Like the rest of her class, she was originally designed for use by the British Royal Navy in Hong Kong waters, and was delivered in 1985 by Hall, Russell & Company[1] as HMS Swift (P243).

[2] The crest shows the arms of Clare on the top segment and a sword and royal collar on the base.

She is armed with one 76 mm/62 OTO Melara compact gun; two 20 mm Rh202 Rheinmetall weapons and four 12.7mm heavy machine-guns.

In November 2008, LÉ Orla assisted in Operation Seabight which resulted in the largest seizure of cocaine in the history of the state.

[3] In mid-2014, LÉ Orla was temporarily kept out of commission to facilitate the removal of asbestos which had been discovered on the ship.