Ciarán Herlihy

Partner

Ciarán is a Partner in William Fry’s Banking & Financial Services Department.

Ciarán advises borrowers, financial institutions and alternative lenders on a broad range of transactional and advisory mandates across the capital structure. He has deep expertise in leveraged financings, public‑to‑private takeover financings, corporate lending, real estate and development finance.

He has particular experience in project and infrastructure financings, especially in highly regulated sectors and has acted on many of the most significant Irish infrastructure projects of the last decade.

Recent significant deals Ciarán has advised on include:

Acting for DNB Bank ASA as lender on the €1.4bn recommended cash offer for Dalata Hotel Group plc, one of the largest public‑to‑private transactions in the Irish market in recent years;
Acting for EirGrid plc on all its financing requirements since 2018 including the €800m financing of the Celtic Interconnector, a 700MW submarine power cable linking Ireland and France, described as “the signature project in the Irish State in this decade and a flagship project in terms of European connectivity“;
Acting for the European Investment Bank on:
- its green loan to Touax Rail to expand its freight wagon fleet — a transaction backed by the EU’s InvestEU programme and dedicated to decarbonising European freight transport; and
- all aspects of the €250 million financing to Equisisk to finance the construction and maintenance of community nursing units. The financing is the first PPP financing for community nursing and elder care facilities in Ireland; and
Advising the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications on the structural and financing arrangements for the implementation of the National Broadband Plan.

2025 Legal EMEA

"Ciarán's ability to engage with clients, address concerns and lead the deals is outstanding." "Ciarán Herlihy, in particular, was available, responsive and had a great commercial knowledge of the industry."

2025 IFLR

“Extremely knowledgeable and pro-active. Responsive to requests and committed to deadlines / obligations.” “Ciarán manages the team incredibly well. He was hands-on for any matters that required partner attention, but otherwise his team handled all the required work. He communicates well and is a pleasure to work with, making the transaction easy for everyone involved. We also valued his and the team's ability to turn around quickly on very tight timelines.”