Follow your heart

As the Irish Ferries’ Jonathan Swift crosses the Irish Sea on four trusted Cat® 3618 engines, her crew focuses on the passengers’ onboard experience. The competition with low-cost flights is fierce but with its speed and comfort the Swift is more than a match. And there’s just no comparison with the sense of calm and natural beauty you’ll experience on the journey and at your destination where the Welsh mountains meet the sea.

They say that, in life, it’s not the destination it’s the journey that counts. Certainly, when you’re running a ferry service the destination is pretty important, but in a world that’s moving faster and faster operators like Irish Ferries with their flagship Jonathan Swift also understand the value of the journey. With their crossing between Dublin and Holyhead in Wales, they’ve realized they have an opportunity to offer a completely different and more natural, human experience for travellers who are tired of being herded through soulless airports and packed into a noisy metal tube only to be squeezed out at the other end, lost and alone in another florescent-lit, concrete shed.

Offering hope for the future of the ferry industry, the Swift lets passengers live in the moment, crossing spectacular shifting seascapes towards mountains that rise up from the sea. And best of all? When you arrive so does your car, so you’re ready to drive off and get to know the locals. Follow us on the Swift’s voyage of discovery and perhaps a journey to the center of your heart.. 

Every crossing of the Irish Sea is different with the chance for passengers to see something new. The shifting colors and moods of the sea and sky provide a dramatic backdrop to the stunning coastline and the birds and animals that share these waters.

NAME: Jonathan Swift (aka Dublin Swift)

TYPE: High-speed catamaran ferry

IN SERVICE: July 1999 – present

ROUTE: Dublin, Ireland – Holyhead, Wales

CAPACITY: 800 passengers, 200 cars

PROPULSION: Diesel engine-powered waterjets

SPEED: 40 knots (service speed)

TONNAGE: 5,992 GT

LENGTH: 86.6 m

BEAM: 24.4 m

At journey’s end in Wales, you’re on the doorstep of the Snowdonia National Park, a beautiful yet hidden corner of the United Kingdom. Amidst these mountains untouched by the noise and bustle of the modern world, life moves at its own natural pace. 

Join us for a journey on the Jonathan Swift as we contrast the hassle of flying with the experience of gliding across the sea. The Chief Engineer, Peter Donnelly, is just like the rest of the crew and the support staff onshore. He knows that his job is to get the passengers to their destination as quickly and smoothly as possible – and always with a smile on their face.

Jonathan Swift
They say that, in life, it’s not the destination it’s the journey that counts. Certainly, when you’re running a ferry service the destination is pretty important, but in a world that’s moving faster and faster operators like Irish Ferries with their flagship Jonathan Swift also understand the value of the journey.