As Carolan Coach Hire approaches a major milestone in its history, the family-run Co Meath operator is looking firmly towards the future.
Founded in 1967 by the late Michael Carolan, the Nobber-based business will celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2027. Nearly six decades after a single vehicle first took to the road, the company has grown into one of Ireland’s leading independent coach operators, employing 40 staff and operating a fleet of 50 vehicles.
Carolan Coach Hire is led by proprietor James Carolan, who is ably assisted by his wife Maeve, sons Jason, Ashley and Darrell, daughter Lindsay and brother Bernard. The family continues to invest heavily in both its people and equipment.
Transport Manager Darrell Carolan, James’s son, reflects that while his grandfather established the business almost 60 years ago, its continued growth has been driven by his father James’s passion and commitment, underpinned by a simple philosophy: reliability, quality and continual reinvestment in the business.
“We want to continue growth,” he said. “Next year we’re hoping to establish a new workshop facility which would be a four-bay garage. Planning permission has already been secured for the new workshop, which will allow us to have four vehicles in at the one time, rather than the original workshop where you only have one pit and one drive bay available.
“The plan for the 60-year anniversary is to get that up and running here in Nobber and add new offices. Also, we want to put a testing facility into it so as we can pre-test all our own vehicles before they go in for a CVRT test. We think that’s going to reduce costs significantly for us and will also be of great benefit to our mechanics, led by Jason and Bernard Carolan.”
The planned workshop development is just one part of a wider investment strategy that has seen Carolan Coach Hire expand both its fleet and its operations in recent years.
While school transport remains a cornerstone of the business, the company’s tour and private hire division has experienced particularly strong growth.
“In 2024, our tour work would’ve been between 15-17% of our turnover and that went up last year to about 23%. Looking at the figures already, it looks like it’s going to be about 30% of our turnover for 2026.
“It’s going up and up every year, but this year it has gone up quite significantly. We purchased two new vehicles from Cronin Motors in February, having added three vehicles last year and another in 2024. So we have really upgraded the fleet over the last few years.”
Today, Carolan Coach Hire operates a fleet of 50 vehicles from its headquarters in Nobber, supported by a second operating facility in Stamullen.
The fleet caters for everything from school transport and corporate travel to inbound tourism, sporting events and private group hire throughout Ireland.
Recent additions underline the company’s commitment to operating one of the country’s most modern fleets.
“This year we added two 2026 DAF Temsa HD12s, which we bought off Dermot Cronin Motors in Cork, and last year we added a 2025 DAF Temsa H13, again off Cronins. We also added a 2025 Higer Super 9, which we would’ve bought off Harris Coach & Bus in Dublin, and a 2025 Turas 900 off Brian Noone in Maynooth.
“We’re just in discussions that we may be moving on some of our older fleet. Those would be our 2016s and 2017s, but there’s a possibility that we might be going for one more new coach this year or next year which would be a 33 or a 37-seater. We should know later in the year whether we are going down that route.”
Despite the expansion in tourism, school transport remains the backbone of the business.
“We have 25 Bus Éireann contracts and two privately-operated contracts, giving us 27 in total,” said the Transport Manager.
The company’s work extends well beyond the school day.
“We do a lot of the Meath County Board work as well at the weekends, along with international student work during the summer months. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, for example, coaches would be out with international students visiting various tourist attractions such as Glendalough and the Cliffs of Moher.”
That mix of school contracts, sporting events, student movements and growing tour work ensures the fleet remains busy throughout the year.
Like many operators across the coach industry, Carolan Coach Hire also faces the challenge of recruiting qualified drivers. Rather than waiting for experienced drivers to become available, the company has developed its own recruitment initiative.
“We have seven female drivers here that are after starting with us in the last 12 to 15 months, and we are trying a recruitment process to try and get more drivers onboard,” said Darrell.
“A few people have come to us in the locality wanting to get onboard but not having the money to put themselves through the test. So we’ve spoke to a local driving school in the area and we’ve agreed to pay for the lessons and half the test fee for anyone that’s willing to come onboard.
“It’s a thing we have to do. There’s a big shortage of drivers in this industry.”
The investment in people mirrors the company’s investment in its fleet, with both aimed at maintaining the high standards that have become synonymous with the Carolan Coach Hire name.
“I’d imagine the reason why we’re getting a lot of our repeat business is because of our reliability,” Darrell pointed out.
“It’s the standard of fleet as well. We have cleaners every day going in and cleaning buses to make sure that they go out immaculate, both exterior and interior. We treat the buses like they are a home, so they’re spotless really and that’s why I see why people are coming back to us. Great credit goes to Ashley and the cleaning staff, who take tremendous pride in the upkeep of the coaches. No bus leaves the depot unless it is spotless.”
“We’re always on time. We do have drivers sitting there half-an-hour before pick-up time. So it’s just down to treating the customer well and they come back to you.”
As the company prepares to celebrate 60 years in business in 2027, the future looks every bit as ambitious as its past. The planned four-bay workshop, new offices and in-house testing facility will provide the infrastructure needed to support continued expansion, while ongoing investment in new vehicles and driver recruitment ensures that Carolan Coach Hire remains well placed to meet growing demand.
From a single vehicle with which James’s father established the business in 1967 to a modern operation employing 40 people and running a fleet of 50 vehicles, Carolan Coach Hire has built its reputation on reliability, quality and service.
Transport Manager Darrell is ably assisted by Gillian, Katherina and Lorraine, who look after the company’s administration and accounts.
As it enters its seventh decade, the Nobber-based operator is not simply celebrating a proud history – it is investing confidently in the future.
Carolan Coach Hire,
Spiddal,
Nobber,
Co Meath
Tel: 046 905 2336
Mob: 087 252 7086
Web: carolancoachhire.ie
First published in Irish Trucker magazine November/December 2026, Vol 29-6
