Irish operator Dublin Coach has been purchased by Co Galway-based Callinan Coaches. The deal creates an almost-200 vehicle undertaking via combination of the buyer’s 130-strong fleet and the 65 operated by Dublin Coach.
Callinan is already active in the competitive scheduled coach market in Ireland and is the primary player in delivery of Irish Citylink services on behalf of ComfortDelGro. It also has a major tourism operation. Over 40 new Van Hool T-range and Altano coaches have been purchased in 2024 and 2025.
Founder and Director Tommy Callinan says that while the Dublin Coach network is stable and comprehensive, the new owner’s priority is to focus on the quality of that operation. He sees strong potential in the acquired business.
The green-based Dublin Coach brand and identity will be retained in the medium-term, but Mr Callinan adds that it may evolve beyond that. He notes how the acquisition takes Callinan Coaches from being a contractor on the Irish scheduled network to one that retails products directly to customers via Dublin Coach.
A complete replacement of the Dublin Coach fleet is planned in the longer-term. Mr Callinan adds that he has long favoured Van Hool coaches and that the Galway operator knows those products “inside out,” with vehicles from the marque being well suited to the high-mileage utilisation of scheduled services.
“Ours is probably the hardest-working fleet in Ireland. We have Van Hools that have covered over three million km, but when maintained properly they are easily capable of that level of use,” he adds. Some Van Hools from the Callinan fleet may move to Dublin Coach as an early part of the transition.
Mr Callinan established Callinan Coaches in 1998. It has won multiple awards since then. In addition to 80 coaches, it has 50 double-decker buses.
While Dublin Coach is focused on scheduled coach services, including one cross-border route between Dublin and Belfast, its fleet has a smaller number of buses and handles a local service in Limerick. Private hire, including of heritage vehicles, is also offered, according to the Dublin Coach website.
It was formed by John O’Sullivan on 2007, initially operating a car park service at Dublin airport. Mr O’Sullivan, a former engineer with Bus Éireann, had previously founded Aircoach in 1998 before selling that business to FirstGroup, where it remains. He left Aircoach in 2005.
