Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [265]
Getting Around
Regular buses serve Dingle town from Tralee via the N86 (Click here), but service to the rest of the peninsula is limited to community buses running once or twice a week. You’ll want your own car or bike, or else you can join one of the many tours that leave from Dingle.
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DINGLE
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Wandering the hilly streets in this naturally quaint town, you quickly realise that the peninsula’s capital is a very special place indeed. It’s one of Ireland’s largest Gaeltacht towns; many pubs double as shops, so you can enjoy Guinness and a singalong among screws and nails, wellies and horseshoes. These charms have long drawn runaways from across the world, making the port town a surprisingly cosmopolitan, creative place. In summer it can be mobbed, there’s no way around it; in the other seasons its authentic charms are yours for the savouring. Excellent seafood restaurants can be enjoyed year-round.
Note that although this is Gaeltacht country, the locals have voted to retain the name Dingle rather than go by the officially sanctioned – and dictated – An Daingean.
Information
The banks on Main St have ATMs and bureaux de change. The post office is off Lower Main St. Parking is free throughout town and €1 per hour in the car park at the harbour.
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ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE DOLPHIN
In 1984 a bottlenose dolphin swam into Dingle Bay and local tourism hasn’t been the same since. Showing an unnatural affinity for humans, it swam around with the local fishing fleet. Eventually somebody got the idea of charging tourists to go out on boats and see the friendly dolphin. Today up to 12 boats at a time and over 1000 tourists a day ply the waters with Dingle’s mascot, the cornerstone of the local economy.
A few Fungie facts:
His name. One of the first fisherman to take an interest in Fungie was nicknamed Fungie because his efforts to grow a beard looked like fungus. His name became the dolphin’s name.
His nature. Bottlenose dolphins are migratory, Fungie isn’t. Some suspect he escaped from a dolphin show and made Dingle Bay his new home.
His sex. Fungie is a boy. There are loads of stories told in local pubs about a friend’s cousin who swam with Fungie and found him to be very much a him and very friendly.
His powers. Promoters arrived in the early 1990s claiming that swimming with Fungie would produce miraculous health benefits, not unlike a trip to Lourdes.
His future. Bottlenose dolphins have an average lifespan of 25 years, which is about as long as Fungie’s been in Dingle. (Uh-oh.)
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An Café Liteártha ( 066-915 2204; Dykegate Lane) Bookshop specialising in Irish history.
Dingle Bookshop ( 066-915 2433; Green St) Has a good collection of new and used books, including books on travel and local interest.
Dingle Cleaners ( 066-915 0680; Mail Rd; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat)
Dingle Internet Café ( 066-915 2478; Lower Main St; per hr €4; 10am-10pm Mon-Fri May-Sep, to 6pm rest of year; ) Burns disks, cheap calls etc.
Olde Forge ( 066-915 0523; Holyground; per hr €4; 10.30am-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 9.30am-10pm Jun-Aug, 12.30pm-7.30pm Sun) Internet cafe; also cheap calls.
Tourist office ( 066-915 1188; www.dingle-peninsula.ie; The Pier; 9am-7pm Jul-Aug, 9am-1pm & 2-6pm May-Jun & Sep, to 5pm Oct-Apr) Busy but helpful, this place has maps, guides and plenty of information on the entire peninsula. It books accommodation for a €4 fee.
Sights
Dingle is one of those towns whose very fabric is the sight. Wander up and down hills, poke around back alleys, head off across the docks, and amble into shops and pubs at random and see what you find.
FUNGIE THE DOLPHIN
Boats leave the pier daily for one-hour dolphin-spotting trips of Dingle’s famous tourism patron, Fungie (see the boxed text, above); the Dingle Boatmen’s Association ( 066-915 2626; The Pier; adult/child €16/8) is the cooperative