AN IRISH naval vessel will set course for Argentina to join in celebrations commemorating a Co Mayo man credited with founding the South American country’s navy.
Commander Mark Mellet will be taking the LÉ Eithne’s helm on next month’s voyage to South America where Admiral William Brown’s defence of Argentina’s shores in 1814 made him a national hero.
Commander Mellet said: "William Brown is an iconic figure in Argentina much like John F Kennedy is to the US, so we are delighted that the flag officers agreed to send Ireland’s flagship down there to do that.
"But we won’t be just doing the conventional, in terms of protocol and the diplomatic side. We are going to be unconventional, we will deliver services wherever we can. Brown had two traits, first of all he used to think outside the box and he was a humanitarian."
Commander Mellet said the ship would be used by Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin as a platform for information exchange with health service providers in the South American country with a view to potentially recruiting nursing staff.
"Other hospitals have come on board as well, they are interested in terms of looking for radiotherapists, looking for physicists," he said.
Geraldine Regan, director of nursing at the Crumlin hospital, which has established a link with the LÉ Eithne, said this was an ideal opportunity for them to meet with health service professionals and potentially recruit paediatric nurses.
"Their training system is very compatible with the American training system, their paediatric hospitals are very large with 450 beds, they have a huge range of speciality paediatric services," she said.
She added that the hospital was also hoping to create a partnership with the two major hospitals in Buenos Aires.
Commander Mellet said every sailor also had the skills of a technician, carpenter, electrician and a plumber which would be used to offer help to NGOs and missionaries in the country.
"We are going to give some of our time in each port giving help to work on some of these NGO-led projects and help I suppose further on some of the projects which are supported by Irish taxpayers," he said.
Commander Mellet said it was a great honour, particularly as he also hails from Co Mayo, to command the LÉ Eithne for the first official trip of the Irish Navy south of the equator.
The ship’s cargo will also include hundreds of toys under a scheme by the Catholic Diocese of Dublin, which will be distributed to children in need in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
After about six months of preparations, the LÉ Eithne will depart the naval base on February 6 and is expected to return on April 8.
The ship will dock in Buenos Aries and Mar del Plata in Argentina, and visits will also be paid to Montevideo in Uruguay, Rio de Janeiro and Fortalessa in Brazil.