Christening of US Navy ship named after Mayo native

A US Navy ship named after a Mayo native who died during the Vietnam War will be christened on Saturday, July 27.

The christening of USS Patrick Gallagher is taking place in General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Maine on July 27 at 11 a.m. USA time (4 p.m. Ireland).

A native of Ballyhaunis, on July 18, 1966, 23-year-old Cpl. Patrick 'Bob' Gallagher saved the lives of three comrades in Vietnam, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross, the US Navy’s highest honour.

Cpl. Gallagher, who was the second eldest of nine children, was shot dead while on patrol in Da Nang, Vietnam, on March 30, 1967.

Construction on the ship started in 2018, costing $2.5 billion. The keel laying for the vessel took place in Bath, Maine, on the 55th anniversary of his death.

This unique event, the naming of a United States Ship for an Irish citizen, will be attended by Minister Sean Fleming and Commodore Cian O Mearin from the Irish Defence Forces, representing the government.

Patrick's siblings, Peter, Teresa, Rosemarie and Pauline, will also be in attendance, along with extended family members and many people who are travelling from Ballyhaunis, as well as many Irish people living in the USA.

Some 2,000 people will be attending the special ceremony.

Patrick grew up near Ballyhaunis before emigrating to the United States in the early 1960s. He joined the US Marine Corps and was stationed in Vietnam during some of the most intense fighting of the war.

Patrick was just 23 when he was killed on duty in southeast Asia. Just months before he died, he was awarded a Navy Cross, the second highest honour in the US military.

The event is being streamed live on https://vimeo.com/event/4279175.