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DINGLE |
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DINGLE ( An Daingean ) doesn't offer a huge amount to see, but the
town is a pleasant place to stay, devoted to fishing and tourism, and
certainly makes the best base for exploring the peninsula. There are
plenty of opportunities to get out onto the water from here and many
fine walks accessible from the town centre; the Kerry Way actually
passes right through the centre. Though crammed with pubs, little
restaurants and B&Bs, Dingle somehow never feels too crowded, and even
if you don't like the way the place has geared itself up for tourism,
you'll be glad when the weather's bad - which it often is - that there
are plenty of places to hole up. The town services the tiny communities
west of here, so if you are heading on it makes good sense to stock up
on supplies.
The Town
Essentially just a few streets by the side of Dingle Bay, the town has a
hugely impressive natural harbour where the boats come in and Fungi the
dolphin likes to play; half-tame Fungi is one of Dingle's main tourist
attractions. It may sound silly, but there are people who talk of their
meetings with this solitary, 663lb maritime mammal in the terms of a
religious conversion, and others travel hundreds of miles just to see
him. If you want to go for an early-morning dip with him, check out
Flannery's beside the tourist office (tel 066/915 1967; two-hour boat
trip £10/¬12.70, wet suit hire £14/¬17.78) - boats depart at 8am and you
will need to be measured for a wet suit the day before. Flannery's also
offer boat trips out to see him (tel 066/915 2626). Alternatively, you
can walk down to the coast via the lane alongside the Skellig Hotel and
watch him from the shore - Fungi often comes in this far. There are
plenty of other ways to get out onto - if not into - the water from
Dingle, including Eco archeological boat trips, which head along the
coast, the guide explaining the flora, fauna and history of the
peninsula as you go (2-2hr 30min; tel 087/285 8802; £15/¬19.05). All
trips depart from the quays throughout the summer; the length of the
season depends on the weather.
The solidity of the town's colour-washed houses suggests this was a
place of some consequence, and Dingle was indeed Kerry's leading port in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It later became a centre for
smuggling, and at one stage during the eighteenth century (when the
revenue from smuggling was at its height) even minted its own coinage.
Contemporary reports describe the stone houses with balconies and oval
windows, imparting a Spanish feel to the town. In the nineteenth century,
Dingle was the focus of a uniquely successful attempt to woo the Kerry
Catholics from their faith, when in 1831 the Protestant curate T.
Goodman began preaching in Irish, establishing schools on the peninsula
and building houses as inducements for converts; these still stand at
the edge of town
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