Two hundred years ago today, the British Navy defeated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet off Cap Trafalgar - preempting
any successful attempt by Napoleon to invade England or Ireland. History was set in a new course as a result.
Of the 18,000 total ships' crew in the British fleet, almost one quarter was from Ireland. It's now possible to search
the archives by name and birth and I find 89 Byrnes, Hempenstalls, etc. from Wicklow.
Earlier this summer, there was a Naval Review off Spitshead as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations - the largest review
in many decades. Among the attendees was the L.E. Eithne - flagship of the Irish Naval Service. Except for a few backwoodsmen,
this caused no stir in Ireland which points to how normal the relations between the two islands are currently.
I'm also reminded of the Coronation Review on May 20, 1937 when a BBC correspondent and former Naval Officer, Lt Commander
Thomas Woodrooffe, after a few too many pink gins in the wardroom, did a live broadcast vividly describing the lighting of
the fleets and then becoming alarmed by the sudden plunge into darkness. Great theatre!
