Dingle
Encyclopedia
Dingle is a town in County Kerry
, Ireland
. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula
, it sits on the Atlantic
coast
, about 49 kilometres southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres northwest of Killarney
.
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. Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht
region.
. 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. By the fourteenth century importation of wine was a major business. Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond
, who held palatine
powers in the area, imposed a tax on this activity in about 1329. 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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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. 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".
The charter also created Dingle a parliamentary borough
, or constituency
, electing two members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of Ireland
.
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.
" 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.
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 pub
s as well as restaurants and cafes. There is also an aquarium in the town, and a number of art and craft shops.
club, which plays the popular traditional Irish game of Gaelic football
. The most noted tournament in which Dingle competes is the Kerry Senior Football Championship. Diarmuid Murphy
and Tommy Griffin
are current players from Dingle who are on the Kerry GAA
county team for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
.
Dingle Gaa Ladies were launched in June 2010
.
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.
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" which took place in October, 2006. 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. 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. 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.
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula
Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula 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:...
, it sits on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
, about 49 kilometres southwest of Tralee and 71 kilometres northwest of Killarney
Killarney
Killarney is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St...
.
Principal industries in the town are tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
: Dingle Mart (livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
market
Market
A market is one of many varieties of systems, institutions, procedures, social relations and infrastructures whereby parties engage in exchange. While parties may exchange goods and services by barter, most markets rely on sellers offering their goods or services in exchange for money from buyers...
) serves the surrounding countryside. In 2006 Dingle had a population of 1,920. Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
region.
Development of the port
The town was developed as a port following the Norman invasion of IrelandNorman Invasion of Ireland
The Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...
. By the thirteenth century more goods were being exported through Dingle than Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, and in 1257 an ordinance of Henry III
Henry III of England
Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
imposed customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...
on the port's exports. By the fourteenth century importation of wine was a major business. Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond
Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond
Maurice FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond was an Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland, Captain of Desmond Castle in Kinsale, so-called ruler of Munster, and for a short time Lord Justice of Ireland....
, who held palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
powers in the area, imposed a tax on this activity in about 1329. 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.
Connections with Spain were particularly strong, and in 1529 Thomas Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Desmond and the ambassador of Charles V of Spain
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
signed the Treaty of Dingle. Dingle was also a major embarkation port for pilgrims to travel to the shrine of Saint James at Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, Spain.The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James...
. The parish church was rebuilt in the sixteenth century under "Spanish patronage" and dedicated to the saint.
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.
The Second Desmond Rebellion
The Dingle Peninsula was the scene of much of the military activity of 1579–1580. On 17 July 1579 James FitzMaurice FitzGeraldJames FitzMaurice FitzGerald
James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald was a member of the 16th century ruling Geraldine dynasty in the province of Munster in Ireland. He rebelled against the crown authority of Queen Elizabeth I of England in response to the onset of the Tudor conquest of Ireland and was deemed an archtraitor...
brought a small fleet of ships to Dingle. He made landfall, launching the Second Desmond Rebellion
Second Desmond Rebellion
The Second Desmond rebellion was the more widespread and bloody of the two Desmond Rebellions launched by the FitzGerald dynasty of Desmond in Munster, Ireland, against English rule in Ireland...
, but was to die soon after in a minor skirmish with the forces of a cousin. 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
The residents of Dingle applied in 1569 for a "murage grant" to construct wallsDefensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
around the town. The grant was not forthcoming on that occasion. Following the defeat of the Desmond Rebellion, Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
directed that a royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
be granted to incorporate the town as a borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
, 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
Burgage
Burgage is a medieval land term used in England and Scotland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town rental property , owned by a king or lord. The property usually, and distinctly, consisted of a house on a long and narrow plot of land, with the narrow end facing the street...
plots.
Although Elizabeth intended to grant a charter, the document was only obtained in 1607. On 2 March of that year her successor, James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, sealed the charter, although the borough and its corporation had already been in existence for twenty-two years. The head of the corporation was the sovereign, fulfilling the role of a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
. In addition to the sovereign, who was elected annually on the Feast of St Michael
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
, 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
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
jurisdiction over Dingle, Ventry
Ventry
Ceann Trá is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland. Located on the Dingle Peninsula, 7 kilometres west of Dingle, the village of Ventry was once the main port of the peninsula...
, Smerwick
Ard na Caithne
Ard na Caithne , meaning height of the arbutus or strawberry tree, known as Smerwick in English, in the heart of the Kerry Gaeltacht is one of the principal bays of Corca Dhuibhne. It is nestled at the foot of An Triúr Deirfiúr and Cnoc Bhréanainn, which at is the highest mountain in the Brandon...
and Ferriter's Creek
Ballyferriter
Baile an Fheirtéaraigh ), also known as An B[h]uailtín, is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is in the west of the Corca Dhuibhne peninsula and according to the 2002 census, about 75% of the town's population speak the Irish language on a daily basis...
" as far as an arrow would fly".
The charter also created Dingle a parliamentary borough
Parliamentary borough
Parliamentary boroughs are a type of administrative division, usually covering urban areas, that are entitled to representation in a Parliament...
, or constituency
Dingle (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Dingle was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.- Boundaries and Boundary Changes :This constituency was based in the town of Dingle in County Kerry.- History :...
, electing two members to the House of Commons of the Parliament of Ireland
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...
.
Linen
Dingle suffered badly in the Nine Years' WarNine Years' War (Ireland)
The Nine Years' War or Tyrone's Rebellion took place in Ireland from 1594 to 1603. It was fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh O'Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe O'Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against English rule in Ireland. The war was fought in all parts of the...
and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
, 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
Knight of Kerry
Knight of Kerry, also called the Green Knight, is one of three Anglo-Irish hereditary knighthoods, all of which existed in Ireland since feudal times. The others are the White Knight and the Knight of Glin...
, who established themselves at "The Grove" at this time. Robert Fitzgerald imported flax
Flax
Flax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent...
seed and by 1755 a flourishing linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
industry had been established, with cloth worth £60,000 produced annually. The trade collapsed following the industrial
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
production of cotton in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and was virtually extinct by 1837.
Fishing
Although Dingle is now a major fishing port, the industry dates from about 1830. The 1870s saw major development, when "nobbyNobby (boat)
The nobby is an an inshore sailing boat which was used as a traditional fishing boat around Lancashire and Manx. The Lancashire nobby originated in Morecambe Bay about 1840 and around Southport. It subsequently came into widespread use down the north west coast of England. The Manx nobby first...
" fleets from the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
came in search of mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
. Lowestoft
Lowestoft
Lowestoft is a town in the English county of Suffolk. The town is on the North Sea coast and is the most easterly point of the United Kingdom. It is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and south-east of Norwich...
herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
trawlers subsequently joined the fleet, allowing for a longer fishing season. The pier and maritime facilities were developed by the Congested Districts Board
Congested Districts Board for Ireland
The Congested Districts Board for Ireland was established by the Chief Secretary, Arthur Balfour in 1891 to alleviate poverty and "congested" living conditions in the west of Ireland....
, and the arrival of rail transport in 1891 allowed for the transport of fish throughout the country, and a canning and curing industry developed.
Places of interest
Dingle's St. Mary's was a neo-GothicGothic Revival architecture
The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
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
Music of Ireland
Irish Music is the generic term for music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th, and into the 21st century, despite globalizing cultural forces...
in the town, particularly during the summer tourist season. Dingle has a number of pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s 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
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. 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. There is a bronze sculpture of Fungi in Dingle.Sport
Dingle is home to the Dingle GAADingle GAA
Dingle GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club from County Kerry, Ireland.The club competes in the Kerry Senior Football Championship. The club play hurling but only up to the under 14 age group.-Kerry Senior Football Championship:...
club, which plays the popular traditional Irish game of Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
. The most noted tournament in which Dingle competes is the Kerry Senior Football Championship. Diarmuid Murphy
Diarmuid Murphy
Diarmuid Murphy is an Irish sportsperson. He plays Gaelic football with his local club An Daingean and was the goalkeeper on the Kerry senior inter-county team from 2004 until 2009...
and Tommy Griffin
Tommy Griffin
Tommy Griffin is an Irish Gaelic football player for Kerry and An Daingean.-Playing career:At Under-21 level, Griffin was on Kerry's 1998 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship winning side. He was soon promoted to the senior panel and has won five...
are current players from Dingle who are on the Kerry GAA
Kerry GAA
The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...
county team for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is a series of games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and played during the summer and early autumn...
.
Dingle Gaa Ladies were launched in June 2010
People
- Famous Gaelic Athletic AssociationGaelic Athletic AssociationThe Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
commentator Mícheál Ó MuircheartaighMícheál Ó MuircheartaighMícheál Ó Muircheartaigh is an Irish Gaelic games commentator for the Irish national radio and television, RTÉ. In a career that has spanned six decades he has come to be regarded as the "voice of Gaelic games." His prolific career has earned him a place in Guinness World Records.-Early...
was born east of Dingle, near Lios PóilLispoleLispole is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated on the Dingle Peninsula 5 miles east of the town of Dingle and 25 miles west of Tralee on the N86 National Secondary Route.-Transport:...
in 1930. - As mentioned, Dingle Gaelic footballers Diarmuid Murphy and Tommy Griffin are currently members of the Kerry senior squad.
- Also from Dingle are Joe O'TooleJoe O'TooleJoseph John "Joe" O'Toole is a former Irish independent politician, who was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1987 to 2011.He was born and brought up in Dingle, County Kerry, O'Toole was a teacher for ten years and then a school principal in County Dublin...
, Senator, Pauline ScanlonPauline ScanlonPauline Scanlon is a singer of contemporary and traditional Irish music.Dingle is in the Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht, which is an area where the population's first language is Irish. Scanlon has been singing professionally since she was 15 years old...
, singer, and Fonzy JitzFonzy JitzFonzy Jitz is a dance DJ hailing from Dingle, in the West of Ireland.-References:...
, international DJ.
Twin towns
| Country | Place | County / District / Region / State | Originally twinned with | Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... ! style="background: >FFFFCF; color: #000000" ! |  |
anta Barbara, California|Santa Barbara>] ! style="background: #FFFFEF; color: #000000" ! |  |
California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
Dingle | 2003 | |||
| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... ! style="background: #FFFFCF; col>r: #000000" ! | |
Tolfa Tolfa Tolfa is a town and comune of the province of Rome, in the Lazio region of central Italy; it lies to the ENE of Civitavecchia by road.It is the main center in the Monti della Tolfa, an extinct volcanic group between Civitavecchia and the Lake of Bracciano.... ! style="background: #FFFF>F; color: #000000" ! | |
Lazio | Dingle | 1974 |
Transport
Dingle was formerly the western terminus of the narrow gauge Tralee and Dingle Light RailwayTralee and Dingle Light Railway
The Tralee and Dingle Light Railway and Tramway was a , 914 mm gauge narrow gauge railway running between Tralee and Dingle, with a branch from Castlegregory Junction to Castlegregory, in County Kerry on the west coast of Ireland. It operated between 1891 and 1953, the Castlegregory branch...
.
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.
Name
In 2005, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív
Éamon Ó Cuív is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Galway West constituency since 1992 and was previously a member of Seanad Éireann.-Early life:...
announced that anglicised
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
place names (such as 'Dingle') of Gaeltacht towns and villages would no longer feature on official signposts, and only the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
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
Daingean
Daingean , formerly Philipstown, is a small town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is situated midway between the towns of Tullamore and Edenderry on the R402 regional road. The town or townland of Daingean has a population of 777 while the District Electoral Division has a total population of...
) in County Offaly
County Offaly
County Offaly is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe and was formerly known as King's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Offaly County Council is...
. 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 Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
County council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
approved the holding of a plebiscite for the change of name to the bilingual
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
"Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis" which took place in October, 2006. 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. 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
John Gormley
John Gormley is an Irish politician. He was the leader of the Irish Green Party from 2007 to 2011, and was a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency from 1997 to 2011. He served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from 2007–11...
, 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. 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.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Dingle (Parliament of Ireland constituency)Dingle (Parliament of Ireland constituency)Dingle was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.- Boundaries and Boundary Changes :This constituency was based in the town of Dingle in County Kerry.- History :...
- Munster IrishMunster IrishMunster Irish is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Munster. Gaeltacht regions in Munster are found in the Dingle Peninsula Gaeltacht of west Kerry, in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry, in Cape Clear Island off the coast of west Cork, in West Muskerry; Coolea,...
- Eask TowerEask TowerThe Eask Tower is a solid stone tower on the top of Carhoo Hill, in County Kerry, Ireland, over-looking Dingle harbour.Eask Tower was built in 1847 in order to guide the ships and boats into the mouth of the blind harbour. The wooden hand pointing from the Tower, guides the boats to their...
- MV RangaRanga (ship)The motor ship Ranga was a 1,586 tonne container ship owned by the Spanish shipping company, Naviera Ason SA, but on charter to the Icelandic shipping company, Hafskip. She was formerly named Berta de Perez, but her name was changed at sea to Ranga, due to the Icelandic charter. The Ranga was on...
, a ship wrecked near Slea Head, Dingle