Irish Naval Service as a permanent component of the Irish Defence Forces. The Naval Service purchased three s from the United Kingdom in 1946 and 1947. The tradition of naming Irish Naval Ships after figures in Celtic Mythology began, and the ships were named , and . These three ships were to become a key part of the Naval Service in the 1950s and 1960s. The first formal training of Irish naval cadets took place at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, UK in 1947. In 1970, "Cliona" and "Macha" were withdrawn from service and scrapped, leaving "Maev" as the sole ship in
Britannia Royal Naval College Commonwealth students are part of the student body. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary sends its officer cadets to BRNC for an 10-week initial officer training course, before they start at a maritime college. Following the closures of the Royal Naval Engineering College, Manadon, in 1994 and the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in 1998, BRNC is the sole naval college in the United Kingdom. Slightly removed from the main buildings is Sandquay, which is below the college on the River Dart. It is primarily used for seamanship and boat handling training. Cadets are required to know that there are 187 steps from