GREENORE FERRY PLANS TO SET SAIL IN TIME FOR THE SUMMER
SAILINGS TO START AS EARLY AS MAY AS CONSTRUCTION WORK MAKES GOOD PROGRESS
The long awaited ferry service between Greenore and Greencastle, linking both sides of Carlingford Lough, will launch early this summer, the Argus can confirm. ‘Construction work has commenced and we’re planning to have the ferry service operational by the early part of the summer,’ said Paul O’Sullivan of Carlingford Lough Ferries.
The project, which is estimated to have the potential to create 300 jobs directly and indirectly, was first mooted a decade ago but faced numerous delays due to objections, particularly on the northern side.
‘It has taken eight or nine years to get to this point in time but we had two jurisdictions to deal with, so we had to double Work underway at Greenore. up on everything - planning applications, marine licences, environmental studies, as well as dealing with two sets of statutory bodies,’ said Mr O’Sullivan.
Despite getting the go ahead from Louth County Council in 2014 and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council in 2015, the project suffered a set back last year when local residents and environmentalists from the Greencastle area lodged an appeal with the High Court in Belfast. This request for a judicial review was rejected in November, paving the way for construction work to start on both sides of the Lough.
‘We have all of our consents in place and are well advanced with the marine construction work on the Greenore side while on the Greencastle side, we are doing extensive road widening and have the site set up and all the necessary piles delivered to begin construction work.’
He is confident that the work will be complete in time for the ferry service to launch in early summer, possibly as early as May.
The roll on/ roll off ferry service will take just 13 minutes to cross the Lough, opening the region up to tourism.
‘We plan to begin the service in the month of May,’ said Mr O’Sullivan. ‘We are very optimistic about it and looking forward to it beginning.’
‘We are confident that this will prove to be a very attractive service, linking the Cooley peninsula with the Mountains of Mourne,’ he continued. ‘It is something that the tourism agencies, Failte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Northern Ireland Tourism see as providing the ability to market the two regions together as one.’
He points out that an economic study carried out in 2013 indicated that the ferry service will create at least 300 jobs and bring in an average spend of €10million per annum. The ferry itself will employ 35 people with the others being created in the tourism sector.
A vessel already owned by Carlingford Lough Ferries, which also operates a ferry in the south east, is being upgraded to provide the daily service which will run all year round.
‘Our schedule will run from 7am to 9.30pm during the summer months and from 7am to 7pm during the winter, from October to March,’ said Mr O’Sullivan.
It will cater for all vehicles, except articulated lorries, as well as foot passengers.
‘We are looking at the pricing and it will be affordable as we known that there will be people using it to cross the lough on a daily or weekly basis as well as tourists, so we will have a multiple trip ticket.’
‘Brexit hasn’t changed our plans, we are still moving forward.’