Tipperary Woman New Captain Of L.É Aoife

The first handover of a Naval Command between two female Captains of an Irish Naval Service vessel took place on the quayside in Waterford yesterday.

Lieutenant Commander Marie Gleeson.

Lieutenant Commander Marie Gleeson, from Cashel in Co Tipperary, took over control of the L.É Aoife from the outgoing captain, Lieutenant Commander Erika Downing from Cork.

Waterford City is the adopted port of the L.É. AOIFE and all Naval Vessels are individually associated with an Irish Port.

Female personnel first joined the Irish Naval Service in 1995. Just eighteen years later female personnel are fully advancing their careers in line with male colleagues and making significant contributions to the Irish Naval Service. Indeed Ireland has proportionally more female ships’ captains, than any other Navy in Europe

Currently one in four of all serving Naval Officers are female and earlier this year the Navy promoted two female Non Commissioned Officers (NCO’s) to the senior enlisted rank of Petty Officer.

We wish Lieutenant Commander Gleeson every success in her new appointment.