Chronological List of Ships Operating on the Holyhead to Ireland Route
The Port of Holyhead owes its prosperity mainly to the sea, and mainly to these vessels and their crews who sailed daily to Ireland. Tragically over the years, many lives would be lost, either by accident or by acts of war, and much heroism would be witnessed. These then were the Holyhead ferries, cattle boats, mailboats and most importantly – the people:
| Name & Prefix | Year | Tons | Operator | Maker | Information |
| SS Anglia | 1848 | 473 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | Ditchburn & Mare | Chester and Holyhead Railway |
| SS Cambria | 1848 | 590 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | Lairds | Increased to 759 tons when she was lengthened by 37 feet in 1861. Scrapped in 1884 |
| SS Scotia | 1848 | 479 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | Wigram & Co | |
| SS Hibernia | 1848 | 573 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | Bury Curtis & Kennedy | Converted to a cargo ship in 1852. Sold in 1870 |
| SS Telegraph | 1853 | 848 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | J&G Thompson Govan | Purchased from the Belfast SS Co. Scrapped in 1884 after she had been grounded |
| SS Ocean | 1853 | 507 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | ? | |
| SS Hercules | 1835/8 | 300 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | Mottishead & Heyes | Purchased in 1853 |
| SS Queen | 1845 | ? | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | ? | Purchased in 1853 |
| SS Sea Nymph | 1845 | 685 | C & H Railway / L. & N. W. R. from 1859 | Caird | Purchased 1856 |
| SS Admiral Moorsom | 1860 | 747 | L. & N.W.R. | Randolph Elder | Named after C.R. Moorsom, director of the C&H Railway Co.Weight increased to 794 tons when new boilers were installed in 1868. Lost in a collision in 1885 |
| RMS Connaught | 1860 | 1412 | C.of D.S.P. Co | ? | Irish Mail ship. City of Dublin Steam Packet Co. |
| RMS Leinster | 1860 | 1421 | C.of D.S.P. Co | ? | Irish Mail ship |
| RMS Munster | 1860 | 1431 | C.of D.S.P. Co | ? | Irish Mail ship. Scrapped in 1896 when new ship with new name was delivered |
| RMS Ulster | 1860 | 1421 | C.of D.S.P. Co | ? | Irish Mail ship. Scrapped in 1896 when new ship of the same name was delivered |
| SS Alexandra | 1863 | 703 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | Weight increased to 828 tons when new boilers were installed in 1870. Sold in 1889 and renamed Elise Schultze |
| SS Stanley | 1864 | 782 | L. & N.W.R. | Caird | Weight increased to 792 tons when new boilers installed in 1872. Sold in 1888 |
| SS Dodder | ? | ? | L. & N.W.R. | ? | Operated as a local steamer in the Carlingford Lough. In July 1873 she sank after a collision with the Countess of Erne. In Sept 1874 she was raised and put back into service. |
| SS Countess of Erne | 1868 | 830 | L. & N.W.R. | Walpole Webb & Bewley | Sold in 1889 |
| SS Duke of Sutherland | 1868 | 860 | L. & N.W.R. | Leslie & Co | Scrapped in 1888 |
| SS Mersey | 1869 | ? | L. & N.W.R. | ? | Operated between Greenore and Warren Point. Started 1st June 1880. Sold to JJ King of Garston in 1897 |
| SS Severn | 1869 | ? | L. & N.W.R. | ? | Bought in 1880 for the sum of £620. Arrived Holyhead in September of that year. Sold to TW Ward in 1899 |
| SS Duchess of Sutherland | 1869 | 761 | L. & N.W.R. | Leslie & Co | In 1888 Lairds installed new boilers & engines and twin screw propellers and her weight rose to 848 tons. Scrapped in 1908 |
| SS Edith | 1870 | 749 | L. & N.W.R. | Leslie & Co | In 1875 she sank after a collision with the Duchess of Sunderland. Raised and put back into service. In 1892 Lairds installed new boilers & engines and twin screw propellers and her weight rose to 837 tons. |
| SS Eleanor | 1873 | 917 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | Sailed on the Greenore service, and later on the Dublin North Wall service. On the 27th January 1881 she was wrecked near Kilkeel |
| SS Earl Spencer | 1874 | 858 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | Sailed on the Greenore service, and later on the Dublin North Wall service. In 1884 Lairds installed new boilers and her weight rose to 909 tons. Scrapped in 1896 |
| SS Rose | 1876 | 1186 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | In 1887 Lairds installed new boilers and her weight rose to 1269 tons. Scrapped in 1894 |
| SS Shamrock | 1876 | 1186 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | In 1886 Lairds installed new boilers and her weight rose to 1266.Scrapped in 1898 |
| SS Isabella | 1877 | 842 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | In 1888 Lairds installed new boilers and her weight rose to 899 tons. Scrapped in 1898 |
| SS Lily | 1880 | 1035 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | In 1891 Lairds installed new engines and boilers and her weight rose to 1144 tons. Sold in 1900 |
| SS Violet | 1880 | 1035 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | Though replaced by 1900, she was kept on as a standby ship. In 1891 Lairds installed new engines and boilers and her weight rose to 1175 tons. Sold in 1902 |
| SS Eleanor | 1881 | 854 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | 2nd ship of that name after the first was wrecked. Scrapped in 1902 |
| SS Holyhead | 1883 | 840 | L. & N.W.R. | Duncan Port | The first steel non paddle steamer. Sank after a collision with the German owned Alhambra on 31st October 1883 |
| SS North Wall | 1883 | 842 | L. & N.W.R. | Duncan Port | Scrapped in 1905 |
| SS Banshee | 1884 | 1109 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | In 1894 Lairds installed new boilers and engines and her weight rose to1250 tons. The last of the paddle steamers. Scrapped in 1906 |
| SS Irene | 1885 | 989 | L. & N.W.R. | Harland & Wolff | |
| SS Olga | 1887 | 970 | L. & N.W.R. | Lairds | |
| SS Anglesey | 1888 | 980 | L. & N.W.R. | Harland & Wolff | |
| SS Rosstrevor | 1895 | 1094 | L. & N.W.R. | Denny Bros | Scrapped in 1926 |
| RMS Munster | 1896 | 2641 | CofDSPCo | Lairds | Scrapped in 1924. Second ship of that name |
| RMS Ulster | 1896 | 2641 | CofDSPCo | Lairds | |
| SS Greenore | 1896 | ? | L. & N.W.R. | JP Rennoldson | The last paddle ship to be built for the L&NWR. At one time she was lengthened 12 feet. Renamed SS Cloghmore when the 1912 turbine steamer of the same name was delivered |
| RMS Connaught | 1897 | 2646 | CofDSPCo | Lairds | In 1917 she was sunk by a torpedo in the English Channel |
| RMS Leinster | 1897 | 1421 | CofDSPCo | Lairds | In 1918 she was sunk by a German U-boat on her way from Ireland to Holyhead |
| SS Connemara | 1897 | 1105 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Sunk 3rd November 1916 with the loss of 97 lives after a collision with SS Retriever off the Carlingford Bar, Ireland |
| SS Galtee More | 1898 | 1105 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | In 1915 she also operated on the Weymouth/Channel Islands service, and would often be a stand in on the Stranraer/Larne route. Scrapped in 1926 |
| SS Cambria | 1897 | 1842 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Renamed Arvonia when new ship of same name delivered in 1921. Scrapped 1925 |
| SS Anglia | 1900 | 1862 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Converted to a hospital ship during WWI. Sunk by a mine on 17th November 1915, with the loss of 105 lives |
| SS Hibernia | 1900 | 1862 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Became HMS Tara during WWI. Sunk by a torpedo 5th November 1915 |
| SS South Stack | 1900 | 1066 | L&NWR | Lairds | Scrapped in 1931 |
| SS Snowdon | 1902 | 1110 | L&NWR | Lairds | Scrapped in 1935 |
| SS Scotia | 1902 | 1872 | L&NWR | Lairds | Survived service in WWI. Renamed Menevia in 1920 when new ship of the same name delivered |
| SS Slieve More | 1904 | 1138 | L&NWR | Harland & Wolff | Scrapped in 1932 |
| SS Slieve Bawn | 1905 | 1148 | L&NWR | Lairds | Scrapped in 1935 |
| SS Slieve Bloom | 1908 | 1166 | L&NWR | Vickers | Lost in collision off Anglesey with a U.S. warship on 20th March 1918 |
| SS Slieve Gallion | 1908 | 1166 | L&NWR | Vickers | Scrapped in 1937 |
| SS Rathmore | 1908 | 1569 | L&NWR | Vickers | Sold in 1927 and renamed Lorrain |
| SS Greenore | 1912 | 1488 | L&NWR | Cammell Laird | Scrapped in 1926 |
| SS Curraghmore | 1919 | 1587 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Sailed on the Holyhead to Dublin, and also the Greenore service from 1919 until 1930. Renamed Duke of Abercorn in 1930 and sailed between Heysham and Belfast. Scrapped in 1935 |
| SS Anglia | 1920 | 3460 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | ? |
| SS Hibernia | 1920 | 3467 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Renamed Hibernia II in 1948 on delivery of new ship of same name. Scrapped 1949 |
| SS Cambria | 1921 | 3445 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Renamed Cambria II in 1948 on delivery of new ship of same name. Scrapped 1949 |
| SS Scotia | 1921 | 3441 | L&NWR | Denny Bros | Sunk at Dunkirk on the 1st June 1940. Over 330 lives lost |
| SS Slieve Donard | 1921 | 1116 | L&NWR | Vickers | The last ship purchased by the L&NWR. Scrapped in 1954 |
| MV Cambria | 1949 | 4972 | British Rail | Sold in 1976. Renamed Altaif | |
| MV Hibernia | 1949 | 4973 | British Rail | Sold in 1976. Renamed Express Apollon | |
| MV Holyhead Ferry I | 1965 | 3879 | Sealink | Moved to the Channel service in 1976. Renamed Earl Leofric | |
| MV Brian Boroime | 1970 | Sealink | Container Ship | ||
| MV Rhodri Mawr | 1970 | Sealink | Container Ship | ||
| MV St Columba | 1977 | 7836 | Sealink | Renamed Stena Hibernia in 1991. Later renamed Express Aphrodite and still in use with Hellas Ferries (2006) | |
| MV Sea Lynx | 1993 | 3012 | Stena Line |
%201280pix.jpg){kind=link}
