No plain sailing after Strangford ferry suspension

The upcoming suspension of Strangford ferry services will be "a nightmare" for hurling fans hoping to attend the Down Senior Championship final, according to one of the county’s star players.

Daithí Sands plays for Portaferry and will line out against Ards peninsula rivals Ballygalget at Newry’s Páirc Esler on 20 October.

Just days before that, normal service on the Strangford ferry, which connects the southern tip of the peninsula to Strangford Village near Downpatrick, will be suspended for five weeks to allow for essential works to slipways.

“The final is the first weekend the ferry is off,” he said.

The journey across the lough by boat is about a mile.

By car it's nearly 46 miles.

“Both teams are from this side of the water. So it will result in both teams and both sets of fans having to drive right the way around the peninsula to Newry," said Daithí.

"You’re talking a couple of thousand people. The past couple of years it’s been an enjoyable experience getting people into the stand and getting the atmosphere.

“It feels like you’ll be missing out because people won’t be willing to travel," he added.

Ordinarily the Strangford Ferry service operates every half hour from 07:30 to 23:00.

But during the suspension period a passenger-only service will operate on condensed hours, including a two-hour break around lunch time and a final sailing at 18:45.

It’s not just the sporting fraternity that are viewing the upcoming works with trepidation.

Paula McKeown works at the Portico Arts and Heritage Centre in Portaferry.

It’s a social enterprise running out of a stunning and still active Presbyterian Church dating from the 1840s.

Paula hopes people won't be put off by a detour.

“We put on great events because it really supports the local economy,” she said.

“That has an impact on local staffing and jobs and we want to make sure that if someone is on a restaurant rota that their shift isn’t getting cancelled, that they are getting their employment.

“The ferry service is something that everybody relies upon in this area and we appreciate that it has to be a safe service," she said.

However, she added: "We aren’t quite sure what is going to happen during those five weeks.

"Our ticket sales have been great and people don’t want to give up their tickets."

She said that if there is not a foot passenger service people can avail of "we’re asking them to embrace the road trip".

"Download the good tunes, get a designated driver and get in the car,” she said.

This isn’t the first time ferry users have been hit with inconvenience.

During periods of bad weather or fog the service can be temporarily suspended and last year it was reported that one of the ferries that serve the route hadn’t sailed in over a year.

In 2019 there were calls for earlier sailings to accommodate commuters.

Senior mental health practitioner Michelle McMaster, who works out of Portaferry Surgery, has a similar concern.

She lives near Lisburn and said the ferry suspension will have implications for her and wider health services.

“It will extend my journey time,” she said.

“I’m here three days a week and the difference will be at least 30 to 45 minutes each way.

"I’m always wary of leaving my car on the other side, because if I do and I come across as a foot passenger, what if the weather changes? Then I’m stranded and I live quite a distance away".

Portaferry butcher Martin Mallon says his trade shouldn’t be too badly disrupted during the works but that his wife’s routine will be upended.

“My wife works in Downpatrick two days a week,” he said.

“She’ll have to leave the car over in Strangford and get the passenger ferry over and not bring it home, so it’ll be there all week. Then she’ll have to drive the whole way around on the second night when she’s finished.”

A replacement bus service is also being provided for students of the Assumption Grammar School in Ballynahinch who travel back and forth across the lough on a daily basis.

A Department for Infrastructure statement said: “The department recognises the importance of the Strangford Lough Ferry Service for local communities and understands the inconvenience that these essential works will cause.”