Dingle

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Town in County Kerry, Ireland

title: "Dingle" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dingle", "towns-and-villages-in-county-kerry", "gaeltacht-places-in-county-kerry", "gaeltacht-towns-and-villages", "former-boroughs-in-the-republic-of-ireland"] description: "Town in County Kerry, Ireland" topic_path: "geography/ireland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingle" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in County Kerry, Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
settlement_typeTown
nameDingle
native_namega
image_skylineDingle Strand Street.jpg
image_captionStrand Street, Dingle
pushpin_mapIreland
pushpin_label_positionnone
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Ireland
coordinates
blank_name_sec1Irish Grid Reference
blank_info_sec1
unit_prefMetric
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameIreland
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Munster
subdivision_type2County
subdivision_name2County Kerry
subdivision_type3Barony
subdivision_name3Corkaguiny
population_total1671
population_as_of2022
population_footnotes
::

::callout[type=note] the town in Ireland ::

|settlement_type = Town |name = Dingle |native_name = ga |image_skyline = Dingle Strand Street.jpg |image_caption = Strand Street, Dingle |imagesize = |pushpin_map = Ireland |pushpin_label_position = none |pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland |coordinates = |blank_name_sec1 = Irish Grid Reference |blank_info_sec1 = |unit_pref = Metric |elevation_m = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Ireland |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Munster |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = County Kerry |subdivision_type3 = Barony |subdivision_name3 = Corkaguiny |population_total = 1671 |population_as_of = 2022 |population_footnotes = |website = |1821|4538 |1831|4327 |1841|3386 |1851|3273 |1861|2260 |1871|2117 |1881|1833 |1891|1764 |1901|1786 |1911|1884 |1926|1998 |1936|1800 |1946|1683 |1951|1545 |1956|1453 |1961|1460 |1966|1406 |1971|1401 |1981|1358 |1986|1253 |1991|1272 |1996|1536 |2002|1828 |2006|1920 |2011|1965 |2016|2050 |2022|1671 |footnote={{cite book |last=Lee|first=J. J.| author-link =J. J. Lee (historian)|editor-last=Goldstrom|editor-first=J. M.|editor2-last=Clarkson |editor2-first=L. A.|title=Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell |year=1981|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford, England |chapter=On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses}}{{Cite journal | last1 = Mokyr | first1 = Joel | author-link = Joel Mokyr | last2 = Ó Gráda | first2 = Cormac | author-link2 = Cormac Ó Gráda | title = New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850 | journal = The Economic History Review | volume = 37 | issue = 4 | pages = 473–488 |date=November 1984 | url = http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract | archive-url = https://archive.today/20121204160709/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-12-04 | doi = 10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x | hdl = 10197/1406 | hdl-access = free }}

Dingle ( or Daingean Uí Chúis, meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as Corca Dhuibhne), it sits on the Atlantic coast, about 50 km southwest of Tralee and 71 km northwest of Killarney. Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and agriculture: Dingle Mart (livestock market) serves the surrounding countryside. The town is located in the Barony of Corkaguiny (the name 'Corkaguiny' being the anglicised version of Corca Dhuibhne).

In 2022, Dingle had a population of 1,671, a decrease from the 2016 census, and the oldest average age for a town in Ireland (44.4 years). Situated in a Gaeltacht region, 13.7% of the population spoke Irish on a daily basis in 2016. An adult Bottlenose dolphin named Fungie had been courting human contact in Dingle Bay since 1983 but disappeared in 2020.

History

A large number of Ogham stones were set up in an enclosure in the 4th and 5th centuries AD at Ballintaggart.

The town 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 King Henry III imposed customs on the port's exports. By the fourteenth century, importing wine was a major business. The 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 Emperor Charles V 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.

Second Desmond Rebellion

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.

Walled town and chartered borough

The residents of Dingle applied in 1569 for a "murage grant" to construct walls 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 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 Irish Parliament.

Linen

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Dingle_cholera_plague_plaque,_1849.JPG" caption="Commemorative plaque to Fr. Michael Divine, a parish priest who ministered to [[cholera]] victims and himself succumbed to the plague"] ::

Dingle suffered greatly in the Nine Years' War 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. The town fell victim to a cholera plague in 1849.

Fishing

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.

Education

There are three primary schools in Dingle: Scoil An Ghleanna, Scoil Iognáid Rís and Bunscoil an Clochair. There are also two secondary schools – Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne and Coláiste Íde Boarding School. Dingle as part of the Corca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht also hosts Irish School for students during the summer.

The Sacred Heart University, Connecticut, USA, has an Irish studies centre in Dingle.

Places of interest

Dingle's St. Mary's is 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 clerestory level, and, most notably, of the attic and upper ranges of the west elevation.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Interior_St_Mary's_Dingle_I.jpg" caption="Stained glass windows, Chapel of the Sacred Heart"] ::

The Chapel of the Sacred Heart is a neo-gothic chapel attached to Saint Mary's. It was built for a local enclosed order of Presentation Sisters, by the architect C. J. McCarthy in 1886. The major Irish artist Harry Clarke produced six double-lancet stained glass windows for the chapel which were installed in 1924. The lancets depict scenes from the life of Christ. Clarke was at the time a leading figure in the Arts and Crafts movement and was paid a fee of £1,000 for the works.

Irish traditional music is played in several locations, particularly during the summer tourist season. Dingle has a number of pubs, restaurants and cafes. The aquarium, "Oceanworld Aquarium", is home to tropical, foreign and native animals, and a number of art and craft shops.

Dingle is home to Murphy's Ice Cream, a cafe that serves ice cream and coffee. Murphy's has homemade ice cream made from Kerry cattle. Another business, Dingle Distillery, was launched in 2012.

Gallaunmore, a standing stone and National Monument, lies 3 km (2 miles) to the east.

St. Manchan's Oratory (An Teampall Geal), a medieval oratory with ogham stone and souterrain, lies on nearby Lateeve Hill.

Sport

Dingle is home to the Dingle GAA club, which fields Gaelic football teams. The most noted tournament in which Dingle competes is the Kerry Senior Football Championship. Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne, the local rugby team, and Dingle Bay Rovers F.C. are also based in the area.

The yearly Dingle Marathon started in 2009, when John Griffin, a former winner of the Dublin Marathon, won the race at 50 years old. The full marathon begins and ends in Dingle town, taking in Slea Head and the Dingle Peninsula on its route, whilst the half marathon goes from Dingle to Dun Chaoin. The inaugural event had 2,500 participants, and participation peaked at approximately 3,500 participants in 2018. The course is certified by the Athletics Association of Ireland.

Transport

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Dingle_Harbour,_Kerry,_Ireland.jpg" caption="Dingle Harbour"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/DingleRH.jpg" caption="Main Street in central Dingle"] ::

Bus routes serving Dingle include routes to Killarney, to Tralee, to Kerry Airport, to Cloghane (via Castlegregory), and to Ballydavid (via Ballyferriter and Dunquin).

Dingle was formerly the western terminus of the narrow-gauge Tralee and Dingle Light Railway, which closed in 1953. The station was sited opposite the hospital, on the N86 road into the town from Lispole, where an undertakers premises and disused petrol station now stand. 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.

Today, the closest train terminal is Tralee, with bus services operating from Tralee Bus and Rail Stations. In addition, bus services operate from Killarney Bus and Rail Stations to Dingle.

Name

In 2005, Éamon Ó Cuív, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, announced that anglicised place names (such as 'Dingle') of Gaeltacht towns and villages would no longer feature on official signposts within the Republic of Ireland; henceforth, 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 largely colloquial 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 from finding the town. Detractors noted that tourists might not recognise the Irish name on signposts 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" | title = Kerry CC votes to hold Dingle plebiscite | url = http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1017/dingle.html | work = RTÉ News | date = 17 October 2005 | access-date = 24 July 2007 | title = Dingle so good they may name it twice | url = http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/dingle-so-good-they-may-name-it-twice-26359086.html | work = Irish Independent | date = 9 October 2006 | access-date = 1 April 2017 | title = 90% vote in favour of An Daingean name change | url = http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1020/daingean.html | work = RTÉ News | date = 20 October 2005 | access-date = 24 July 2007 | title = Do you know the way to An Daingean? | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/6070820.stm | publisher = BBC News | date = 20 October 2006 | access-date = 24 July 2007

People

Climate

|metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan high C = 9.9 |Feb high C = 10.1 |Mar high C = 11.1 |Apr high C = 12.6 |May high C = 14.8 |Jun high C = 16.5 |Jul high C = 17.9 |Aug high C = 18.0 |Sep high C = 17.1 |Oct high C = 14.4 |Nov high C = 11.9 |Dec high C = 10.4 |year high C = |Jan mean C = 7.4 |Feb mean C = 7.6 |Mar mean C = 8.2 |Apr mean C = 9.6 |May mean C = 11.7 |Jun mean C = 13.6 |Jul mean C = 15.3 |Aug mean C = 15.2 |Sep mean C = 14.2 |Oct mean C = 11.7 |Nov mean C = 9.4 |Dec mean C = 8.0 |year mean C = |Jan low C = 5.0 |Feb low C = 5.0 |Mar low C = 5.3 |Apr low C = 6.5 |May low C = 8.6 |Jun low C = 10.7 |Jul low C = 12.7 |Aug low C = 12.5 |Sep low C = 11.2 |Oct low C = 9.0 |Nov low C = 7.0 |Dec low C = 5.6 |year low C = |precipitation colour = green |Jan precipitation mm = 178.3 |Feb precipitation mm = 135.3 |Mar precipitation mm = 112.9 |Apr precipitation mm = 106.0 |May precipitation mm = 90.7 |Jun precipitation mm = 99.3 |Jul precipitation mm = 115.3 |Aug precipitation mm = 113.8 |Sep precipitation mm = 125.3 |Oct precipitation mm = 175.0 |Nov precipitation mm = 187.3 |Dec precipitation mm = 178.3 |year precipitation mm = |Jan sun = 47.9 |Feb sun = 64.5 |Mar sun = 105.4 |Apr sun = 158.2 |May sun = 182.0 |Jun sun = 168.8 |Jul sun = 134.2 |Aug sun = 143.0 |Sep sun = 119.6 |Oct sun = 90.3 |Nov sun = 54.3 |Dec sun = 43.6 |year sun = |source 1 = MeteoStat{{cite web|title=Weather Averages - Dingle, Ireland |url =https://meteostat.net/en/place/ie/dingle|publisher=MeteoStat}}

References

Notes

Bibliography

References

  1. "Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Dingle-Daingean Uí Chuis".
  2. (Apr 2012). "Population Classified by Area". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)]].
  3. (April 2007). "Census 2006 – Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
  4. [http://www.cso.ie/census Census for post 1821 figures.] {{webarchive. link. (9 March 2005)
  5. "Histpop – The Online Historical Population Reports Website".
  6. "Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency – Census Home Page".
  7. McKenna 1986:10–11
  8. Kerry County Council 2006:1
  9. Townlands.ie: [[Barony (Ireland). Barony]] of Corkaguiny, Co. Kerry. https://www.townlands.ie/kerry/corkaguiny/
  10. (29 June 2023). "Census of Population 2022 Profile 1 - Population Distribution and Movements". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
  11. "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Dingle-Daingean Uí Chuis". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)]].
  12. O’Loughlin, Ed. (2020-10-27). "Fungie, Ireland's Missing Dolphin, 'Goes With the Tide'". The New York Times.
  13. McKenna 1986:19–20, Coppage et al 1986:380
  14. McKenna 1986:20
  15. (29 April 2009). "The Treaty of Dingle remembered". [[The Kerryman]].
  16. Meehan, Cary. (2004). "Sacred Ireland". Gothic Image Publications.
  17. McKenna 1986:60
  18. Coppage et al, 1986:381
  19. McKenna 1986:23
  20. McKenna 1986:31–33
  21. McKenna, 1986:45–47
  22. Daniel Graham. (1996). "History of Fishing on Ireland's Dingle Peninsula". Dingle Peninsula Tourism.
  23. (24 September 2025). "Study in Ireland: Sacred Heart University Dingle. Immerse in Irish Culture".
  24. "[http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=KE&regno=21400615 Saint Mary's Catholic Church, Green Street, Dingle, County Kerry]". [[Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht]]. Retrieved 30 June 2019
  25. "The Harry Clarke Windows". ''Irish Arts Review'', Volume 30, No. 1, Spring (March – May 2013). p. 14
  26. (July 2005). "Dingle football match report". 'The Kingdom' newspaper.
  27. (September 2007). "Murphy and Griffin appear for Kerry in the All-Ireland football final". [[RTÉ News and Current Affairs.
  28. (16 September 2009). "Marathon a galloping success". The Kerryman.
  29. (22 July 2009). "Dingle marathon is launched". The Kerryman.
  30. (1 September 2018). "Record number of entries for 10th Dingle Marathon". The Kerryman.
  31. (2019-08-01). "Epic Runs of the World". Lonely Planet.
  32. "Dingle station". Railscot – Irish Railways.
  33. "Dingle Public Transport".
  34. (April 2008). "Gormley proposes amendments to legislation on changing Place-names – Dingle and Daingean Uí Chúis to be official names of An Daingean". [[Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
  35. (10 November 2017). "Local Government Act 2001 Revised". [[Law Reform Commission (Ireland).

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