Dingle (Irish: An Daingean or Daingean Uí Chúis, meaning “Ó Cúis’ fort”) is a town in County Kerry, 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 (livestock market) serves the surrounding countryside. In 2006 Dingle had a population of 1,900. Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht region. There used to be two secondary schools but they have now amalgamated to produce Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. A friendly dolphin named Fungie lives in the harbour.
In Ireland the town was developed as a port following the Norman invasion of Ireland. 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, importing wine was a major business. Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, who held palatine powers in the area, imposed a tax on this activity around 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. ingle 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. The Dingle Peninsula was the scene of much of the military activity of 1579–80. On 17 July 1579 James FitzMaurice FitzGerald 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.
Dingle is a major fishing port, and the industry dates back to about 1830. The 1870s saw major development, when “nobby” 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.
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. There is also an aquarium, “Oceanworld Aquarium”, in the town, and a number of art and craft shops. Dingle Distillery—one of only five in Ireland—was launched in Dingle in 2012.
[caption id="attachment_214542" align="aligncenter" width="491"] Christopher Columbus by Sebastiano del Piombo[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator who completed four voyages across the ...
