Promoted to captain on 13 November 1673, Rooke was given command of the sixth-rate HMS "Holmes" and was deployed on convoy duties. After a period of service in the Army, Rooke transferred to the command of the fifth-rate HMS "Nonsuch" in April 1677 and conveyed Prince William of Orange to England in October 1677. He transferred to the fourth-rate HMS "Hampshire" in the Mediterranean in July 1680 to the fourth-rate HMS "St David" in the English Channel April 1683 and to the fourth-rate HMS "Deptford" in the Mediterranean in April 1688. In "Deptford" he saw action at the Battle of Bantry Bay in May 1689 when a French fleet tried to land troops in Southern Ireland to fight against Prince William during the Williamite War in Ireland. In August the same year he cleared Belfast Lough of French shipping, allowing Marshal Schomberg's force to land in Ulster where they successfully laid siege to Carrickfergus and advanced south to Dundalk Camp.