Call for council to aid in-limbo Carlingford Lough ferry service as all sailings between Co Down and Co Louth axed for 2026
A councillor has called for Newry Mourne and Down District Council to aid the firm behind the Carlingford Lough ferry.
It comes as the company – Frazer Ferries Ltd, based in Limerick – axed all sailings between Greencastle in Co Down and Greenore in Co Louth for the whole of 2026.
The service has run since 2017.
No explanation for the halt to services has been posted on its website, though it does say existing tickets will be honoured “when the ferry is back in service”.
Henry Reilly, DUP councillor for the district council’s Mournes region, told the News Letter the firm has hit multiple “bumps” over the past decade – firstly being required to produce a suite of studies and consultations (which he said cost millions of pounds), then being hit by Covid in 2020, then suffering from the oil price spike after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
He said the suspension of sailings is “very, very disappointing”, and that there has been a lack of support from both UK and Irish public sources.
"There seems to be a reluctance to get involved with it, even though it was washing its face initially – it’s just all these critical economic bumps it took that’s resulted in this present impasse,” he said.
As to what he would like to see from his council, he said: “Some form of commitment to help them get re-established.
"You’re not going to give them long term subsidy, but they’d need help again just to try and re-establish the company… they’re not looking for millions of pounds.”
He suggested promoting the ferry service in council literature, adding “there’s a lot that could be done for them” other than transfers of cash.
He added: “This weekend, that should have been thriving with all this good weather, really bringing tourists to spend money in the Kilkeel area – but it hasn’t.”
The council said it “recognises the importance of the ferry connection to the local tourism offering and wider regional economy and has worked closely with the ferry operator to help promote its visitor experiences” adding that it “looks forward to the ferry returning to service the area in the future”.
Louth County Council did not respond to the News Letter’s enquiry.
DUP MLA for the area Diane Forsythe said the loss of the ferry service is “a major setback for tourism and local businesses”.
"The Carlingford ferry was far more than simply a crossing service,” she said.
"It became a tourism attraction in its own right and helped showcase Carlingford Lough to thousands of visitors.
“I have raised concerns for some time about the lack of support being given to the ferry by tourism bodies and the Department for the Economy.”
She added: “With the progression of the Narrow Water Bridge project, it increasingly feels as though the ferry has been disregarded.
"I believe there is room for both.”
The pub Lily Finnegan’s in Carlingford posted online that it is “a huge loss to the area”.
"We’ve made so many friends here in Lily Finnegan’s from the Greencastle/Kilkeel area over the past nine years since the ferry commenced in 2017 and it’s a big loss to them also.
"We were delighted to collaborate with the ferry by providing the bar service on their summer cruises for the past three years and we really enjoyed our time out on the lough, we’ve some fabulous memories from them.”
It concluded: “Hopefully it’s not the end and it can return next year.”