| July
2004 |
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| A
peaceful summer’s evening, during the first weekend of the strike, with
all four ships tied up at Stranraer harbour.
Dalriada is at the back, Neckartaal left, Ailsa
Princess right, and almost masked from view Antrim Princess
behind. |
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In May 1974 there was a
general strike in Northern Ireland, organised by the Ulster Workers
Council (UWC). The strike – about power-sharing with Britain -
started at the port of Larne which forced all the ferries from Stranraer
to remain berthed in Scotland.
There were no sailings for two weeks between the ports, until the
strike was settled by the ending of the Northern Ireland Executive and the
re-imposition of Direct Rule. |
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| Sisters
Ailsa Princess and Antrim Princess were rarely in
port together. They are
seen here, side by side, with the bow of Neckertaal just visible on
the right. |
Neckertaal
had only been recently charted to provide additional freight capacity on
the route. Unlike
sister Preseli, it never carried a British Rail logo on its
funnels. |
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| As the
strike drew to a close, the ferries were shuffled at Stranraer to allow Dalriada
and Neckertaal access to the car ramp.
Both these vessels started sailing as soon as the strike ended as
they had non-British crews (Dalriada was on long term charter from
Stena). The Antrim
and Ailsa returned to service later in the week. |
| Larne
Dock Strike |
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| All
photos taken in May 1974. Click to enlarge. |
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