Cantillon: Stena Line says goodbye to Dún Laoghaire

Dún Laoghaire has had little in the way of luck in recent years. A stroll through the centre reveals a rundown town which is awash with charity shops and little new enterprise. There is of course the controversial €36.3 million LexIcon library in Moran Park, which opened in December, but given that this is in equal parts loved and loathed, perhaps the less said the better.

The news that Stena Line is to end its seasonal passenger ferry service from the town to Holyhead will have been received with dismay locally despite it being obvious for some time it was in trouble. The service was reduced to a seasonal operation five years ago and, says Stena, passenger numbers had declined to such a degree that it carried fewer than 200,000 people last year compared to more than 1.7 million in 1998.

The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company put a brave face on things, saying it had already been approached by alternative operators and it expects a new operation on the route next year. Moreover, it said the importance of the service's business to the town has declined and will be easily replaced if it gets the go-ahead for a cruise berth for so-called "next generation" ships.

As it seeks to grow the numbers of luxury liners it attracts, the company, which looks after the harbour, is forecasting a boon for the town with cruise ship passengers predicted to spend about €7 million a year, as against an estimated €800,000 spend from ferry passengers last year.

With a proposal to open a National Diaspora Centre under consideration and planning permission for a €2.5 million urban beach and outdoor swimming pool in the can, it would seem Dún Laoghaire could soon have the opportunity to prosper again.

But bringing an end to a service route that has operated since 1835 still hurts.