We've had a response and ironically, yesterday, after posting a gentle reminder that we'd heard nothing back to the Taoiseach via his Twitter account, this message had already landed in my junk mail. That's what they call Murphy's Law and my apologies to Leo for my being a little previous. It's good news and it tells us two things: 1. That the replacement for the LÉ Eithne, and the Irish Navy's Flagship, is to be built. 2. That the name 'LÉ Tom Crean' will be considered for the vessel when the building of the ship gets underway. It's also been requested that I hand in the petition and I'm glad I kept it going after handing it in with 5,500 signatures. So please continue to sign and share it. It would be great to hand the petition in with many more signatures in favour of the aim. And so to the response which reads as follows: Dear Mr. Foley, I have been asked by Mr. Paul Kehoe, T.D, Minister with Responsibility for Defence, to acknowledge receipt of your recent email to An Taoiseach, Mr. Leo Varadkar, T.D., proposing that the planned new Multi Role Vessel (MRV) for the Irish Naval Service be named after Tom Crean. As you mention in your email, the MRV project is in the planning stage and will take a number of years to complete. A decision on the naming of the ship is one that will be taken when the project is much further advanced, normally when the build process of the ship has been initiated. Your proposal will be borne in mind at that stage. Minister Kehoe notes the efforts you have gone to in organising the petition to support your naming proposal. The Minister will be happy to accept the receipt of the petition at a mutually convenient date. Please contact me when you can to discuss the matter further. Yours sincerely, #SignForTom - https://goo.gl/tFSuQz