The Carlingford Lough cross-Border ferry service that links counties Louth and Down will not operate in 2026. A notice posted to the Carlingford Lough ferry website stated the service will not be operating at any date this year. The notice also stated those with outstanding tickets will have their expiry dates extended for use when the ferry is back in service. However, no specific date on such a return was included in the notice.The ferry service, which was launched in 2017, operates between Greencastle, Co Down and Greenore, Co Louth.Local politicians described the suspension of the service as a blow for local tourism in the region. Fianna Fáil TD for Louth Erin McGreehan said the “slowness of bureaucracy” has been partly to blame for the suspension of the service. McGreehan told The Irish Times that a proposal was waiting to be examined by the Department for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and is supported by the Government. McGreehan said it was “really regrettable” the ferry service could not have been supported in time for summer but added “it’s not an issue that is insurmountable”.The proposal being advanced by Louth County Council is in the form of a public service obligation – a Government-mandated levy to provide an essential service – that would recognise the ferry not just as a commercial venture but as critical tourism infrastructure for the Carlingford Lough region. The Carlingford Lough ferry. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Local Sinn Féin councillor Fiona Mhic Conchoille for Dundalk-Carlingford said the ferry service was “the identity of the lough” and was a “really positive example of the cross-Border tourism in the region”.She said while the number of passengers may have dwindled in recent years and the completion of the Narrow Water Bridge connecting the two counties in 2027 may be a quicker alternative, the ferry still offered a “unique tourist experience” as a “novelty” and will be missed by locals.“It’s just something we will miss in our area,” she said. She added “people used to go over and sit on the wall and see the ferry” as it travelled back and forth across the lough.[ Woman arrested over disappearance of Kyran Durnin (6)Opens in new window ]