The ferry industry is gearing up for growth with more than £1 billion of investments announced for new ships, port and service facilities in the next four years, according to figures released by Discover Ferries, the industry body for ferries.

Paint the Town Black! That’s the exhortation from Guinness for Arthur’s Day, on which 500 free gigs are being staged across Ireland: a great excuse – if one is needed, says Irish Ferries – for an autumn break.

Irish Ferries says bookings for travel from the UK to Ireland this summer are ahead of last year, with forecasts for June, July and August ferry traffic “very healthy”, says head of passenger sales Declan Mescall.

Irish Ferries expects to carry 50 per cent more passengers on its ferry services between the UK and Ireland over Easter than at the same time last year.

Irish Ferries has developed a fully-optimised app for iPhones that enables travellers to book the lowest ferry fares while on the move.

Irish Ferries has launched a new mobile website – and is the first ferry company in Europe to offer a fully transactional site suitable for smartphones.