Location map of the Dingle Peninsula

Dunmore Head, the westernmost point on the Dingle Peninsula

The Dingle Peninsula (Irish: Corca Dhuibhne - anglicized as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulae in County Kerry. Its ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point of Ireland.

Name[link]

The Dingle Peninsula is named after the town of Dingle. The peninsula is also commonly called Corca Dhuibhne (Corcu Duibne) even when those referring to it are speaking in English. Corca Dhuibhne,^[1] which means "seed or tribe of Duibhne"^[2] (an Irish personal name), takes its name from the túath (people, nation) of Corco Dhuibhne who occupied the peninsula in the Middle Ages and who also held a number of territories in the south and east of County Kerry.

Geography[link]

The peninsula exists because of the band of sandstone rock that forms the Slieve Mish mountain range at the neck of the peninsula, in the east, and the unnamed central mountain range further to the west. Ireland's highest mountain outside Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Mount Brandon at 951 m, forms part of a beautiful high ridge with stunning views over the peninsula and North Kerry.

The Conor Pass, which runs from Dingle on the southern end of the peninsula towards Brandon Bay and Castlegregory in the North, is the highest mountain pass in Ireland^{[citation needed]}, a tight, precarious road, weaving its way around the sharp cliff faces and past the high corrie lakes.

The Blasket Islands lie off the west coast. They are famous for the literary and linguistic heritage of the former inhabitants. However, these remote islands have been uninhabited since the 1950s following an evacuation.

Culture and language[link]

The western end of the peninsula is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) that has produced a number of nationally notable authors and poets; Ó Siochfhradha and Peig Sayers among others. This is the most western part of Ireland, and the village of Dún Chaoin is often jokingly referred to as "the next parish to America"

Archaeology[link]

The peninsula is the location of numerous prehistoric and early medieval remains including:

• Ferriter's Cove, at the western tip of the peninsula; and
• Gallarus Oratory in the very west of the peninsula near the village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh in Ard na Caithne.

Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, situated in the village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter) has exhibitions detailing the archaeology and history of the peninsula. Some of the exhibitions include Ogham stones, artifacts from the excavations at the nearby monastic site of Riasc (Reask) and objects on loan from the National Museum of Ireland.^[3]

In film[link]

David Lean's 1970 film Ryan's Daughter takes place at a village on the Dingle Peninsula in the immediate aftermath of the 1916 Easter Rising, and was partly shot on location near Dún Chaoin, Coumeenole Beach, Slea Head and Inch Strand.^[4] Far and Away, a 1992 film directed by Ron Howard, was partly filmed on the peninsula.^[5]

The film Leap Year is partly set in the Dingle Peninsula, but none of the filming took place in the area.^[6]

Gallery[link]

A panoramic view of the Dingle Peninsula

• 

  Dingle Peninsula as viewed from Banna Strand

• 

  Dingle Peninsula coastline

• 

  Minard Castle, Lispole, County Kerry

• 

  Eask Tower with view of the tip of the Ring of Kerry in foreground.

• 

  The fauna of Dingle Peninsula

• Ranga shipwrecked at Dunmore head, Dingle, Ireland.jpg

  The Ranga was wrecked near Coumeenole Beach in 1982. The remains are still visible today.

See also[link]

• Beara Peninsula
• Eask tower
• Iveragh Peninsula
• Mount Brandon
• Munster Irish
• MV Ranga, a ship wrecked near Coumeenole Beach, near Slea Head, Dingle

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dingle Peninsula travel guide from Wikitravel
• 2007 Comprehensive Gaeltacht Linguistic study

Coordinates: 52°11′36″N 10°05′02″W / 52.19333°N 10.08389°W / 52.19333; -10.08389

Dingle an Daingean / Daingean Uí Chúis
—  Town  —
Harbour of Dingle
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°08′24″N 10°16′18″W / 52.139915°N 10.27153°W / 52.139915; -10.27153Coordinates: 52°08′24″N 10°16′18″W / 52.139915°N 10.27153°W / 52.139915; -10.27153
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Kerry
Population (2006)[1]
• Urban	1,920
Irish Grid Reference	Q445012

Dingle (Irish: An Daingean / Daingean Uí Chúis, meaning "Ó Cúis' fort")^[7] is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Killarney.^[8]

Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and agriculture: Dingle Mart (livestock market) serves the surrounding countryside. In 2006 Dingle had a population of 1,920.^[1] Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht region.

History[link]

Development of the port[link]

The town was developed as a port following the Norman invasion of Ireland. By the thirteenth century more goods were being exported through Dingle than Limerick, and in 1257 an ordinance of Henry III imposed customs on the port's exports.^[9] By the fourteenth century, importing wine was a major business. Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, who held palatine powers in the area, imposed a tax on this activity around 1329.^[10] By the sixteenth century, Dingle was one of Ireland's main trading ports, exporting fish and hides and importing wines from the continent of Europe. French and Spanish fishing fleets used the town as a base.^[10]

Connections with Spain were particularly strong, and in 1529 Thomas Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Desmond and the ambassador of Charles V of Spain signed the Treaty of Dingle.^[11] Dingle was also a major embarkation port for pilgrims to travel to the shrine of Saint James at Santiago de Compostela. The parish church was rebuilt in the sixteenth century under "Spanish patronage" and dedicated to the saint.^[12][13]

In 1569 the commerce of the town was increased when it was listed as one of fifteen towns or cities which were to have a monopoly on the import of wine.^[10]

The Second Desmond Rebellion[link]

The Dingle Peninsula was the scene of much of the military activity of 1579–1580. On 17 July 1579 James FitzMaurice FitzGerald brought a small fleet of ships to Dingle. He made landfall, launching the Second Desmond Rebellion, but was to die soon after in a minor skirmish with the forces of a cousin.^[14] The fleet left the town after three days, anchoring at Dún an Óir at the western end of the peninsula, leading eventually to the Siege of Smerwick of 1580.

Walled town and chartered borough[link]

The residents of Dingle applied in 1569 for a "murage grant" to construct walls around the town. The grant was not forthcoming on that occasion. Following the defeat of the Desmond Rebellion, Queen Elizabeth directed that a royal charter be granted to incorporate the town as a borough, and to allow for the construction of walls. Traces of these town walls can still be seen, while the street layout preserves the pattern of burgage plots.^[13]

Although Elizabeth intended to grant a charter, the document was only obtained in 1607. On 2 March of that year her successor, James I, sealed the charter, although the borough and its corporation had already been in existence for twenty-two years.^[15] The head of the corporation was the sovereign, fulfilling the role of a mayor. In addition to the sovereign, who was elected annually on the Feast of St Michael, the corporation consisted of twelve burgesses. The area of jurisdiction of the corporation was all land and sea within two Irish miles of the parish church. The borough also had an admiralty jurisdiction over Dingle, Ventry, Smerwick and Ferriter's Creek " as far as an arrow would fly".^[15]

The charter also created Dingle a parliamentary borough, or constituency, electing two members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of Ireland.^[15]

Linen[link]

Dingle suffered badly in the Nine Years' War and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, being burnt or sacked on a number of occasions. The town started to recover in the eighteenth century, due to the efforts of the Fitzgerald family, Knights of Kerry, who established themselves at "The Grove" at this time. Robert Fitzgerald imported flax seed and by 1755 a flourishing linen industry had been established, with cloth worth £60,000 produced annually. The trade collapsed following the industrial production of cotton in Great Britain, and was virtually extinct by 1837.^[16]

Fishing[link]

Dingle is a major fishing port, and the industry dates back to about 1830. The 1870s saw major development, when "nobby" fleets from the Isle of Man came in search of mackerel. Lowestoft herring trawlers subsequently joined the fleet, allowing for a longer fishing season. The pier and maritime facilities were developed by the Congested Districts Board, and the arrival of rail transport in 1891 allowed for the transport of fish throughout the country, and a canning and curing industry developed.^[17]

Places of interest[link]

John Street, Dingle

Colourful Dingle

Dingle's St. Mary's was a neo-Gothic church built to designs by J. J. McCarthy and O'Connell. The foundation stone was laid in 1862. It originally had a nave and aisles separated by arcades, supported on columns capped by octagonal tops. The arcades were demolished in one of the most radical reordering schemes to have been executed in Ireland. The project also saw the demolition of the exterior walls to below the original clerstory level, and, most notably, of the attic and upper ranges of the west elevation.

There are many opportunities to hear traditional Irish music in the town, particularly during the summer tourist season. Dingle has a number of pubs as well as restaurants and cafes. There is also an aquarium in the town, and a number of art and craft shops.

Fungi the Dingle Dolphin[link]

Since 1984 a bottlenose dolphin has frequented the Dingle harbour area. He has been given the name Fungi and has become a major attraction for visitors. He regularly shows up when tour boats go out to meet him. Normally bottlenose dolphins swim in pods, but Fungi seems to prefer human contact rather than interaction with his own species.^[18] It is estimated that he was born in the mid-1970s and with a normal life expectancy for his species of 25 years, he is now very old by bottlenose dolphin standards.^[19] There is a bronze sculpture of Fungi in Dingle.^[20]

Sport[link]

Dingle is home to the Dingle GAA club, which plays the popular^[21] traditional Irish game of Gaelic football. The most noted tournament in which Dingle competes is the Kerry Senior Football Championship.^{[22] [23]}

People[link]

• Famous Gaelic Athletic Association commentator Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh was born east of Dingle, near Lios Póil in 1930.

• Also from Dingle are Joe O'Toole, Senator, Pauline Scanlon, singer.

Twin towns[link]

	Country		Place		County / District / Region / State	Originally twinned with	Date
	USA		Santa Barbara		California	Dingle	2003
	Italy		Tolfa		Lazio	Dingle	1974

Transport[link]

Dingle was formerly the western terminus of the narrow gauge Tralee and Dingle Light Railway.

The railway station opened on 1 April 1891, closed for passenger traffic on 17 April 1939 and for regular goods traffic on 10 March 1947, finally closing altogether on 1 July 1953, by which time a cattle train once per month was the sole operation.^[24]

Name[link]

Spray-painted road sign

In 2005, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív announced that anglicised place names (such as 'Dingle') of Gaeltacht towns and villages would no longer feature on official signposts, and only the Irish language names would appear. The English language version of the town's name was thus officially dropped in early 2005, with the Irish name An Daingean being advanced.

In the case of Dingle, the move was particularly controversial, as the town relies heavily on the tourist industry, and there was fear that the change could prevent visitors finding the town. Detractors noted that tourists might not recognise the Irish name on sign-posts, and that there could also be confusion with a similarly named town (Daingean) in County Offaly. Supporters rejected this argument, pointing out that there are numerous towns in Ireland with similar names. The minister added to the controversy by suggesting that a name change to English could be brought about by removing the town's Gaeltacht status, thereby losing its entitlement to government grants for Irish-speaking areas.

In late 2005, Kerry County council approved the holding of a plebiscite for the change of name to the bilingual "Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis"^[25] which took place in October, 2006.^[26] The result was announced on 20 October, and 1,005 of the 1,086 returned ballots (electorate: 1,222) favoured the change to the bilingual version.^[27][28] Éamon Ó Cuív stated, however, that there was no remit to act on the results of the plebiscite. Nevertheless, in 2008 Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley, announced his intention to amend the local government laws to allow names chosen by plebiscite to supersede any Placenames Order under the Official Languages Act 2003.^[29] This would mean that "Daingean Uí Chúis" would be the official name of the town in Irish, with "Dingle" the official name in English. However, the name of the town on road signs within the Gaeltacht will continue to display the name of the town in Irish only. In the meantime, some locals took matters into their own hands by spray painting "Dingle" on road signs that bore only the Irish version of the name.

Looking out from the hills west of Dingle, near Slea Head.

See also[link]

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Dingle (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
• Munster Irish
• Eask Tower
• MV Ranga, a ship wrecked near Slea Head, Dingle

Bibliography[link]

• Barrington, T J (1976). Discovering Kerry. Its History, Heritage and Topgoraphy. Cork: The Collins Press. ISBN 1-898256-71-3. 
• Cuppage, Judith; Bennett, Isabel; Cotter, Claire; O Rahilly, Celie (1986). Archaeological Survey of the Dingle Peninsula. Ballyferriter: Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne. ISBN 0-906096-06-5. 
• An Daingean Local Area Plan 2006–2012. Tralee: Kerry County Council Planning Policy Unit. 2006. http://cms.kerrycoco.ie/en/allservices/planning/planspolicies/localareaplans/andaingeanlocalareaplan/thefile,739,en.pdf. Retrieved 3 December 2009. 
• McKenna, Jack (1985). Dingle. Killarney: Mac Publications. 

External links[link]

Look up dingle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dingle

"An Daingean Local Area Plan". Kerry County Council. http://www.kerrycoco.ie/allservices/planning/planspolicies/localareaplans/andaingeanlocalareaplan/thefile,739,en.pdf. Retrieved 8 September 2009. ^{[dead link]}

References[link]

v t e Places in County Kerry County town: Tralee Towns Ballybunion Cahersiveen Castleisland Dingle Kenmare Killarney Killorglin Listowel Tralee Parishes, Villages and Townlands Abbeydorney Annascaul Ardfert Ballynagall Ballinskelligs Ballyduff Ballyferriter Ballyheigue Ballylongford Ballymacelligott Ballyseedy Blennerville Brandon Creek Brandon Brosna Caherboshina Caherdaniel Castlecove Castlegregory Castlemaine Causeway Cloghane Coolgarriv Currans Currow Derrymore Derrynane Duagh Dunquin Fahamore Farranfore Fenit Feothanach Finuge Fossa Gneeveguilla Kilderry Kilflynn Kilgarvan Kilmoyley Knightstown Knocknagoshel Lispole Lisselton Lixnaw Milltown Moyvane Portmagee Rathmore Scraggane Sneem Tarbert Tarmon Templenoe Tuosist Valentia Island Ventry Waterville List of townlands in County Kerry Category:Geography of County Kerry