THE IRISH group stranded in Italy who hired a private coach to return home now expect to arrive in Dublin Port at 5pm this afternoon.
The 53 passengers sailed last night from the French port of Le Havre having secured tickets for a ferry to Portsmouth.
The group who planned and arranged their own "great escape" paid an Italian coach firm €7,000 for a gruelling 23-hour, 1,700 kilometre drive from Rome to the French coast.
They were dropped off in the eerily quiet port town at 4am yesterday and managed to secure accommodation at two hotels. Last night and six days after they were scheduled to fly from Rome to Dublin they finally boarded the ship at 6pm to cross the English Channel.
One of the group, Declan Kelly (44), contacted a transport firm, Johnny Healy Coach Hire, in his hometown of Rochfortbridge, Co Westmeath, to transport them from Portsmouth to Coventry last night. This morning the group hoped to board a bus to Holyhead and catch a ferry to Ireland. The estimated arrival time at Dublin's North Wall is 5pm today.
Despite the trials and tribulations of the past week, many of the passengers say they are enjoying the "once-in-a-lifetime experience".
Among passengers keen to return home is Ovidijus Dikcius (37) who is looking forward to seeing his two sons, Conor (7) and Feilim (3), in Kilcock, Co Kildare. Mr Dikcius, a Lithuanian who came to Ireland 12 years ago and is now an Irish citizen, said: "It has been an interesting experience on many levels. The way you support one another is an Irish trait. When you are in trouble, you stick together," he said.
