Naval HQ

The Naval Service is a great place to work.  It provides the maritime element of Ireland’s defence and is the principal seagoing agency of the State.  Within the constraints of assigned resources the service maintains core military capabilities and a high level of operational readiness.  It delivers to the maximum a wide range of services to a variety of government departments, agencies, non governmental organisations and others. These services include support to the Joint Task Force (JTF) in countering drug smuggling and support to the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) in protecting fisheries and the ecosystem.   The services are delivered in home waters and abroad where the government recognises the unique capability of the navy for furthering policy objectives in the international maritime domain.  Ireland claims the largest maritime domain to land ratio of any NW EU State encompassing almost one million square kilometres.  The area encompasses many rich and vulnerable marine ecosystems and oil and gas reserves with a value of in excess of one trillion euro. Into the future government plans will see the development of offshore renewables including tidal, wind and wave power.  In support of government policy the Naval Service together with UCC and CIT is a core partner in the Maritime and Energy Research Campus and Commercial Cluster, MERC. 

Find out more about MERC

All Naval personnel have the opportunity to progress to certificate or degree level on promotion and the Navy leads in a wide range of research and innovation projects.  In response to the Chief of Staff’s transformation agenda the Naval Service offers a model of public sector transformation which is also bottom up, collaborative and evidenced based.  It is our vision, that the Naval Service will transform into a knowledge institution by 2016.

Flag Officer Commanding Naval Service (FOCNS)

Commodore Mark Mellett

Commodore Mellett has primary responsibility for the overall co-ordination of Naval Service strategy which aims to deliver on Military and Government Policy.  Commodore Mellett is from Mayo and joined the Navy in 1976. Having completed his studies at the Irish Naval College and Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth, he was commissioned and qualified as an Operations Branch Officer.

Amongst his seagoing appointments in 1984 he served as Gunnery Officer on the Naval Flagship LE EITHNE having first stood by the build of this the last Naval ship built in Ireland.  His first Command was LE ORLA in 1992 and he subsequently commanded the LE CIARA in 1997.  In 2005, he commanded the Irish Naval Flagship LE EITHNE and sailed to South America in support of Irish diplomatic efforts in the region and to salute Admiral William Brown, who also hailed from Mayo.

During his shore rotations Commodore Mellett has held appointments in Naval Operations and Support Commands, Naval Headquarters and in the Naval College. For almost two decades he has been a key member of the Navy’s re-organisation team, which has equipped him well for the ongoing transformation required by defence policy.  As a Commander he has served as Head of Naval Plans and Policy and more recently as Commandant of the Naval College and Associate Head of the National Maritime College of Ireland. Besides citations for service in Afghanistan (2004) and Lebanon (1989), as Captain of ORLA (1994) he was honoured by becoming the Navy’s second officer recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) in recognition of the role of his ship in the detention of the drug smuggling ketch Brime.

Commodore Mellett has a PhD (2009) in Oceans Governance from the National University of Ireland, Galway and a Masters (2004) in Government and Public Policy from University College Cork.  He is a distinguished graduate of the United States Naval War College Newport RI (1999), the Irish Command and Staff College (1998) and the Royal Naval College Greenwich (1989). Commodore Mellett has a keen interest in research and has been a member of the European Security Research Innovation Forum (ESRIF). He has published a number of papers on security and maritime affaires.

Read more about the Naval Service Fleet