Commander Mark Mellet will be taking the LÉ Eithne’s helm on next month’s voyage to South America where Admiral William Brown’s defence of Argentina’s shores in 1814 made him a national hero.

Commander Mellet said: “William Brown is an iconic figure in Argentina much like John F Kennedy is to the US, so we are delighted that the flag officers agreed to send Ireland’s flagship down there to do that.

“But we won’t be just doing the conventional, in terms of protocol and the diplomatic side. We are going to be unconventional, we will deliver services wherever we can. Brown had two traits, first of all he used to think outside the box and he was a humanitarian.”