Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland

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(Redirected from
Coast of Ireland Station
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Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland
Queenstown harbour in 1871
Active1793–1922
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch Royal Navy
Garrison/HQCobh (known as Queenstown between 1849 and 1922)

The Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland was both an

naval formation of the Royal Navy. It was based at Queenstown, now Cobh, in Ireland from 1793 to 1919. The admiral's headquarters was at Admiralty House, Cobh.[1]

History

Admiralty House, Cobh, residence of the Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland Station from 1886 to 1922

The French Revolutionary Wars led to Cobh, then usually known as Ballyvoloon or The Cove of Cork, being developed as a British naval port, and assigned an admiral. The first appointment of an "Admiral Commanding in Ireland" or "Commander-in-Chief, Cork" was in 1793.[2] The post remained unfilled between 1831 and 1843.[2] It was renamed "Commander-in-Chief, Queenstown" in 1849 following a visit by Queen Victoria during which she renamed the town of Cobh "Queenstown".[3]

The post became "Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland" in 1876. The full title of the incumbent following the establishment of the post of

Admiral Commanding, Coastguard and Reserves in 1903 was Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland and Deputy to the Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves for Coastguard Duty in Ireland.[4]

In July 1915, not without misgivings in some quarters, Vice-Admiral Lewis Bayly was appointed to the post.[5] Bayly was tasked with keeping the approaches to Britain safe from U-boat attacks. In 1917, Bayly, promoted to admiral and given the title Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland, was given command of a mixed British-American force defending the Western Approaches. He took as his chief of staff the American captain Joel R. P. Pringle. Bayly had a good working relation with his U.S. counterpart William Sims. He held this post until 1919.[6]

The post became "Commander in Chief, Western Approaches" in 1919, and was disestablished at the end of the

Fort Westmoreland, Fort Carlisle, and Fort Camden (Crosshaven[7][8]) were handed over to the Irish Government in 1938.[9]

Commanders

Commanders included:[10]
NoN = died in post

Commander-in-Chief, Cork

Commander-in-Chief on the coast of Ireland

Commander-in-Chief, Cobh

Commander-in-Chief, Queenstown

Senior Officer on the Coast of Ireland

Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland

  • Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly (1915-1919) (title changed from Senior Officer, Coast of Ireland, to Commander-in-Chief, Coast of Ireland on 4 June 1917)[13]

Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches

References

  1. .
  2. ^ a b c "The Royal Navy in Cork, Ireland". Cork Ship Wrecks. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Historic Cobh". Ask about Ireland. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Coast of Ireland". Dreadnought Project. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  5. .
  6. ^ "No. 31433". The London Gazette. 4 July 1919. p. 8390.
  7. .
  8. ^ "Notes on the History of Haulbowline". The Irish Sword. VII. Military History Society of Ireland: 30. 1965.
  9. ^ "Cork Forts Handed Over". The Times. 12 July 1938.
  10. ^ "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2014.. Amend made from Dreadnought Project to Sir Lewis Bayly
  11. ^ The Gentleman's Magazine 1839, p 657-8, accessed 28 October 2007
  12. ^ Harrison, Simon. "Commander-in-Chief at Cobh". threedecks.org. S. Harrison, 2010-2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  13. ^ Dreadnought Project - ADM 196/38 f. 84