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Bring back the Swansea Cork Ferry
- Frequently Asked Questions
Q - What are you trying to achieve with this website & campaign ?
A - "We aim to restore the Swansea Cork ferry link as a year-round service for passengers and freight, run by a responsive, ethical company, using a modern, safe ship"
"We will do this by :-
a) bringing to the attention of Local & National Government the plight of communities and businesses in Ireland and the UK affected by the suspension of the ferry
b) working with organisations and companies to restore the service
c) raising the profile of the campaign through all media channels
Q - What’s all the fuss for - it’s only a boat...?
A - Many individuals and organisations relied heavily on the Swansea-Cork Ferry for their livelihood. Much of the local economy in counties Cork and Kerry is based on tourism - and the suspension of the ferry has made it much more difficult for tourists to access the more far-flung parts of the region. Because it is more difficult - a proportion of them do not come. We feel that action needs to be taken now to restore the service and safeguard local tourism and industry.
Q - What about airports - can’t people just fly there instead...?
A - Yes - there are frequent services to all of the Irish airports - including Cork, Kerry and Shannon. However, if you are a family with young kids, it can be much more convenient (and cheaper!) to pack everything including their favourite teddies into your car and come across on the ferry. Saves on car hire, too.
Q - But I quite like going on holiday to places that aren’t crowded - and I don’t mind driving the extra distances involved. Isn’t the suspension of the ferry a good thing for me?
A - Even when the ferry was running, you could never call Cork & Kerry ‘crowded’. There are miles of glorious coastline, winding country roads and cosy village pubs to explore. However - the tourist economy is a fragile thing - and it relies on a certain number of visitors coming each year. If the numbers drop too far then shops, restaurants and bars close, holiday rental properties are sold, and the economy declines. Vast amounts of Government money have already been invested in promoting tourism in the region - it would be a great shame if that money was wasted because the ferry is allowed to remain closed.
Q - Why’s it been so difficult to get the service running again ?
A - That’s a very good question - and one that we’ve all been asking.
We’ve always believed that ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ - but it seems that Swansea Cork Ferries haven’t been trying all that hard to restore the service, and have not been all that forthcoming with information...... and it was frustration at this apparent lack of activity that brought us to create this website.
There is a worldwide shortage of suitable ferry vessels - but they’re not actually an extinct species!
We hope that your support of this campaign will make it ‘easier’ to get this vital Ferry link restored - regardless of which company actually ends up running it.
Please sign our e-petition today!
Q - Who's behind this website - and what's in it for you ?
A - The idea for this website developed from a series of informal chats between John Hosford (of Hosfords Garden Centre - Clonakilty) and Adrian Brentnall (of Inspired-glass). We felt that, even though 'everybody' agreed that the continuing inaction over the Ferry was a bad thing, 'nobody' seemed to be doing very much about it. We felt that a focus was needed for the strong opinions which surround the issue - and that a website was the obvious way to do this. Adrian runs the website - John is in charge of media coverage and general lobbying.
What's in it for us ? -
We'd both like to see tourism and commerce flourish in West Cork, and feel that there has been too much secrecy, evasion and general lack of plain speaking in the 18 months since the ferry was suspended - and it's about time that the people who are directly affected (the businesses and residents of West Cork) had their say. Although this site is 'political', it is certainly not 'Party political' and it is not affiliated with any political flavour.
We’ll be adding more FAQ’s as they occur to us....
If you have a story to tell (like the ones on our ‘my story’ page) - please email us - and we’ll add your experiences to our website...
To show your support for our campaign - please support our ‘e-petition’ here and we’ll add your email address to our e-newsletter and keep you up-to-date with any developments.
If you’d like an entry on our Links page - please email us.
If you hear anything about plans to bring back the ferry - please email us with the details.
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