Dingle
Dingle is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of 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. Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and agriculture; Dingle Mart, its livestock market, serves the surrounding countryside. An adult Bottlenose dolphin named Fungie had been courting human contact in Dingle Bay since 1983 but disappeared in 2020.
Getting to Dingle
For inter-city public transport go via Tralee, which has buses and trains from Dublin, Limerick and elsewhere. By road from Dublin follow M7 / M20 past Limerick then N21 via Adare and Castleisland to Tralee, then N86 south side of the peninsula through Annascaul. For a scenic alternative north side, branch off at Camp onto R560, and follow it through Castlegregory and Cloghane then over Conor Pass into Dingle.
Worth seeing
Fungie, Dingle's most famous denizen, is commemorated by a plaque at the harbour. He was a male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus who from 1983 to 2020 regularly sought human contact around the harbour, and wasn't associated with a pod. He was already full-grown when first sighted, so he was a great age in dolphin terms when he disappeared in Oct 2020 and presumably died.
- 01Hussy's Folly
Things to do
Boat trips range from short excursions round the harbour and near shores, to visits out to the Blasket isles. The main operator is Dingle Boat Tours. Kingdom Falconry based at the harbour have various demonstrations of their raptors, weather permitting. Phoenix Cinema closed down in 2020 but was bought by the actor Cillian Murphy (b 1976) who attempted to revive it. It's still closed.
Where to eat
Murphy's pub, Strand St V92 FX62, info@murphyspub.ie. Daily noon–9PM. Pub serving food with nightly live music, also has rooms. Fast food kiosks and trailers next to Murphy's Pub are Dingle Dog House, Sheehy's and Dingle Ahoy! Murphy's Ice Cream main outlet at Strand St V92 TR98 is open daily 11:30AM-10:30PM. There's a second by the pier. Reel Dingle Fish, Bridge St,. Tue–Sun 1–10PM. Fish and chips takeaway.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.