Irish Ferries

Map of Irish Ferries routes

Irish Ferries route map. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since July 2025.

Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke, Dublin Port-Cherbourg and more recently Dover in the UK to Calais in France.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The company is a division of the Irish Continental Group (ICG) which trades on the Irish Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. ICG also owns the Eucon container line which operates vessels on routes operating between Ireland and the continent.

Irish Ferries' flagship, Ulysses, is currently the largest ROPAX ferry operating on the Irish Sea and when launched in 2001 was the world's largest car ferry in terms of car-carrying capacity. Other ships in the fleet include W.B. Yeats, Isle of Inishmore, Isle of Innisfree, Isle of Inisheer, James Joyce and the fast ferry Dublin Swift (preceded by Template:HSC, which operated until 2018). The company also charters ro-pax vessel Oscar Wilde (formerly named Spirit of Britain), with a purchase option on the vessel.

History

Irish Continental Line was formed in 1973 as a joint venture between Irish Shipping, Fearnley & Eger and Swedish company Lion Ferry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It originally operated on the Rosslare–Le Havre route with the 547 berth, 210 car ferry Saint Patrick.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> When Irish Shipping went into liquidation in 1984, Irish Continental Line was sold off in a management buyout and emerged as Irish Continental Group.

In 1992, ICG took over the British and Irish Steam Packet Company Limited, a nationalised company which traded under the name B&I Line and operated ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead and between Rosslare and Pembroke Dock.

In 2005, Irish Ferries replaced all its workers with foreign agency labour that was cheaper than that of its rivals, such as P&O Ferries, Stena Line and DFDS, thereby undercutting their prices. Its competitive practice, as well as the use of security personnel to carry out the replacement of its crewmembers, were described by many in the industry as a "blueprint" for P&O's 2022 sacking of hundreds of its seafarers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gdn30322">Template:Cite news</ref>

Investment

As part of its offer to buy B&I Line, management at ICG undertook to invest in replacing what was an ageing fleet. Over the following decade, a programme of fleet renewal was undertaken involving investment of €500 million to create what was described as the most modern ferry fleet in western Europe.

New vessels were built such as Ulysses, Isle of Innisfree (now on charter in New Zealand as Kaitaki), Isle of Inishmore and a fast ferry Jonathan Swift, all for service on its Ireland–UK routes. As a result, the company put itself in a position to attract increased passenger and freight business, influenced by the modern facilities and improved reliability of each vessel and the extra capacity that was available on board.

On 31 May 2016, ICG announced that it had entered into an agreement with the German company Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft to build a cruise ferry Template:MV at a contract price of €144 million. The new cruise ferry can accommodate 1,880 passengers and crew, with 435 cabins and with capacity for 2,800 lane metres of freight (165 freight vehicles) plus an additional dedicated car deck with capacity for 300 passenger cars.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Summer 2018 bookings for the new ferry were cancelled due to delays in its delivery from the shipyard.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 2021, Irish Ferries, in a surprise announcement, revealed that they were opening a new route between Dover and Calais, due to start in June, later revealed to be June 29th.<ref name="cross">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="begin">Template:Cite web</ref> This is the first such route that Irish Ferries operates which does not call in Ireland, with Dover and Calais being two major UK and French ports respectively. The service began with the Template:MS operating between the two ports, with two more ships due to enter service – the MS Isle of Innisfree (1991, ex-Calais Seaways)<ref name="calais" /> in December 2021, and Template:MS (ex- "Ciudad de Mahón) in April 2022.<ref name="ciudad" /><ref name="tw" />

Awards

In 2001, the newly completed vessel Ulysses was awarded the title 'Most Significant Newbuild – Ferry' by Lloyds List Cruise & Ferry.<ref>‘Irish Ferries – An Ambitious Voyage’ by Miles Cowsill and Justin Merrigan</ref> In 2019, the latest addition to its fleet, W.B. Yeats was awarded the 'Ferry Concept Award' and the 'Interior Architecture Award' at the international Shippax Industry Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fleet

In 2005, Irish Ferries began to re-register its fleet under flags of convenience,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> enabling the company to save approximately €11.5 million<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> by replacing crew with agency staff. As of August 2025, all vessels owned by Irish Ferries or Irish Continental Group are registered in Cyprus.

Current fleet

Ship	Built	Entered Service	Route	Gross Tonnage	Notes	Flag	Image
Ulysses	2000	March 2001	Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	One of the largest ro-pax ferries currently operating on the Irish Sea, carrying up to 1,938 passengers, 1,342 cars and 241 trucks.	Template:Flag	File:Ulysses Arriving In Dublin.jpg
W.B. Yeats	2018	January 2019	Template:Nowrap	Template:GT	Carrying up to 1,800 passengers, with 440 cabins; 300-car deck and 165 freight vehicles (or additional cars)	Template:Flag	File:W. B. Yeats at FSG.jpg
Oscar Wilde	2010	June 2024	Dover - Calais	Template:GT	Bareboat chartered from P&O purchase option. Carrying up to 2,000 passengers	Template:Flag	File:Spirit of Britain in pursuit.jpg
James Joyce	2007	May 2023 - January 2025, May 2025 - onwards	Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Originally, chartered for 20 months between 2023 - 2025; returned to Tallink in Jan 2025, however purchased by Irish Ferries in April 2025. Renamed from Oscar Wilde in June 2024 when the next one entered service.	Template:Flag	File:Oscar Wilde without name sign on the port side at Quay 1 in Port of Tallinn 7 May 2023.jpg
Dublin Swift	2001	April 2018	Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Operating a seasonal service. Carrying up to 820 passengers and 220 cars.	Template:Flag	File:MV Dublin Swift.jpg
Isle of Inishmore	1997	March 1997	Dover - Calais	Template:GT	Carrying up to 2,200 passengers and 855 cars.	Template:Flag	File:'Isle of Inishmore'.jpg
Isle of Innisfree	1991	December 2021	Template:Nowrap	Template:GT	Bought from DFDS Seaways. Entered service 15 December 2021.<ref name="calais">Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Flag	File:2023-05-01 ROPAX ferry, ISLE OF INNISFREE - IMO 8908466.jpg
Isle of Inisheer	2000	April 2022	Dublin - Cherbourg	Template:GT	Bought from Trasmediterránea. Entered service in 2022.<ref name="tw">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ciudad">Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Flag	File:2023-05-01 01 ISLE OF INISHEER - IMO 9181091 arriving at Dover UK.jpg

Former ships

{{#invoke:Hatnote|hatnote}}{{#ifeq:||}}

Ship	Built	Years in service	Route	Gross Tonnage	Status as of 2021	Flag	Image
Saint Patrick	1973	1973 - 1982	Rosslare - Le Havre Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Carried out charters to Normandy Ferries and B&I Line.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1982 renamed the St. Colum 1 and transferred to Belfast Car Ferries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scrapped as EXPRESS P at Alang, India in August 2005
Saint Killian Saint Killian II	1978	1978 - 1981 1982 - 1997	Rosslare / Cork - Le Havre / Cherbourg / Roscoff	Template:GT Template:GT	Out of service 1981 - 1982 for lengthening.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Scrapped in Alang, India in 2007.
Breizh Izel	1970	1981	Rosslare - Cherbourg / Roscoff	Template:GT	Chartered for a few weeks in July.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Saint Patrick II	1982	1982 - 1997	Rosslare / Cork - Cherbourg / Le Havre / Roscoff Rosslare - Pembroke Dock Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Carried out lots of charters during time at Irish Ferries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since 2002 sailing as C.T.M.A. Vacancier for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien. Scrapped as Ancier in March 2024 at Alang.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		File:Le Havre Saint Patrick II 1996 08 08.jpg
Gotland	1973	1988	Rosslare - Cherbourg / Le Havre	Template:GT
Thomas Wehr	1977	1992		Template:GT
Pride of Bilbao	1985	did not sail for Irish Ferries		Template:GT	Bought in 1993 then chartered out to P&O Ferries. Sold to St. Peter Line in 2014.		File:The Pride of Bilbao near Old Portsmouth - geograph.org.uk - 373922.jpg
Isle of Innisfree	1995	1995 - 2002	Dublin - Holyhead Rosslare - Pembroke Dock	Template:GT	From 2002 chartered out as Pride of Cherbourg, Stena Challenger, Challenger and Kaitaki. Sold to Interislander in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Isle of Inishmore Isle of Inishturk	1995	1995 - 1996 1996 - 1997	Dublin - Liverpool Dublin - Holyhead Rosslare - Pembroke Dock	Template:GT Template:GT	Since 1997 sailing as Madeleine for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien.
Purbeck	1978	1996	Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Chartered for 5 months.
Peveril	1971	1997	Rosslare - Pembroke Dock	Template:GT	Chartered from Isle of Man Steam Packet for a week in November.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		File:The "Peveril" at Belfast - geograph.org.uk - 3301913.jpg
Normandy	1981	1998 - 2007	Rosslare - Pembroke Dock Cork - Rosslare Rosslare - Cherbourg Cork - Roscoff	Template:GT	Chartered for first year of service. Sold to Equinox Offshore Accommodation and chartered to the Morocco-based FerriMaroc in 2008. Scrapped at Alang, 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		File:The "Normandy" at Rosslare - geograph.org.uk - 3266526.jpg
Jonathan Swift	1999	1999 - 2018	Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Sold to Balearia Eurolineas Maritimas, Denia, Spain and renamed Cecilia Payne.		File:Dublin Port- HSC Jonathan Swift (aka Dublin Swift) (7936123312).jpg
Leili	1999	2005	Rosslare - Pembroke Dock	Template:GT	Chartered for 1 month.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		File:Hildasay (18113809033).jpg
Oscar Wilde	1987	2007 - 2019	Rosslare - Cherbourg / Roscoff Rosslare - Pembroke Dock (relief) Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Sold to Grandi Navi Veloci and reflagged to Cyprus<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		File:MS Oscar Wilde.jpg
Epsilon	2011	2014 - 2023	Dublin - Holyhead Dublin - Cherbourg	Template:GT	Chartered to Irish Ferries from Caronte SRL, charter ended a year after being sold to Euroafrica.		File:'Epsilon'.jpg
Stena Foreteller	2002	2020		Template:GT	Chartered from Stena Line for 3 months.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>		File:2017-10-29 - Stena Foreteller - Goeteborg.jpg
Mega Express Four	1995	2021	Dublin - Holyhead Dublin - Cherbourg	Template:GT	Chartered to Irish Ferries for 2 months to cover refits and flagged Italian.		File:Mega Express Four 16.6.2022.jpg
Blue Star 1	1999	2021 - 2023	Rosslare - Pembroke Dock	Template:GT	Charter completed after 2 years, returned to Blue Star Ferries and flagged Greece.		File:Ferry Blue star 1 Rhodes.jpg
Norbay	1994	2023 - 2024	Rosslare - Pembroke Dock Dublin - Holyhead	Template:GT	Chartered for 6 Months from P&O		File:Norbay (IMO 9056595) Dublin 2017.jpg

References

Bibliography

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Irish Continental Group (corporate)
• Irish Ferries (consumer)
• (Irish ferries enthusiasts site)