Travel Chaos As Irish Ferries Cancel Friday Crossings

Adverse weather conditions on the Irish Sea are playing havoc with Christmas travel plans today, with Irish Ferries cancelling a number of Friday crossings from Dublin to Holyhead.  Families hoping to cross the sea aboard the Swift or the Oscar Wilde to celebrate the season with loved ones have been told they will be accommodated on other ferries on Christmas Eve. The company has been forced to cancel six sailings, including the 08:45, 10:45 and 14:30 sailings from Dublin to Holyhead and the 11:50, 16:45 and 17:15 sailings from Holyhead to Dublin. With Storm Barbara approaching across the Atlantic and a weather warning in place for the second last shopping day before Christmas, it's looking like a wet, windy and thundery December 25th is in store. Met Eireann said:

“A potentially stormy spell of weather is likely later this week and over the Christmas weekend. “In particular, Friday looks like bringing stormy weather, with the north and west most at risk, but the details are still uncertain at this stage.” “Friday is likely to become extremely windy with heavy rain as a storm depression off the northwest coast tracks northeastwards. It will be a milder day with top temperatures of around 8 to 11 degrees."

The rain will clear to scattered showers and it will turn colder with some showers turning wintry on Friday night and early Saturday. Have your Christmas travel plans been affected? Let us know on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.