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[Irish An Daingean, the fortress]

Peninsula, c.100 square miles in west Co. Kerry, stretching from Tralee and the Sliab Mis [Slieve Mish] mountains to the most westerly point in Ireland. The peninsula is also known as Corcaguiney [Modern Irish Corca Dhuibhne], after a powerful early population, the Corcu Duibne, while the name Dingle also applies to a substantial town (pop. 4,000) on the south coast and to Dingle Bay, south of the peninsula. Dingle is often perceived to be one of the most Irish parts of Ireland, containing one of the last Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) areas and a multitude of megalithic and early historic remains. Dingle was the home of the great hero Cú Roí and is the locale of many early Irish narratives, e.g. Cath Fionntrágha, set in Ventry harbour. The Witch of Dingle was said to be a sister of the Cailleach Bhéire.

 
 
Dialing Code: The telephone dialing code for: Dingle, Ireland

The country code is: 353
The city code is: 66


 
Wikipedia: Dingle
Dingle
An Daingean
Location
Location of Dingle
centerMap highlighting Dingle
Irish Grid Reference
Q445012
Statistics
Province: Munster
County: County Kerry
Population (2006) 1,920 

Dingle (Irish: An Daingean or Daingean Uí Chúis) is a town in County Kerry in the Republic of Ireland, on the Atlantic coast some  kilometres ( mi) west-south-west of Tralee and  kilometres ( mi) west-north-west of Killarney. The town is situated on a natural harbour below Slievanea mountain on the large Dingle peninsula, which lies south of the River Shannon and north of the Ring of Kerry.

John Street, Dingle
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John Street, Dingle

Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and farming. In 2006 Dingle had a population of 1,920.[1] Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht region.

Places of interest

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. For a number of years it has been possible to rely on a resident bottlenose dolphin named Fungie showing up for tour boats operating from the harbour. The town has a growing arts and jeweller Brian de Staic is based there, as is the potter Louis Mulcahy.

People

Twinning

Dingle is twinned with Tolfa, an Italian town, and is a sister city of Santa Barbara, California.

Statue of Fungie the Dolphin in Dingle
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Statue of Fungie the Dolphin in Dingle

Transport

Dingle railway station opened on 1 April 1891, closed for passenger traffic on 17 April 1939 and for goods traffic on 10 March 1947, finally closing altogether on 1 July 1953.[2]

Name

Spray-painted road sign
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Spray-painted road sign

In 2005, Gaeltacht Affairs Minister 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 will appear. The English language version of the town's name was thus officially dropped in early 2005, with the Irish name An Daingean being brought to the fore in both languages (longer versions of the Irish placename include Daingean Uí Chúis and An Daingean Mór).

In the case of An Daingean, this move has been particularly controversial, as the town relies heavily on the tourist industry, and some residents fear that the change could prevent potential visitors finding their way to An Daingean (formerly Dingle). There is a similarly named town called Daingean, located in County Offaly - this being an anglicised name. Supporters of the Minister have rejected this line of argument and pointed out that there are numerous towns in Ireland with not only similar names but precisely the same name, such as Blackrock which exists in Louth, Cork, Galway and Dublin. The Minister added to the controversy by suggesting, in response to criticism of the order, that a name change to English could be brought about by removing the town's Gaeltacht status, and thereby its entitlement to relevant government aid. Kerry County Council approved the holding of a plebiscite for the change of name to the bilingual "Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis"[3] which took place in October, 2006.[4] The result was announced on 20 October, and 1,005 from 1,086 returned ballots (out of an electorate of 1,222) favoured the name change to the bilingual version.[5][6] Éamon Ó Cuív has stated that he has no legal powers to act on the results of the plebiscite, but that if Kerry County Council comes to him with a request that he can act on within the law, he would be willing to give it serious consideration.

In the mean time, some locals seem to have taken matters into their own hands by spray painting "Dingle" on road signs that only bear the Irish version of the name.

See also

References

  1. ^ Census 2006 – Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area. Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland (April 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
  2. ^ Dingle station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-09-23.
  3. ^ "Kerry CC votes to hold Dingle plebiscite", RTÉ News, 17 October 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  4. ^ "Dingle so good they may name it twice", Irish Independent, 9 October 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  5. ^ "90% vote in favour of An Daingean name change", RTÉ News, 20 October 2005. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 
  6. ^ "Do you know the way to An Daingean?", BBC News, 20 October 2006. Retrieved on 2007-07-24. 

External links


 
 

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Copyrights:

Celtic Mythology. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Dialing Code. © 1999-2008 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dingle" Read more

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