A new cruise ferry named after W.B. Yeats has been launched in Germany.
It is set to be the largest and most luxurious ferry ever to sail on the Irish Sea, according to Irish Ferries.
It will have space for 1,885 passengers and crew, 435 cabins including luxury suites with their own private balconies, and almost 3km of car deck space.
The Irish Ferries ship was launched at around midday today at the Flensburger Schiffbau–Gesellschaft shipyard in Flensburg, Germany - where it is being built.
The name was chosen after strong support from the public in an online competition that had nearly 100,000 entries, according to Irish Ferries.
The €150m, 54,985 gross tonnes cruise ferry will arrive into Dublin next July when it will enter year-round service on Ireland – France and Dublin – Holyhead routes.
Between now and then remaining construction work on the hull will be completed and the vessel fitted out with all of the technical, operational, décor, furnishings and passenger amenities required onboard.
Later, before scheduled services can commence, it will undergo sea trials, crew training and docking procedures at the Irish, UK and French ports into which it will operate.