LÉ ''Banba'' (CM11) was a in the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service () is the maritime component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though prece ...

(INS) and was one of three purchased by the Irish government to replace the three Flower Class Corvettes purchased in 1946. The other two were and . LÉ ''Banba'' was named after

Banba In Irish mythology, Banba (modern spelling: Banbha ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, is a matron goddess of Ireland. She was married to Mac Cuill, a grandson of the Dagda. She was part of an important triumvirate ...

, a legendary queen of the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...

and also a poetic name for Ireland. The ship was the former Royal Navy vessel .

Handover

The name ''Banba'' was originally allocated to be borne by one of the six s ordered in 1946, but only three were delivered and the name was not used. On 22 February 1971, the former ''Alverton'' was handed over to the INS, and commissioned on 23 February by Lt. Cdr. Deasy at

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

. Following her commissioning, ''Banba'', in company with ''Fola'', worked up in the Western Mediterranean so that they could complete Harbour Acceptance Trials and Sea Acceptance Trials. On 20 March both ships left the Mediterranean for home, however on the way a storm blew up forcing them to take refuge in Lisbon. The two newest additions to the Navy finally arrived on 29 March 1971. In 1984 ''Banba'' was decommissioned and sold on to Spanish interests for breaking.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banba (Cm11) Ships built in Southampton 1954 ships Former naval ships of the Republic of Ireland Ton-class minesweepers of the Irish Naval Service Ton-class minesweepers of the Royal Navy Cold War minesweepers of the United Kingdom Naval ships of the Republic of Ireland