tasks which they can be called upon to perform at any time during Maritime Defence and Security Patrols.In projecting the law of the State beyond the horizon, they defend Irelands interests with their presence and as self-contained mobile units they are capable of undertaking tasks which no other state agency can perform.
Life after the Defence Forces.
Charting a new course:
The Defence Forces represents a career and a lifestyle like no other. It affords great opportunities with great challenges as well. The military ethos with its traditionally strong bonds of friendship and camaraderie soaks into the fibre of everyone that passes through.However, like all good things in life it must come to an end at some point.In this article, I explore how NCOs who have retired from the Defence Forces have found the transition to civilian life. In particular, what impact the training and education they received within the DF has had on their search for employment, what they have experienced and what tips would they give to anyone who is thinking about making the leap.
Wind
Wind.
Seek the high and lonely places,let the roar of wind push electronic chatter from your ears,and drag a tear from an eye that was dry too long.Breathe deep.
Skellig
Skellig.
You say I never write for you,you say it with sad eyes.so I have tried to write for you,to help you stop awhile and smile.
Paper Never Refused Ink! 
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