Literary worlds collide

There's a predictable fashion in Ireland to name mundane modern things after our glorious literary past. While the practice is an improvement on drawing names from Britain's past, it can be a source of incongruity when things go wrong, as they have in the last couple of days with a strike at Irish Ferries. Hence this description from Monday's Irish Times (subs. req'd) of the choreography at the Welsh port of Holyhead with the disputed ships:

With the Ulysses already tied up in Holyhead because of the dispute, the Jonathan Swift was due to arrive at the Welsh port yesterday afternoon. However, Stena Line [alternative company], which owns the berth used by the Jonathan Swift, refused initially to allow it access to the port, for fear it would also become embroiled in the dispute and keep the berth occupied.
It is understood the 370 passengers due to travel to Dublin on the Ulysses were accommodated on a Stena Line service. They included Manchester United supporters, returning home from a football match.

So there you have the new Ireland -- Ulysses pinned down, Swift barred from port for a while, and stranded Manchester United fans trying to find a way home. If we were more well read than we actually are, we're sure we could find some good literary word play on all this.