History of the Irish Naval Service started, and the ships were named "Cliona", "Maev" and "Macha". 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. Between 1968 and 1970, Cliona, Maev and Macha were withdrawn from service. These were replaced by three minesweepers commissioned in 1971: Grainne, Banba and Fola. In 1971 the Naval Service commissioned Verolme Cork Dockyard to build an offshore patrol ship. Named L.É Deirdre, it was the first naval vessel purpose-built in Ireland
Midshipman longer the case that those joining the Navy as university graduates start as sub-lieutenants, with non-graduates joining as midshipmen. Graduates and non-graduates all start as midshipmen, and wait to be promoted at the same time. General basic training (initial officer training) for Royal Navy officers takes place at the Britannia Royal Naval College. Training takes up to a year depending on specialisation; all midshipmen participate in at least the first two terms, which are 14 weeks each. Until they have completed initial fleet training, both midshipmen and sub-lieutenants at Britannia Royal Naval College do not use their substantive ranks, but