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 In 1970, "Cliona" and "Macha" were withdrawn from service and scrapped, leaving "Maev" as the sole ship in
Royal Naval College, Osborne Rosslyn E. Wemyss was appointed Captain of HMS "Racer" and Commandant of the Royal Naval College, Osborne, under the New Scheme, on 25 November 1902, and with effect from 12 March 1903 Commander William G. E. Ruck-Keene was appointed as Executive Officer of HMS "Racer". Before admission as naval cadets at about the age of thirteen, boys had to pass an entrance examination, in which they were tested in English, history and geography (with special reference to the British Empire), arithmetic, algebra, geometry (practical and theoretical); French or German, with written and oral examinations; and Latin, with set translations and