Castlebar Town Council this week awarded Commodore Mark Mellett a civic reception. Mellett, who is a native of Rathbawn Road, has risen to the rank of Flag Officer Commanding Naval Service, or as Mayor of Castlebar Cllr Ger Deere described him, “To you and me he’s the man in charge of the Irish Navy”.
“It is a huge achievement for someone only in his early fifties but Mark’s naval career has been one of regular high achievement,” Mayor Deere told the reception. “This son of the Rathbawn Road was only 34 when he took his first command, of the LE Orla, in 1992 and his career has been exceptionally progressive. That is down to his undoubted ability combined with a ferocious work rate and a constant desire to better himself through education. Mark was the top graduate in both the Irish Command and Staff College in 1998 and in the Royal Naval College in Greenwich in 1989. He is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1999 where he was the top graduate of the 32 attending countries and, most recently, he completed a PhD in Oceans Governance from NUI Galway in 2009.”
Mayor Deere also complemented Commodore Mellett’s family. “Of course, as we say in the west, he comes from fine stock,” he said. “Son of Paddy and Monica, his great grand uncle Joe Chambers is a former mayor of the town. Although living in Cork now, Mark shows a great love of Castlebar everywhere he goes and constantly promotes the town. When he was younger he was very active in the organisation of the Ramblers Club in the town but it is for his outstanding professional achievements that we particularly want to recognise Mark.”
