NEW FERRY’S FIRST CROSSING
GALE FORCE WINDS DELAY FIRST SAILING
IT hasn’t been all plain sailing for the scenic Carlingford ferry and even its maiden voyage was marred by strong winds, but the man behind the project Paul O’Sullivan was in a celebratory mood when he stepped off the Frazer Aisling Gabrielle as she docked in Greenore on Friday.
‘It’s been a long time in the making,’ he said of the ferry which links the north Louth port village with Greencastle in south Down. ‘For 50 years it was an aspiration and today is the culmination of ten years’ work by our company. We’re thrilled.’
The arrival of the ferry drew one of the biggest crowds to Greenore in recent years as locals from the Cooley peninsula and further afield gathered to see what Green Party councillor Mark Dearey described as ‘a red letter day for the community’.
At one stage, it seemed as though the ferry’s maiden voyage was in doubt, as rumours spread among the crowds lining the promenade that the sailing had been cancelled.
However, ten minutes after the scheduled sailing time of 12 midday, the car ferry slipped out of Greencastle and made her way across the choppy waters of Carlingford Lough.
A round of applause greeted the vessel as she docked in Greenore 30 minutes later, with many rushing to congratulate Mr O’Sullivan on the ferry’s successful maiden voyage,
Pamela Houston, CEO of the Frazer Ferries Group. explained that it had been decided to sail without passengers from Greencastle due to strong winds.
‘ There was a gale force seven wind this morning and we were advised that it would be safer to sail without passengers and in fact our other ferry on Lough Foy had to cancel.’
‘Safety is paramount and although we were able to pick the day, we couldn’t pick the weather,’ she commented.
And there was good news for those who arrived in Greenore with the intention of travelling across the Lough to the northern side when it was announced that everyone who wanted to could make the journey free of charge.
Local Fianna Fail TD Declan Breathnach said the launch of the ferry provided ‘an opportunity to develop the Cooley, Mourne and Gullion area as a unity and to create massive potential for tourism.’
‘ The Troubles didn’t help tourism in the region in the past and while we would love to see the Narrow Water Bridge this is a huge asset for the area and a boost for tourism.’
He praised the local authorities on both sides of the border for engaging on the issue and supporting the venture.
Michael Murphy, a former Newry and Mourne councillor from Rostrevour, said that there was ‘a lot of excitement’ about the project on the northern side of the Lough, although there were a few still in disagreement because of the standard of the roads.
Mr Tom McArdle of Carlingford Adventure Centre said it was ‘fantastic’ to see the ferry service launched. ‘It’s great to see it as it will be a huge advantage for the area and hopefully they will get plenty of passengers going back and forward.’
A number of local people recalled the days when the Isle of Man ferry left from Greenore. Veronica Murphy remembered travelling to the Isle of Man from the port, recalling that the last ferry sailed on May 6 1980. She was looking forward to making the journey on this new ferry service across the Lough in the coming weeks, as was Mary Callan from Carlingford. ‘It’s a good project as it’s going to bring a lot of people into the area.’
Alo McGrath felt it will provide lots of opportunities to develop links between the communities on both sides of the Lough, pointing out that Kilkeel golf club was offering a special package for those who travelled over by the ferry.
Former coastguard member John Murphy recalled that the last time there was such a crowd in Greenore was when the old Great Northern Hotel was open. He was concerned that the delays which the weather had caused that morning didn’t bode well for the ferry service, saying that there would be much worse weather in the winter time.