Sligo Coaches is going places 

17/02/2025

Sligo Coaches is a fast-growing private luxury mini-bus and coach hire service in the North-West which gets you to your destination in comfort, style and on-time. 

Established in 2016 by Shane Furey, the Drumcliffe, Co. Sligo-based company operates a 15-strong bus fleet along with three chauffeur cars. It specialises in coach hire, tours, concert travel, school and college transport, chauffeur service, airport transfers, corporate event transport and weddings. Sligo Coaches provides a school transport service for Bus Éireann and also works on behalf of TFI Local Link which connects communities throughout rural Ireland. 

Steeped in the industry, Shane is joined by a top-class team of drivers and operational staff. Sligo Coaches continues to go from strength to strength by offering a professional, reliable, safe and value-for-money service. Its success can also be attributed to the care and attention to detail you only get from a family-run business. 

Explaining the background to the company, Shane says: “I grew up around buses so I always had an interest in them and a passion for them. My late father Martin and mother Mary ran Furey’s of Sligo for over 50 years. It is now run by my brothers Aidan and Paul, and sister Orlaith. 

“In 2011, I set up Irish Concert Travel which is still going strong. Irish Concrete Travel is an online booking website that provides bus services from the West of Ireland to concerts, festivals and events mostly in Dublin. We offer this service in conjunction with Foley Travel in Galway, William Barrett Coach Hire and Treacy Coaches in Mayo, and James Doherty Coaches in Donegal, while we also have buses based in Dublin. 

“Starting out with two Van Hool tour buses in 2016, Sligo Coaches has grown to run 20 buses and employ 20 people, including a number of seasonal drivers. The biggest end of our business is concert travel and tours, which is complemented by the work we do for Bus Éireann and Local Link. 

“We started working for Bus Éireann two years ago and are now doing six or seven school runs a day for them in the Sligo area. We also have three Mercedes Sprinter buses dedicated to the Local Link routes we service in Sligo and Leitrim.” 

He adds: “While most of our tour work is within Ireland, we also do tours in the UK and occasional skiing trips to France. We have a bus full-time with EF Tours which is kitted out in their colours.” 

Sligo Coaches offers an array of high spec’ vehicles ranging from three-seat luxury cars to 53-seat luxury tour coaches. The buses are a mix of Mercedes, Iveco, Volvo and DAF, while the chauffeur cars are all Mercedes. The latest addition to the impressive fleet is a 33-seat DAF Touras which was purchased as a demo model from Noone’s in Maynooth. 

“We enjoy an excellent relationship with our passengers and suppliers. Most of our buses came from the M50 Truck & Bus Centre and EVM in Kilbeggan. Our vehicles are maintained and serviced on a regular basis by Vincent Conlon in Sligo or the main dealer if they’re under warranty.” 

To say that the fleet is luxurious would be an understatement. The larger coaches boast toilet, WiFi, TV / video, air conditioning and tea / coffee-making facilities along with reclining seats. These coaches are spacious and comfortable with large luggage capacity. Safety features include seat belts and ABS braking systems. Whether travelling on a long or short journey, passengers will arrive at their destination feeling relaxed and stress-free. From the smallest contract bus to the largest executive coach, the fleet is the best in the business. 

Shane is full of praise for his drivers, commenting: “Our drivers are skilled, reliable and friendly. They go out of their way to make sure passengers are comfortable and relaxed, and get to their destination on time. It’s a real team effort between the people in the office and those behind the wheel.” 

Sligo Coaches recently became a member of the Coach Tourism & Transport Council of Ireland (CTTC). CTTC has over 70 members nationwide who are engaged in many aspects of tourism, from day tours to extended touring and private hire. Increasingly, members are engaged in scheduled services as the regulations surrounding Ireland’s public transport system slowly become liberalised. 

CTTC members have been at the cutting edge in the transformation of inter-urban and local public transport by road for over 30 years. They have always provided safe, efficient and value-for-money transport services. They do this without State subvention and in competition with sub-vented operators. Many members, including Sligo Coaches, provide school transport services both under contract to Bus Éireann and under contract to schools or families. 

CTTC members operate in excess of 1,500 coaches and employ over 3,500 people across Ireland. This means their combined fleet is equivalent to that of Dublin Bus and close to double that of Bus Éireann. CTTC provides representation and leadership not only for its own members, but also for the wider private coach and bus operator community. They welcome new members and seek to become a unifying and strong voice for all family-owned private coach and bus operators in Ireland. 

As Sligo Coaches continues to drive forward, Shane would like to take this opportunity to thank his customers and suppliers for their unwavering support as well as his dedicated team for their hard work and expertise. He is also grateful for the support of his wife Niamh. 

Sligo Coaches 

Drumcliffe, 

Co. Sligo. 

Telephone: 085 250 3555 

Email: [email protected] 

Web: www.sligocoaches.ie 

First published in Irish Trucker magazine January/February 2025, Vol 28-1