{"id":467100,"date":"2026-05-26T02:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T02:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/467100\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T02:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T02:53:10","slug":"carlingford-lough-ferry-service-suspended-for-2026-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/467100\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlingford Lough ferry service suspended for 2026 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Carlingford Lough cross-Border ferry service that links counties Louth<\/a> and Down<\/a> will not operate in 2026. <\/p>\n

A notice posted to the Carlingford Lough ferry website stated the service will not be operating at any date this year. <\/p>\n

The notice also stated those with outstanding tickets will have their expiry dates extended for use when the ferry is back in service. However, no specific date on such a return was included in the notice.<\/p>\n

The ferry service, which was launched in 2017, operates between Greencastle, Co Down and Greenore, Co Louth.<\/p>\n

Local politicians described the suspension of the service as a blow for local tourism in the region. <\/p>\n

Fianna F\u00e1il TD for Louth Erin McGreehan said the \u201cslowness of bureaucracy\u201d has been partly to blame for the suspension of the service. <\/p>\n

McGreehan told The Irish Times<\/a> that a proposal was waiting to be examined by the Department for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and is supported by the Government. <\/p>\n

McGreehan said it was \u201creally regrettable\u201d the ferry service could not have been supported in time for summer but added \u201cit\u2019s not an issue that is insurmountable\u201d.<\/p>\n

The proposal being advanced by Louth County Council<\/a> is in the form of a public service obligation \u2013 a Government-mandated levy to provide an essential service \u2013 that would recognise the ferry not just as a commercial venture but as critical tourism infrastructure for the Carlingford Lough region. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Carlingford Lough ferry. Photograph: Dara Mac D\u00f3naill <\/p>\n

Local Sinn F\u00e9in councillor Fiona Mhic Conchoille for Dundalk-Carlingford said the ferry service was \u201cthe identity of the lough\u201d and was a \u201creally positive example of the cross-Border tourism in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said while the number of passengers may have dwindled in recent years and the completion of the Narrow Water Bridge connecting the two counties in 2027 may be a quicker alternative, the ferry still offered a \u201cunique tourist experience\u201d as a \u201cnovelty\u201d and will be missed by locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just something we will miss in our area,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

She added \u201cpeople used to go over and sit on the wall and see the ferry\u201d as it travelled back and forth across the lough.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Woman arrested over disappearance of Kyran Durnin (6)Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Carlingford Lough cross-Border ferry service that links counties Louth and Down will not operate in 2026. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467101,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21753,1523,61,60,9689,26597,43],"class_list":["post-467100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-down","tag-government","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-louth","tag-louth-county-council","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=467100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}