Dingle
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Dingle Daingean Uí Chúis |
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| Town | |
Dingle Harbour
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| Coordinates: 52°08′24″N 10°16′18″W / 52.139915°N 10.27153°WCoordinates: 52°08′24″N 10°16′18″W / 52.139915°N 10.27153°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Kerry |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,965 |
| Irish Grid Reference | Q445012 |
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 2011 Dingle had a population of 1,965. Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht region. There used to be two secondary schools but they have now amalgamated to produce Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne. An adult Bottlenose dolphin named Fungie has been courting human contact in Dingle Bay since 1983.
A large number of Ogham stones were set up in an enclosure in the 4th and 5th centuries AD at Ballintaggart.
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. 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.
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Wikipedia