Naval Service Fleet
P31 - LÉ Eithne
LÉ Eithne was built in Ireland as a helicopter patrol vessel. The equipment fit was to a very high standard and included the Naval Services first Operations room which integrated control of armament and aircraft to a designated centre, remote from the bridge. Her main armament is a BOFORS 57mm anti-aircraft gun with a LIOD fire control system. Secondary armament is provided by two 20mm Rheinmetals. Eithne is also equipped with the DAO5 Air Surveillance Radar.
In the summer of 1986 LÉ Eithne scored a notable first, by becoming the first Irish Naval Service ship to cross the Atlantic, when she sailed to the United States, visiting Hamilton, New York and Boston.
LÉ Eithne is closely associated with Our Ladys Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin and conducts fundraising efforts on the hospitals behalf around the coast. She also frequently brings the children down to visit the ship for a morale boosting day out, during their recuperation from illness.
Although all the ships’ homeport is Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour, LÉ Eithne has a particularly close relationship with the town of Dún Laoghaire in Co Dublin.
| Type | Helicopter Patrol Vessel |
|---|---|
| Commissioned | 7 December 1984 |
| Complement | 85 ( 9 Officers and 77 ratings) |
| Displacement | 1760 tonnaí |
| Dimensions (meters) | 80.8 x 12 x 4.3 meters |
| powerplant | 2 x Ruston 6800 hp 12RKC diesels. |
| Maximum Speed | 20 knots |
| Range | 7000 nautical miles at 15 knots |
| Weapons | 1 Bofors 57mm and 2 x Rheinmetall 20mm Cannons, 7.62mm GPMG |
Eithne from Celtic Mythology
The name Eithne was borne by many characters in Irish history and mythology, but the Eithne after whom this ship was named was the tragic heroine of an early Irish romantic tale. She was the daughter of the one-eyed Fomorian King; Balor, and there was a prophesy which said that Balor would be killed by his grandson. Unlike some others, Balor was a man who paid attention to prophesies and as he had but one child, Eithne, so this would be an easy prophesy to circumvent. Eithne had to be killed, but bad as Balor was, he could not bring himself to kill the child, so instead he had her walled up in a castle on Tory Island. There she grew up, guarded by women, for no male was permitted on the island. The story of the beautiful princess walled up in the castle soon spread around the country and many warriors tried to capture her but none survived the sea and the guards.
However, one eventually did get in, disguised as a serving woman and some time later Balor found out that Eithne had given birth to a boy. The Furious king had Eithne and her lover killed and the child flung into the sea. But Mannin, the sea god took pity on the child and had a wave throw the infant up on a beach where a local farmer found him and brought him up. He grew up to be strong and high minded and when as a young man, he heard of the injustices perpetrated by Balor, he set out to rid the land of the tyrant. Needless to say he succeeded and slew Balor, duly fulfilling the prophesy. It has been suggested that the tale of Eithne may have been a forerunner of the Sleeping Beauty story.