Well not only did we reach the 10,000 figure we wanted, we surpassed it and yesterday the petition was handed in to Paul Kehoe, Ireland's Minister Of Defence and the man who will have a major say in the naming of the MRV. I feel really positive that we can finally get Tom Crean the national recognition he deserves after a century of his epic feats being overlooked by the country he loved. The petition was handed over by Eileen Percival, landlady of the South Pole Inn, Tom's former home and accompanying her was 12 year old Lea Carey of St Mary's School, Sandyford in Dublin. Lea represented the growing number of Tom Crean's young fans who learn about his exploits in schools across Ireland but hear nothing of the hero they grew up with after they leave school. Achieving our goal here will change all that and if we do get the result we want it will be because of you, all the people who signed the petition from all corners of the globe. We will all have a reason to celebrate if this ambition is realised and I want to thank everyone who got behind it. As for the petition, I see no reason now to keep it open but I would encourage everyone to share and follow the Ireland Should Honour Tom Crean page on Facebook because we will continue the call for recognition in another capacity if the ship is named after another. So now we wait and if we do reach the goal then I'd love to meet and shake the hand of everyone of you at the party of all parties down in Annascaul - fingers crossed we can begin preparations for that party when the Minister announces the name of Ireland's flagship. I will update on this via the facebook page. - Tim Foley