ARC Gloria in Dublin

The Colombian Navy’s tall ship ARC Gloria was berthed at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in Dublin over the weekend of 3 to 5 October, open to the public, and I was lucky enough to get on board. She sailed today (6 October), so this isn’t the “things to do” post it might have been, but she’s worth recording anyway. It was her first visit to Dublin since 1998.

ARC Gloria berthed at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin, at sunset — ARC Gloria on the Liffey at Sir John Rogerson's Quay on Monday evening, her last night in Dublin, with the port cranes downriver and the sky clearing to the west.

ARC Gloria on the Liffey at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay on Monday evening, her last night in Dublin, with the port cranes downriver and the sky clearing to the west.

The ship

ARC Gloria is the flagship and sail-training vessel (Buque Escuela) of the Colombian Navy, the Armada Nacional de la República de Colombia. Beyond training naval cadets, she works as Colombia’s roving diplomatic and cultural ambassador, and she is known as the “Ambassador of the Seas”.

She is a three-masted steel barque, a Class A tall ship, built by Astilleros Celaya in Bilbao and commissioned on 7 September 1968. Her home port is Cartagena, and she carries around 165 officers, crew and cadets.

ARC Gloria berthed on the Liffey at Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin — ARC Gloria at Sir John Rogerson's Quay during the public visit.

Dublin is part of the 2026 Cadet Training Cruise, which left Cartagena on 28 April and takes in ports in North America, Europe and Africa. Earlier this year she was in New York for Sail 250, marking the US 250th anniversary.

Good for one sailboat

The story goes that in the mid-1960s the Commander of the Navy kept lobbying the Minister of Defence, General Gabriel Rebéiz Pizarro, for a sail-training ship. At a social gathering the General finally wrote “Vale por un velero” (“good for one sailboat”) on a napkin and signed it. The Navy’s commander preferred to have it in writing.

The General died before the ship was finished, and she was named Gloria after his widow, Gloria Zawadsky de Rebéiz, who attended the launch in Bilbao. It’s a name that also echoes the opening line of the Colombian national anthem, “¡Oh gloria inmarcesible!” (“Oh, unfading glory!”).

María Salud

Her figurehead is a gilded winged angel called María Salud, named for the sculptor’s daughter. Colombian crews also have a tradition of manning the yards on arrival in port, standing shoulder to shoulder along the crossbeams high on the masts, and the ship flies a very large national tricolour.

ARC Gloria figurehead and bow, Dublin — María Salud and the bow of ARC Gloria.

One of four sisters

Gloria is the oldest of four similar Latin American sail-training barques from the same Bilbao yard: Ecuador’s Guayas, Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar and Mexico’s Cuauhtémoc, which I photographed in Dublin Bay in 2012.


Rig / class	Three-masted barque, Class A
Builder	Astilleros Celaya, Bilbao
Commissioned	7 September 1968
Home port	Cartagena, Colombia
Length	approx. 65 m
Complement	around 165 including cadets

On board

Monday was the last night of the visit, and there was quite the party on board.

I was invited on board with pleasantries and salutes, and the chance to wander around a vessel like this was not to be missed. There was polished wood and brass everywhere, and rigging, and that massive Colombian flag. The offer of empanadas was definitely part of the appeal, but this is a tall ship docked right here in Dublin, without large crowds.

Looking up the masts and yards of ARC Gloria, Dublin — Yards and rigging aboard Gloria.

The Colombian flag flying from Gloria. (direct link)

The height, and being out on the river, gave me the chance to photograph the Liffey and the quayside buildings from a slightly different angle than usual. Climbing the rigging might have afforded an even better view, but I didn’t try that.

ARC Gloria decks and Dublin quayside — On deck, with the Dublin quays beyond.

The party on board on Monday evening, Gloria’s last night in Dublin. (direct link)

The stern of ARC Gloria with the Colombian flag, Dublin office buildings behind — Gloria's stern and nameplate, the Colombian flag flying, the yards hung with furled sails against modern Dublin Docklands buildings.

Gloria’s stern and nameplate, the Colombian flag flying, the yards hung with furled sails against modern Dublin Docklands buildings.

ARC Gloria at dusk on the Liffey, Dublin — Dusk on the Liffey, Gloria still open after the public visiting hours.

Leaving Dublin

I wasn’t there for the departure, but on her way out she would have passed through the East Link to leave the Liffey for Dublin Bay and the Irish Sea.

ARC Gloria on the Liffey at night, Dublin Docklands lights — Night on the quays — Gloria's last hours in Dublin.

Where next? According to the itinerary published before the cruise, she is scheduled to head on to Bilbao in Spain and Porto in Portugal this month. Bilbao is where she was built, so it’s a fitting port of call. The cruise is due to finish in Casablanca and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in early November, with the ship back in Colombia around the start of December. Itineraries can change, so check before planning to meet her.

Previous tall ships in Dublin

Sir John Rogerson’s Quay is a familiar berth for visiting naval sail-training ships; the Mexican Navy’s Cuauhtémoc opened to visitors there in 2019, and this September’s Liffey Festival brought other tall ships to the quays. Dublin has had famous visitors before. In 2012 the Tall Ships left Dublin past Howth and out into the Irish Sea.

Sources for ship details: Sail Training International – ARC Gloria; Tall Ships Online on the ship’s history; Afloat on the Dublin visit; ColombiaOne on the 2026 itinerary; Las2orillas on the 2026 cruise.