LE Eithne In Philadelphia, 14/07/09

Steyr

Good stuff, Pictures in the links provided.



http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/from_the_source/Good_Morning_Philadelphia_The_Irish_are_coming.html

Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Good Morning Philadelphia: The Irish are coming


LE Eithne, flagship of the Irish Naval Service, docked this morning at Penn’s Landing for a port call.

Built in 1984 as a helicopter patrol vessel, Eithne is the only ship in the Irish navy to have a flight deck and was its first to cross the Atlantic in 1986.

The Irish Naval Services has seven other ships all of which, like the Eithne, are named after heroines of Irish folklore.

Eithne will be open for free public tours until 4 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday.





Video on the link below.
http://cbs3.com/topstories/le.eithne.irish.2.1085265.html

The flagship of the Irish Navy arrived in Philadelphia Tuesday morning.

LÉ Eithne will be docked at Penn's Landing through July 17 and will be open to the public until 4 p.m. Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday.

Visitors can tour the ship, captained by Commander David Barry, or take part in numerous festivities throughout the city during the celebration.

The 1,800 ton vessel was completed in 1984 and it is Irelands only ship with a flight deck. It houses 83 crew members and was the first Irish Naval service ship to cross the Atlantic.

For more, visit www.delawareriverwaterfrontcorp.com

Some more:

http://www.kyw1060.com/Irish-Flagship--em-Eithne--em--Docks-at-Penn-s-Lan/4799941

Posted: Tuesday, 14 July 2009 11:25AM

Irish Flagship Eithne Docks at Penn's Landing



by KYW's John Ostapkovich

An Irish naval vessel is berthed at Penn's Landing through Friday, and the public is getting two chances to come aboard.

After its greeting on Tuesday morning by a fireboat fountain, the ship was tied up at the foot of Market Street, near the Irish Memorial.

Now, the LE (Long Eireann, or "Irish ship") Eithne (pronounced "etna"), a Coast Guard cutter-equivilant that's the flagship of the Irish Navy, is here for a goodwill visit.

It's open to the public for tours on Tuesday and Thursday, between 2pm to 5 pm, and its crew will take part in a ceremony on Wednesday at 11:30am on Independence Mall.

Its skipper, Cmdr. David Barry (right), explains:

"Philadelphia was the home port for Commodore John Barry, who was the first commissioned officer in the United States Navy. He was Irish-born. He was from Wexford, in Ireland, and we're here to take part in commemoration cerimonies in relation to Commodore Barry."

The commander and the commodore are not related. Commander Barry says other reasons for the voyage, which first stopped in Boston, are making the Irish-American connection and giving trainees aboard some cross-ocean experience.

(Photos by KYW's John Ostapkovich)
http://www.trumba.com/events-calendar/pa/philadelphia/irish-center/irish-philadelphia/commodore-barry-club/theirishcenter
Visit to Philadelphia of the L.E. Eithne Irish Naval Ship
Itinerary for the Visit of the L.E.Eithne Naval Ship to Philadelphia Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 L.E. Eithne arrives into Penn's Landing Evening reception hosted by the AOH's at Finnegan's Wake Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 10:00 a.m. Commemorative event at the Irish Memorial with a commemorative event following at the Commodore John Barry Monument. Thursday, July 16th, 2009 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. - Ship is open to the public. 6:30 p.m. - Friendly match between Philadelphia GAA and Crew of the Ship at Cardinal Dougherty High School, 6301 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia 8:00 p.m. - Reception at the Commodore Barry Club, 6815 Emlen Street, Philadelphia with honored guests, Ambassador Michael Collins, Deputy Consul General, Breandan O'Caollai and the Captain and Crew of the Ship. Buffett Dinner - $15.00 per person. Tuesday, July 14, 2009 – Thursday, July 16, 2009. Penns Landing.

jw93

I dont know a whole lot about the Air Corps or Navy but do they actually operate helicopters from L.E. Eithne ?

pmg58

jw93 wrote: »

I dont know a whole lot about the Air Corps or Navy but do they actually operate helicopters from L.E. Eithne ?

No, they tried it a bit, years ago, but I don't think it was too successful.

Delta Kilo

Only the Dauphin could land on it. All the rest were too big. The Dauphin was retired from service a good few years ago now.

goldie fish

Delta Kilo wrote: »

Only the Dauphin could land on it. All the rest were too big. The Dauphin was retired from service a good few years ago now.

It is designed for a Dauphin/Lynx type, and its helideck will land a 5tonne helicopter. It could if required, accept an A109 type, as used by the USCG, however most of th elanding aids and handling equipment has been removed, not to mention much of the expertise in heli ops has been lost.
It was a project that failed, mostly due to lack of cooperation from the Air Corps, and an inevitably unsuitable aircraft.

Manic Moran

They stopped flying Dauphins off the thing long before then.

I wonder when we'll see a ship in San Francisco?

NTM

goldie fish

Manic Moran wrote: »

They stopped flying Dauphins off the thing long before then.

I wonder when we'll see a ship in San Francisco?

NTM

Could be sooner than you think;)