LÉ ''James Joyce'' (P62) is a (OPV) which was built by

Babcock Marine Appledore Appledore Shipbuilders is a shipbuilder in Appledore, North Devon, England. History The Appledore Yard was founded in 1855 on the estuary of the River Torridge. The Richmond Dry Dock was built in 1856 by William Yeo and named after Richmond ...

for 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 ...

. Although criticised by a descendant of the author, the ship was named for writer

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

Design and construction

In October 2010, the Irish Naval Service ordered a number of new offshore patrol vessels from

Babcock Marine Babcock International Group plc is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main b ...

, a UK-based shipbuilder operating out of

Appledore, North Devon Appledore is a village at the mouth of the River Torridge, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Barnstaple and about 3 miles (5 km) north of Bideford in the county of Devon, England. It is the home of Appledore Shipbuilders, a lifeboat slipw ...

. Like the similar ''Róisín''-class OPV, ''James Joyce'' was designed by Vard Marine. In July 2013, the name of the vessel, ''James Joyce'' was announced by the Minister for Defence

Alan Shatter Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin S ...

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

Operational history

The ship was completed and floated out of the shipyard in November 2014. Following sea-trials and a number of delays it was delivered to the Naval Service in mid-2015. The official naming and commissioning ceremony was held at

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

on 1 September 2015. In November 2016, personnel from the LÉ ''James Joyce'' boarded the FV ''Margiris'' as part of a fisheries inspection. On 15 November 2024, the LÉ ''James Joyce'' escorted a suspected Russian spy vessel out of the Irish Sea after it was observed operating in area "containing critical energy and internet submarine pipelines and cables".

References

Ships built in Devon Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessels 2014 ships Naval ships of the Republic of Ireland {{Mil-ship-stub