MV ''Isle of Inisheer'' is a RoPax ferry owned by

Irish Continental Group Irish Continental Group plc is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Irish Continental Group a ...

and operated by

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembr ...

History

Merchant Ferries

The ''Inisheer'' was built in 2000 as the ''Northern Merchant'' by Astilleros Españoles S.A. in Seville, Spain for Merchant Ferries and was supposed originally to operate in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

, likely between

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. However, the merger of Merchant Ferries with

Norse Irish Ferries Norse Irish Ferries was an Irish Sea ferry company that operated a passenger and freight roll-on/roll-off service between Belfast and Liverpool. History Norse Irish Ferries was formed as a joint venture between the Norwegian Roed Group and a co ...

forming

Norse Merchant Ferries Norse Merchant Ferries was an Irish Sea ferry company that operating passenger and freight RORO services between England the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. History Norse Merchant Ferries was created in October 1999 when Cenargo, t ...

caused the newly formed company to have excess capacity.

Norfolkline

As a result, the ''Northern Merchant'' instead was chartered to

Norfolkline Norfolkline was a European ferry operator and logistics company owned by Maersk. It provided freight ferry services on the English Channel, Irish Sea, and the North Sea; and passenger ferry services on the English Channel and Irish Sea; and ...

for their Dover-Dunkerque service. Through her time with Norfolkline, she gradually gained several modifications, most notably a cow-catcher and sliding bows instead of the typical ramps, and twin-level loading. She was replaced on the Dover-Dunkerque service in March 2006 after the newbuild ''Maersk Delft'' entered service. Following her phase-out, she was dry-docked, repainted and modified back to vanilla configuration, removing the cow-catchers, sliding doors and twin-level loading, and returning the ramps on both the bow and stern.

Acciona Trasmediterránea

Afterwards, she entered service with

Acciona Trasmediterránea Acciona, S.A. () is a Spanish multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial and services) and renewable energy. The company, via subsidiary Acciona Energía, produces 21 ...

in May. She was temporarily renamed ''Murillo Dos'', and shortly afterwards renamed the ''Zurbaran''. The name lasted until 2019, when she was renamed ''Ciudad de Mahón'', alongside obtaining a new paint job.

Irish Ferries

In November 2021, it was announced that the ''Ciudad de Mahón'' was acquired by

, and was due to return to Dover on the Dover-Calais sailing in Q1 2022. She sailed her last sailing for Trasmediterránea on January 31, 2022. The next day, ownership was transferred and she was renamed ''Isle of Inisheer'', after

Inisheer Inisheer ( , or ) is the smallest and most easterly of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Ireland. With 343 residents as of the 2022 census, it is second-most populous of the Arans. Caomhán of Inis Oírr is the island's patron saint. ...

, the smallest of the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

. A week later, she departed Barcelona for the Fayard A/S shipyard next to Munkebo, near

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

in Denmark for re-installation of cow-catchers, sliding doors and other necessary modifications for operation into and out of Dover.

History

Merchant Ferries

Norfolkline

Acciona Trasmediterránea

Irish Ferries

References

See also