[1] During this period the Coast Guard played revenue protection and coastal defence roles, as well as forming part of the Royal Naval Reserve.

[5] In the 1850s, the Admiralty took over the Coast Guard;[6] officers stationed in Ireland complained that their naval career was retarded relative to those in England.

[8] In 1927, before the Irish Naval Service had been formed, the Admiralty discussed the possibility of CLSS participation in minesweeping of the Treaty Ports.

[5] In 2012, Fisher Associates conducted a value-for-money review of the Coast Guard and recommended closing the stations at Valentia and Malin Head.

[20] The Coast Guard is responsible for:[21] Unlike coastguard models in some other countries, in Ireland, it is not part of the Irish Defence Forces.

[citation needed] Coast Guard personnel include full-time paid employees,[22] and unpaid volunteers.

[citation needed] The IRCG also has a contract with a private company for Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters operating from Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo bases.

[32] After a period of training and pilot conversion (from the S-61N type), this helicopter was given call-sign "RESCUE115" and replaced the S-61N that was previously based at Shannon.

[39] In mid-2020, the Irish Coast Guard launched a tender for a future SAR aviation contract, to supersede the (2010) CHC agreement.