Irish Ferries News

Isle of Innisfree operates the Rosslare-Pembroke Dock route, where the oldest ferry in the fleet was introduced in 2024, having initially served the company’s Dover-Calais link.

Revenue Up at Irish Ferries by Nearly 17% in Year to Date

13th May 2026 Irish Ferries

Irish Continental Group (ICG), owner of Irish Ferries, has generated revenues of €138.6m for the year to date (up to May 2). That figure is nearly 17% up for the same period last year, according to the Dublin-listed group’s latest…

Robust growth at ICG was reported for 2025, in a year that also saw a significant strategic milestone with the acquisition of a Baltic Sea cruise ferry, Star 1, which resumed its name James Joyce in May, following a charter in 2023 from Tallink Grupp, when it was originally named Oscar Wilde, initially serving Rosslare-Pembroke. Since its reintroduction on Dublin-Holyhead, Afloat also highlights, it currently handles weekend round trips on the capital-continental connection to Cherbourg, France, before the ropax Isle of Inisheer returns next week (joining W.B. Yeats) following a routine dry-docking at Dunkirk East.

Irish Ferries Parent ICG Sees Revenue & Profit Rise in 2025

5th March 2026 Irish Ferries

Maritime transport operator Irish Continental Group (ICG), owner of Irish Ferries, has said that revenue and profit rose in 2025, with growth across both its passenger and freight divisions. The Dublin-listed group reported revenue of €666.7 million, a 10.4 percent…

Celebrations abound as Irish Ferries wins Ferry Company of the Year for the fourteenth consecutive year. Above Oscar Wilde, which recently returned from dry dock, operates the Dover-Calais route along with the Isle of Inishmore, which is currently receiving routine maintenance.

Irish Ferries Wins 'Ferry Company of the Year' at ITIA Awards

25th January 2026 Irish Ferries

Irish Ferries has won the prestigious Ferry Company of the Year award at the Irish Travel Industry Awards (ITIA). “Complacency never sets in, and we never take industry recognition for granted.” These were the words of Irish Ferries’ Managing Director,…

The smallest ferry of the Irish Ferries fleet, the 22,152-ton ropax Isle of Inisheer, has recently taken over the roster of cruise ferry James Joyce on the Dublin-Holyhead route due to annual dry-docking at Harland & Wolff, Belfast. The freight-oriented vessel with its twin funnels is seen in Dublin Bay when off the Baily Lighthouse, can take 589 passengers and 91 lorries, and has vehicle lane space of 1,950 metres.

Irish Ferries Winter Reshuffle Continues with Routine Dry-Dockings

21st January 2026 Irish Ferries

Irish Ferries cruise ferry Ulysses, now in its 25th year in service, recently returned from a routine annual overhaul at Harland & Wolff Belfast, which led fleetmate James Joyce to follow suit to the shipyard, writes Jehan Ashmore. Both cruise…

Irish Ferries boss Eamonn Rothwell increases his stake in Irish Continental, controlling 21.65% of the group, which also has container and terminal divisions. Above Ulysses, which Afloat highlights this year, celebrates its 25th year since its introduction on the Dublin-Holyhead route in 2001. Currently, the 50,938-ton cruise ferry is undergoing routine dry-docking at Harland & Wolff, Belfast (Navantia UK), having arrived yesterday.

Ferry CEO Eamonn Rothwell Lifts Stake in Irish Continental Group to Almost 22%

6th January 2026 Irish Ferries

The Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Continental Group (ICG), Eamonn Rothwell, has raised his stake in the ferry, freight transport, and terminal business to almost 22%. The stock exchange shows under new filings that the 70-year-old CEO has lifted…

Major disruption: Since the early hours of Saturday morning, no sailings have taken place on Ireland-South Wales routes between Rosslare and Pembroke Dock (Irish Ferries) and Rosslare-Fishguard (Stena Line). The disruption has resulted in passengers and freight having to divert to other routes due to a combination of adverse weather conditions, operational reasons, ferry reshuffles, and routine annual dry-dockings (among them of the above Isle of Innisfree as captured last month bound for Pembroke). The next nearest alternative route is Dublin-Holyhead, where the port in North Wales has been beset again, as last week damage was caused to one of two ferry terminals, so the port remains open, albeit partially.

Major Disruption as All Rosslare-South Wales Routes Have 'No' Ferry Services

7th December 2025 Ferry

Last night an Irish Ferries cruise ferry, Isle of Innisfree, was tracked underway on the English Channel, having departed Dunkirk (East) and fresh from planned dry-docking, bound for the Irish Sea to resume routine sailings, writes Jehan Ashmore. The former…

Irish Ferries has been voted 'Best Ferry Company’ at the annual Irish Travel Trade News (ITTN) awards. Above: the cruise ferry Oscar Wilde on the company’s UK-France route of Dover-Calais. Last Sunday (30 Nov.) marked 125 years since the passing of Oscar Wilde, one of Ireland’s most brilliant writers. The 'Spirit' class, and former Spirit of Britain, has been in service since 2024 and is on bareboat charter and purchase obligation from DP World, owner of P&O Ferries, which operates its twin, Spirit of France, on the premier short-sea route.

Irish Ferries Voted 'Best Ferry Company 2025' at ITTN Awards

3rd December 2025 Irish Ferries

Irish Ferries has won its 18th successive ‘Best Ferry Company’ award at the annual Irish Travel Trade News (ITTN) awards. The multi-award-winning ferry company operates on routes between Ireland and Britain (Dublin to Holyhead and Rosslare to Pembroke), Ireland and…

Trading Update: Revenues at Irish Ferries, part of ICG, were up 6.3% over the first 10 months of 2025, while its container and terminal revenues jumped 16.2% and 16.2%, respectively. Above W.B. Yeats at Dublin, fresh from annual dry-docking maintenance in Dunkirk, France, has today (26 Nov.) resumed service with the cruise ferry arriving at Cherbourg. During its absence, for a period, Ulysses from Dublin-Holyhead covered crossings and the Ireland-France routes ropax Isle of Inisheer; however, recent adverse weather has caused disruption and cancelled sailings.

Irish Ferries Reports 10% Jump in Revenues Despite Declining Car Volumes

27th November 2025 Irish Ferries

Irish Ferries' parent owner, Irish Continental Group (ICG), says revenues have risen with a 10% jump for the first 10 months of the year to €573 million, despite a decline in car volumes. The Dublin-listed group, in a trading update…

Afloat tracked today Irish Ferries' Rosslare-Pembroke Isle of Innisfree, which transited the Strait of Dover, where the company also operates to Calais on the UK-France route served by Isle of Inishmore and Oscar Wilde. The Isle of Innisfree had previously served on the link, was bound for Dunkirk for a planned dry-docking where another fleetmate, W.B. Yeats, is, but otherwise connects Cherbourg and Dublin. The ‘Innisfree’ under another guise with a previous Strait operator, DFDS/LD Lines, whose first sailing was celebrated with a launch by the UK celebrity Kelly Brooks.

Irish Sea Ferry's Former Celebrity Link Recalled During Strait of Dover Transit to Dunkirk, France

21st November 2025 Irish Ferries

The Isle of Innisfree was offshore of Boulogne-sur-Mer, approaching the Strait of Dover today, and among the Irish Ferries fleet, two ships serve the busy UK-France route linking Calais, writes Jehan Ashmore. The mid-afternoon's transit of the Isle of Innisfree…

At Rosslare, Oscar Wilde, in its original Irish Ferries guise, was renamed James Joyce during its charter of 20 months. After the charter ceased, the ship returned to Baltic Sea owners briefly before returning to the Irish Sea earlier this year when ICG acquired the vessel. From today, the ship, is covering for the first time the Rosslare-Pembroke ferry, Isle of Innisfree (during dry-docking), which ICG also purchased, having made its debut last year.

James Joyce Repositions to Rosslare to Enable Pembroke Ferry to Dry Dock at Dunkirk

20th November 2025 Irish Ferries

Irish Ferries' second cruise ferry on the Dublin-Holyhead route, which repositioned overnight to Rosslare, departed almost three hours late following its entry in a relief role to Pembroke Dock today, writes Jehan Ashmore. The former Star 1 of the A/S…