The Naval Service is the navy

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

 of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and is one of the three standing branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its main base is in Haulbowline

Haulbowline

Haulbowline is the name of an island in Cork Harbour off the coast of Ireland. It is the main naval base and headquarters for the Irish Naval Service.-Etymology:...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

.

Naval Service vessels are all named with traditional Irish female names, taken from history and Celtic mythology

Celtic mythology

Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...

. The ship prefix

Ship prefix

A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...

 LÉ stands for Long Éireannach

Long Éireannach

is the designation given to ships in the Irish Naval Service Fleet. In this context it is abbreviated to LÉ, as in LÉ Eithne or LÉ Deirdre....

, "Irish ship" in the Irish language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

.
The Anglo-Irish Treaty

Anglo-Irish Treaty

The Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of...

 of 1921 stipulated that Ireland would be given responsibility to police its customs and fishing, while the United Kingdom would remain in control of Irish Waters.
In 1923 the Coastal and Marine Service (CMS) was created, yet merely one year later it was disbanded.

During the Civil War

Irish Civil War

The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....

, in August 1922, a ship belonging to the British & Irish Steam Packet Company, the Lady Wicklow, led by Captain Patrick Ryan, was used to bring Irish National Army

Irish National Army

The Irish National Army or National Army was the army of the Irish Free State from January 1922-1 October 1924. Michael Collins, its Chief of Staff from June 1921 until his death in August 1922, was the last Chief of Staff of the IRA that had fought the Irish War of Independence...

 troops around the coast to Fenit

Fenit

Fenit is a small village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on north side of Tralee Bay about west of Tralee town, just south of the Shannon Estuary. The bay is enclosed from the Atlantic by the Maharee spit which extends northwards from the Dingle peninsula...

, the port of Tralee in Co.