The Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, has invited the State's 350,000 secondary school students to name a new Naval Service vessel.
Prize money of £800 and trips to the naming ceremony next June in England are on offer for three winners, one of whom will have the honour of witnessing the selected name inscribed on the ship's £20 million hull.
The name must be that of a female character drawn from Celtic mythology and/or Irish history, although it would be inadvisable to borrow the name of one of the Minister's daughters after last year's controversy about the naming of the LE Roisin. The Minister reiterated this selection had been totally coincidental. An earlier proposal for LE Roisin Dubh, as in Dark Rosaleen or Ireland, was rejected by the Naval Service, amid claims it sounded too much like a pub in Galway.
Secondary pupils from Larkin Community College in Dublin inner city joined the Minister on the LE Eithne to hear details of the competition. Entrants are asked to write an essay of 500 words explaining their choices. First prize is £500 and attendance at the naming and commissioning ceremonies, along with parents or a guardian.
Second and third prizes are £200 and £100 respectively, and attendance at the commissioning ceremony in the Naval Base, Haulbowline, Co Cork. Closing date for entries is December 15th, and details are on the Naval Service website, http://www.military.ie/navy.
