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Some
of your e-mails received in the recent past
13:25 Gerard Heaney
================================================== From: Jason To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
24/03/2006 18:08 Date: 24 March 2006 17:48 Msg:
AMOS-48451466 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Your voyage diary Attach: winmail.dat Dear Commander Mellett, I have been thoroughly
enjoying your voyage diary over the last number of weeks. You have a fine writing
style and your attention to detail is top notch, it keeps me riveted and eager
for your next entry. Unfortunately I had heard
nothing of your voyage prior to your departure and just happened to come across
it while browsing the www.military.ie website. Your crew sounds like a most
professional unit and the work you carrying Out does our country proud. I wish you all a safe voyage
for the remainder of your journey. Best regards, Jason Kehoe Dublin 24. p.s It's great to be able to
see your ships position on a satellite image entering your co-ordinates on
http://maps.google.com/ Jason Kehoe From: bren To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
23/03/2006 09:58 Date: 23 March 2006 03:53 Msg:
AMOS-48311059 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Great story, keep it up! I am overwhelmed by your exploits,
you should do this all year 'round. What an example to the world's navies in
cooperation, international relations and conservation. If you had a football
team you could win the world cup and I'm sure you could win the Eurovision if
you tried. My brother-in-law Martin Mc Guckin is aboard so please tell him I'll
be talking to his son Ciarain tomorrow and I'll be looking forward to all the
bar-b-q hints he has picked up. I wear the shirt with pride. Brendan Murphy,
Madrid, Spain. Bren Murphy Tel;0034670371956 Skype; tubbymurphy ======================================== From: Mike To : L.E. Eithne Sent 14/03/2006 16:57 Date: 14 March 2006 12:38 Msg:
AMOS-47659985 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Diary I have been following your diary with great interest since you sailed from Cork, what a great idea it has turned out to be. It would be most interesting if each ship of the Naval Service could have such a diary posted after completion of each patrol that it was possible to let the public know about, or even by the Naval Service as a whole about the fleet it would certainly keep the service in the forefront of the public's attention. I hope I will be able to view the documentary that is being made of your voyage on the internet as RTE
is not available here. Mike Crawley ============================================== From: Gerry Carron. To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
14/03/2006 00:22 Date: 13 March 2006 23:35 Msg:
AMOS-47592787 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Hello from Donegal. Dear Cdr. Mellet, and Ships
Company, of L.E.Eithne. I would like to take this
opportunity to wish you and your crew a safe, and pleasant journey while flying
the flag for Ireland in foreign parts, its certainly a long way from Belmullet,
and Blacksod Bay. It's wonderful to see the Naval Service now acting as an
ambassador for Ireland, keep up the good work, and keep writing the daily logs. Yours sincerely, G.Carron, Ex L/Seaman, Bundoran, Co.Donegal. =============================================== From:
tina@brennan5.fsnet.co.uk To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
13/03/2006 21:24 Date: 13 March 2006 21:07 Msg:
AMOS-47587685 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Voyage Diary Dear sir Enjoy your daily voyage
reports. Glad to see that you arrived
safely and are enjoying your deployment. Do you have extra personnel on
ship for this trip? Would it be possible
to have some pen pictures of your ships company on your diary. Visited your
ship at IFOS Portsmouth last year with my grandsons and enjoyed the tour of
your ship. The lads liked the punchbag
in the hanger and sitting in your seat in the control room. Happy St Patrick's day and
have a safe journey home. Yours faithfully Chris Brennan ============================================= From: stephen Mulligan To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
13/03/2006 15:20 Date: 13 March 2006 15:38 Msg:
AMOS-47573402 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Prints Sir, Congratulations on the rugby win, hope it wasn't too
painful. I have a question about the print (the print of the Eithne) that you
presented to the "All Christians" club, is this a Phil Gray print? That's all! Keep up the good work. You and the Crew are a credit
to the service and the country, and are making ex-crew members all over the
world both envious and proud. (I'll confuse you yet with the
different e-mail addresses) Thank you, Sir. ============================================== From: Daniel Pedro Fernandez To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
18/03/2006 21:16 Date: 18 March 2006 18:27 Msg:
AMOS-47980931 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Gratefulness Dear Captain Cdr. Mark
Mellett: We are Maria Josefina's
parents, who's working in the Murray O'Laoire Architects office in Limerick
with Mike Foley. We would like to thank you very kindly for the invitation you
made us to visit the L.E. Eithne, which gave us the opportunity to get to know
the ship, something special and different, as well as the new technology being
used today, which really astonished us. It was also very pleasant to have the
chance to talk to people from your country who made us feel very welcome,
specially your executive officer Lt. Cdr.
Aedh McGinn and crew. We're very thankful too for the beautiful gift which
will always remind us of you once we frame it and hang it on our home's
wall. Thank you very much. Daniel and Francy Fernandez. ================================================= Dear Commander Mellet As a long time
subscriber to An Cosantoir with an interest in Irish Military and Naval affairs
I have found your Diary of LE Eithne's voyage to South America fascinating. It
embraces my love of Ireland, Argentina, the sea and history in a very unique
way. Although based in the UK for some 45 years (I told my mother in 1961 I was
going to Imperial College to study for an MSc and would be back next year !), I
have never lost contact with or interest in Irish affairs. Incidentally, I
think I am the only Irishman to have been elected a Foreign Member of both the
Argentinean National Academy of Exact Physical and Natural Sciences and The
Argentinean National Academy of Engineering. I love that country and have
visited it on several occasions. The voyage of you and your crew has been a
remarkable journey to a country with enormous Irish past connections which had
almost disappeared from the national memory. Eithne's voyage should do much to
re-awaken and refresh the links to the mutual advantage of both countries and
their citizens. Congratulations to
each and every one of you and to all associated with this venture. Mise le meas Padraig o Dunlaing aka Professor Patrick J
Dowling CBE DL DSc LLD FREng FRS Chairman The British
Association for the Advancement of Science ================================================ From: Paul Stack To : captain.eithne Sent 21/03/2006 23:23 Date: 21 March 2006 23:55 Msg:
AMOS-48211442 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Diary Captain Mellett Might it be an idea to make
available a list of the various projects you visited and assisted (with their
contact details) on the military.ie website so that people here could consider
helping them too? Perhaps the minister
might not allow the official site to be used in this way but maybe the details
could be put somewhere else that people could access. As the dad to two little ones, I was very saddened by the plight
of the children in Rio (Casa Jimmy/Task Brazil). Fortaleza, then, is your last
port of call before heading back home?
Is your destination Haulbowline or Dublin? Keep up the great work you are
doing - hope you enjoy your last port of call. Paul ================================================== From: Eoghan O'Donnell To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
25/03/2006 13:24 Date: 25 March 2006 07:27 Msg:
AMOS-48484718 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Greetings To Captain of LE EITHNE
Commander Mark Mellett and your crew, By chance I stumbled across your diary
during week #1 and I find myself writing to you to commend you and your crew on
being exemplary ambassadors for our country.
It's fascinating to have this view into the daily life of a sailor of
the Naval Service and I thank you for giving us this opportunity to observe
first hand . Your diary is intriguing and we only wish the webmasters back in
Ireland could post your diary quicker!! For someone who interviewed
for the cadetship about 14 years ago I Always wondered whether not joining
would have been regrettable, by all accounts it was! I also wonder if you were
one of the members of the interview panel that I met with! As a pilot I was curious to
know the status if LE EITHNE's helicopter, if one was permanently assigned to
the ship and embarked for this voyage? And if
the reason the aircraft was not embarked for your voyage was for pure logistical
or other reasons? Finally, if I may leave you with a closing thought, it
sounds like the Naval Service chefs you've onboard should open up a few
restaurants – they are receiving so many commendations from you that I think
some leading restaurateurs will be lined up on the quayside at Hawlbowline upon
your return looking for their services!. Keep up the great charitable
work, avoid the pirates and those 50 ton containers, and safe passage to you
and your crew! If anything the government should recognize that they should
invest in a few more vessels to allow the Naval Service to extend their
goodwill further around the world! Mise le meas, Eoghan M. O'Donnell Santa Monica, CA, USA Ps: Perhaps the webmaster
could also fix the photo gallery link under the public relations menu
(http://www.military.ie/pr/photo_gallery.htm) and then post some of the colourful photos that I'm
sure you've been gathering up during your epic journey! =================================================== From: CHRISTOPHER DORMAN-O'GOWAN To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
27/03/2006 06:14 Date: 25 March 2006 16:19 Msg:
AMOS-48507836 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Your southern journal. Dear Cdr. Mellett, As an ex-patriot Irishman
living in England I cannot tell you how much I enjoy reading the daily journal
of the southern voyage of your ship. I
am surprised that you find the time to write it all, and so graphically, and
members of your crew seem now to be old friends. I do hope that the odyssey of
the Eithne is a lesson to those
politicians who control the purse strings as to the benefits to a nation of the
projection of sea power. The amount of goodwill garnered by your voyage seems incalculable and I hope
that more of this sort of thing can be undertaken even closer to home. When was
the last time an Irish warship visited Newcastle upon Tyne?? Newcastle has a thriving Irish
community...just a thought. I live near there. Have you thought of publishing
your journal on your return for the benefit of Naval charities (say) It would
sell well and we would like to see a full dramatis personae as well. Please do not trouble yourself
to reply to this; I know only too well how busy you are 24 hrs a day but I thought
that I would write to thank you for all that you have written and how
interesting, gripping even, it has been and a day without your journal seems a
little bit empty. Safe journey home. Yours sincerely, Christopher Dorman-O'Gowan ====================================================== From: John Conroy To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent
24/03/2006 11:10 Cc : Lt_CDR_Barry O'Halloran Sent
24/03/2006 10:23 Date: 24 March 2006 10:23 Msg:
AMOS-48421000 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Mark, This is a rather belated but
really genuine "thank-you" to you and your crew for hosting us on 16
March. It was certainly the most
successful reception we have ever had for our clients. Our competitors in Brazil, mainly American
and British companies, do all sorts of corporate hospitality activities, but
last week's reception on LE Eithne made a real impression on those who
attended. They have had an experience of
Irish hospitality, which we could never have delivered on our own, and we have
benefited from much goodwill as a result.
So please pass on my sincere thanks and my congratulations for a great
show to your crew. I know you were incredibly
busy, cramming all you did into a few short days. I saw your interview on the 18:00 RTE news on St Patrick's day
with Jim Fahy, and I've heard a number of people talking about it since. You
are certainly raising awareness of the Navy among many people who would not otherwise
know much about it. Your log has become
the first thing I look at on the internet when I go home each evening. My kids have great fun typing your lat/long
position into "Google Earth" and watching the satellite image
zoom into your location (although for some reason your Rio lat/long plots as
somewhere downtown rather than in the port).
I spent one night in your next port of call, Fortalesa, a couple of
years ago when flying from Paris to Rio.
Just north of the equator, one engine failed so we flew for over two
hours on one engine,and Fortalesa was the nearest airport. I was glad to land there – an interesting
experience! I will watch your homeward
voyage with continued interest, and I wish you all a safe passage. Best Regards John Conroy Group Managing Director MCS Galway Technology Park, Parkmore, Galway, Ireland. T: +353 (0) 91 781010 E: johnconroy@mcs.com ======================================= From: francis foran
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 27/03/2006 23:14Date: 27 March 2006 20:05 Msg: AMOS-48652099 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : thanks i would like to thank you for the wonderful day on board your ship in
buenos aires and for the kindness shown by the crew. I’m sure you will remember
us " the 13 golfers" it made us proud to be irish... ================================================= From: Juan Ignacio Juárez
To :
captain@eithne.amosconnect.com
Sent 27/03/2006 18:48 Date: 27 March 2006 16:32 Msg: AMOS-48641374 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Dear Commander Mellet, Ii´ve been enjoying your log from the begining and wanted to
congratulate you on a job well done. As much as I wanted i couldn´t go to the
ship during your stay in Buenos Aires, but i´m trying to make it up by going to
your country next year. I hope you enjoyed your stay here, congratulations
again to all of the crew of such a fine ship. Sincerely, Juan Ignacio Juárez Resistencia, Chaco Argentina |
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A
selection of your most recent e-mails - A06783 Tue, 4 Apr 2006 20:14 From: Luke Hasson
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 04/04/2006 16:06 Date: 04 April 2006 16:24 Msg: AMOS-49276357 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : the voyage Mon captain many thanks for allowing me to share in your wonderfull journey. You are obviously very proud of your crew who have performed Magnificently ,the crew is as good as the captain.well done. My view of sailors has chainged dramaticaly ..i salute you all for the hope that you have brought to the poor and the disposed .well done we are very proud of you all Luke Hasson derry From: annetombutler@eircom.net
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 04/04/2006 20:01 Date: 04 April 2006 20:35 Msg: AMOS-49289036 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : The Trip and appreciation April, 4th. Dear Captain Mellet, We wish you and all on the ship a very safe trip home. Lets hope your navigator has all the rocks well marked! You have done a terrific job and all were great ambassadors for the country. We enjoyed your hospitality and visits on board in Buenos Aires as did many of the Irish who were with the Travel Dept Trip Many of them said it was the HIGHLIGHT of their trip to Argentina and their first introduction to an Irish ship! You have all done great work for the many childrens groups in all the cities you visited, The country can be very proud. We have all followed your daily diary and found the variety of information just fascinating. We hope you get a nice reception when you come home to a well deserved rest next Friday. Regards to your Nav! Sincerely. Tom and Anne Butler A06783 Tue, 4 Apr 2006 20:19 From: Cormac Mc Donagh
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 01/04/2006 18:40 Date: 01 April 2006 19:13 Msg: AMOS-49054223 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Congratulations from Rush Co.Dublin Dear Captain We would like to wish you and the crew of the LE Eithne congratulations on a successful voyage and a safe journey home. Best Wishes, Family and friends of Fearghal McDonagh, Rush, Co. Dublin. A06783 Tue, 4 Apr 2006 20:21 From: danny.oraw@mapleport.com Danny ORaw
To : Captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 28/03/2006 22:25 Date: 28 March 2006 21:56 Msg: AMOS-48744438 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : fromEx P.O (Elect) Daniel O Raw (i.n.s.56 -62) I have opened your journal everyday and I have enjoyed every moment of your voyage You have done Ireland and the Navy proud. I was delighted to have contributed in a tiny way to your success. Had I known the extent of your voyage, I may have bee able to do more. I wish you and your crew fair winds, a calm sea, a safe and speedy journey home God Bless! A06783 Tue, 4 Apr 2006 20:20 From: Titus Haggan
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 30/03/2006 17:23 Date: 30 March 2006 18:06 Msg: AMOS-48900187 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Thank you! Hi Mark, It has been almost two weeks since the St Patrick's day reception in Rio de Janeiro and high time that I wrote to thank you and all your crew for the very fine hospitality we received aboard the L.E. Eithne. Hellise and I very much enjoyed the event which was an excellent opportunity to meet members of the Irish Naval Service and many of the Irish community in Brazil. Since our meeting in Rio I have followed the voyage of the L.E. Eithne which appears to be successfully forging new links between Ireland and the Latin American countries which you have visited. In particular I was impressed with the way the ship was made available as a friendly meeting place. The voyage is a highly commendable initiative in forging international relations whilst also providing genuine assistance to local charities. You and your crew are fine ambassadors for Ireland. I wish you safe passage back home. My regards Titus Haggan ________________________ Titus Haggan Ph.D. General Manager Minmet plc Rua Joăo de Freitas 314 Santo Antonio, Belo Horizonte A06783 Tue, 4 Apr 2006 20:21 From: Juan Ignacio Juárez To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 27/03/2006 18:48 Date: 27 March 2006 16:32 Msg: AMOS-48641374 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Dear Commander Mellet, Ii´ve been enjoying your log from the begining and wanted to Congratulate you on a job well done. As much as I wanted i couldn´t go to the ship During your stay in Buenos Aires, but i´m trying to make it up by going to your country next year. I hope you enjoyed your stay here, congratulations again to all of the crew of such a fine ship. Sincerely, Juan Ignacio Juárez Resistencia, Chaco Argentina A06783 Wed, 5 Apr 2006 16:16 From: alberto burgos
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 05/04/2006 16:14 Date: 05 April 2006 15:51 Msg: AMOS-49360614 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : thanks for your visit Dear Capt. Cdr. Mark Mellett: It lacks very little to arrive home again, but before it happens I want to thank deeply all of you for visiting our country. It is very praiseworthy the humanitarian task that you have carried out here, beyond all the acts of homage and commemoration to our dear hero the Admiral Brown. And with regard to me, I enjoyed visiting LÉ Eithne and playing Irish music along with Irish friends and local partners as well. I want to thank you, and in your name to all the crew, by the hospitality that offered us that unforgettable Sunday 5th, by the friendly and warm behaviour that I could appreciate along with my family (my mother-in- law, in a wheel chair, was quickly and efficiently helped by the crew), we feel really as if we were in our house. All of you have raised very high the prestige of Ireland. And now I can understand why LÉ Eithne was elected, with total justice, one of the 50 better places to work in Ireland, I congratulate you!!! It is a very good idea to present to all the members of LÉ Eithne in this diary, it is very pleasant to know them; as many of them I enjoy rugby as well, and of course I, too, shouted of joy seeing the match where Ireland beated England. I hope you liked the CDs with Argentine music. It is a small demonstration of affection to return some of that nice while we have passed close to all of you. I wanted you to know something of our music, not very diffused out of Argentina, but beautiful indeed. These are rhythms that are own of two northern provinces of the country: Santiago del Estero and Misiones. I hope you can return soon to Buenos Aires, I am at your service for any thing that you or some of the crew could need or know about my country, I will be very delighted to receive a message of any of you. I embrace to all of you with my heart. Good luck!!! Yours sincerely, Alberto Burgos A06783 Thu, 6 Apr 2006 21:27 From: Hindi
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 06/04/2006 21:20 Date: 06 April 2006 21:30 Msg: AMOS-49480396 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : diary I have enjoyed following your voyage to South America, I hope now that You are nearly home and when you are back on normal duties that your diary Will continue. Hindi Dear Mark (If I may) Thank you for the response. How you find the time to do all of this and your journal as well as command I do not know. I am delighted to read of your crew..it is amazing how young men and women who join the services blossom and rise to the challenges that service life brings. The straights of Gib.....many years ago, when stationed there, I crewed the army boat Levanter across the straights to Ceuta. It was busy then (1972) and we had to keep our eyes skinned for the non-stopping tankers and Russian destroyers who did not believe in the old maxim of steam giving away to sail. I took the helm on the return trip and sailed on the Europa point light......interesting!!! (at night). On a different tack, you mentioned in an earlier bulletin that the proposed expansion of the Irish economic zone would have implications for the Navy: did you have in mind larger ships, longer deployments or more ships with a bigger Navy? All three, I suppose, could apply. I would be interested in what your ideas are if you are prepared to share them with me. You will be home in a couple of days after a most interesting deployment. The Naval Service has now deployed to the Far East as the 'deep south'. It has, on any view, come of age. Can you suggest through the proper channels that it might, now, be appropriate to modernise the name and 're-brand' as The Irish Navy?. An idea!!!! You will have well deserved leave, I suppose, coming up and your journal will disappear from the website and I will miss it. Many others will too. Thank you for it and I look forward to the book complete with photos of the team. Welcome home and congratulations on a most successful deployment. With my best wishes Christopher A06783 Thu, 6 Apr 2006 21:28 From: GScott@eircom.ie
To : captain@eithne.amosconnect.com Sent 06/04/2006 11:44 Date: 06 April 2006 10:33 Msg: AMOS-49436409 Path: \CAPTAIN.EITHNE\InBox Sub : Piracy Problems Dear Captain, Your recent logs have been most interesting, the piracy threat ones in particular have conveyed an idea of the threat that exits out there. I have attached a copy of an article from New Scientist Magazine ( 10 December 2005, p.40) that gives an interesting update on the scene international. In case the attachments do not get through because of filters etc just let Me know and I can resend to another address. We are all looking forward to watching the coverage here of your return To Cork this week , good luck to all on board and many thanks for involving Us all in your voyage, you have done us all proud !!. Best Wishes, Gerard Scott, Sligo. |