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.
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 , 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. It originally operated on the Rosslare–Le Havre route with the 547 berth, 210 car ferry Saint Patrick. 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.
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 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. Summer 2018 bookings for the new ferry were cancelled due to delays in its delivery from the shipyard.
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 29 June. 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 operating between the two ports, with two more ships due to enter service – the MS Isle of Innisfree (1991, ex-Calais Seaways) in December 2021, and (ex- "Ciudad de Mahón) in April 2022.
Awards In 2001, the newly completed vessel Ulysses was awarded the title 'Most Significant Newbuild – Ferry' by Lloyds List Cruise & Ferry.‘Irish Ferries – An Ambitious Voyage’ by Miles Cowsill and Justin Merrigan 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.
Fleet In 2005, Irish Ferries began to re-register its fleet under flags of convenience, enabling the company to save approximately €11.5 million 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 ShipBuiltEntered service RouteGross tonnageNotesFlagImage Ulysses 2000 March 2001 Dublin - Holyhead 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. W.B. Yeats 2018 January 2019 Carrying up to 1,800 passengers, with 440 cabins; 300-car deck and 165 freight vehicles (or additional cars) Oscar Wilde 2010 June 2024 Dover - Calais Bareboat chartered from P&O purchase option.Carrying up to 2,000 passengers James Joyce 2007 May 2023 - January 2025, May 2025 - onwards Dublin - Holyhead 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. Dublin Swift 2001 April 2018 Dublin - Holyhead Operating a seasonal service.Carrying up to 820 passengers and 220 cars. Isle of Inishmore 1997 March 1997 Dover - Calais Carrying up to 2,200 passengers and 855 cars. Isle of Innisfree 1991 December 2021 Bought from DFDS Seaways. Entered service 15 December 2021. Isle of Inisheer 2000 April 2022 Dublin - Cherbourg Bought from Trasmediterránea. Entered service in 2022.
Former ships
Ship Built Years in service Route Gross Tonnage Status as of 2021FlagImage Saint Patrick1973 1973 - 1982 Rosslare - Le HavreDublin - Holyhead Carried out charters to Normandy Ferries and B&I Line. In 1982 renamed the St. Colum 1 and transferred to Belfast Car Ferries. Scrapped as EXPRESS P at Alang, India in August 2005 Saint Killian Saint Killian II 1978 1978 - 19811982 - 1997 Rosslare / Cork - Le Havre / Cherbourg / Roscoff Out of service 1981 - 1982 for lengthening.Scrapped in Alang, India in 2007.Breizh Izel1970 1981Rosslare - Cherbourg / Roscoff Chartered for a few weeks in July. Saint Patrick II 1982 1982 - 1997 Rosslare / Cork - Cherbourg / Le Havre / RoscoffRosslare - Pembroke DockDublin - Holyhead Carried out lots of charters during time at Irish Ferries.Since 2002 sailing as C.T.M.A. Vacancier for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien. Scrapped as Ancier in March 2024 at Alang.Gotland 1973 1988Rosslare - Cherbourg / Le Havre Thomas Wehr 1977 1992 Pride of Bilbao 1985 did not sail for Irish Ferries Bought in 1993 then chartered out to P&O Ferries.Sold to St. Peter Line in 2014. Isle of Innisfree 1995 1995 - 2002 Dublin - HolyheadRosslare - Pembroke Dock From 2002 chartered out as Pride of Cherbourg, Stena Challenger, Challenger and Kaitaki. Sold to Interislander in 2017. Isle of Inishmore Isle of Inishturk 1995 1995 - 19961996 - 1997 Dublin - LiverpoolDublin - HolyheadRosslare - Pembroke Dock Since 1997 sailing as Madeleine for Coopérative de transport maritime et aérien.Purbeck1978 1996Dublin - Holyhead Chartered for 5 months.Peveril1971 1997Rosslare - Pembroke Dock Chartered from Isle of Man Steam Packet for a week in November. Normandy 1981 1998 - 2007 Rosslare - Pembroke DockCork - RosslareRosslare - CherbourgCork - Roscoff Chartered for first year of service.Sold to Equinox Offshore Accommodation and chartered to the Morocco-based FerriMaroc in 2008.Scrapped at Alang, 2012. Jonathan Swift 1999 1999 - 2018 Dublin - Holyhead Sold to Balearia Eurolineas Maritimas, Denia, Spain and renamed Cecilia Payne.Leili1999 2005Rosslare - Pembroke Dock Chartered for 1 month. Oscar Wilde1987 2007 - 2019 Rosslare - Cherbourg / RoscoffRosslare - Pembroke Dock (relief)Dublin - Holyhead Sold to Grandi Navi Veloci and reflagged to CyprusEpsilon20112014 - 2023 Dublin - HolyheadDublin - Cherbourg Chartered to Irish Ferries from Caronte SRL, charter ended a year after being sold to Euroafrica.Stena Foreteller20022020 Chartered from Stena Line for 3 months. Mega Express Four1995 2021 Dublin - HolyheadDublin - Cherbourg Chartered to Irish Ferries for 2 months to cover refits and flagged Italian. Blue Star 11999 2021 - 2023 Rosslare - Pembroke Dock Charter completed after 2 years, returned to Blue Star Ferries and flagged Greece.Norbay1994 2023 - 2024 Rosslare - Pembroke DockDublin - Holyhead Chartered for 6 Months from P&O
References
Bibliography
External links
Irish Continental Group (corporate) Irish Ferries (consumer) Irish ferries enthusiasts site