There has been a great crowd in town for Feile na Bealtaine, our delightful May festival in Dingle. As always, there has been such a packed and interesting array of arts and events. Sadly, with the book launch and a very busy shop, I’ve been unable to partake as much as usual. Still, even when working you can’t help avoid Feile - I snapped the above photos of the parade just outside our shop.
I know it’s a long way off, but the official dates have been set for the second annual Dingle Food and Wine Festival. It will take place the first weekend of October (3-5th) 2008. So if you like to plan ahead, mark your calender!
Speaking of festivals, I know I mentioned it in a recent post, but I’ll say it again - if you like Dingle and the arts, Feile na Bealtaine is one of the best times to come to this part of the world. From film to drama to music to fine art - it’s a packed week and my favourite time in Dingle, since the town is still quiet enough to enjoy it! I’ll post a schedule when the full list of events has been published…
Technorati tags: Dingle, food, festival, wine, 2008, gourmet
I am happy to announce that Dingle has a fresh fish shop for the first time in years. I am so excited!
O’Catháin Iasc Teo., on the Quay, have opened a little fish shop right next to their factory. Only open two days, I had to queue behind a few other delighted locals to get my bit of turbot for tonight’s dinner. So, it looks like it will be successful, which is great news.
They had quite a range of offerings, and I sincerely wish it brings some hope to Dingle’s struggling fish industry. I certainly will be a good customer!
And yes, if you’re heading to Dingle for Easter, and if you feel like cooking, they will be open on Good Friday so that you can get your fish. From the fresh look of it, though, it will hardly be a penance!
I’m a pretty laid-back fellow, but certain things really get to me. One of them is the disregard of any form of government to the wishes of its people.
In Dingle, we’ve had a famous battle over the name of the town. Whatever one’s stance about the issue (and I understand arguments on both sides), 
the fact is that the town held a plebescite, and 96% voted for “Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis.” It’s now a year and a half later, tourists are still confused by the use of “An Daingean” on the road signs, and the government still hasn’t honoured the wishes of the people.
In an even more worrying development, Kerry County Council launched a Traffic Plan for Dingle a year ago, which I wrote about here. Basically they wanted to remove almost all of the parking from the centre of town and create satellite parking around the edges.
For most of the year, Dingle is a tiny market town of 1,800 residents, without any traffic problem outside weddings and funerals, and removing the parking would be a disaster for businesses and for quality of life (would you really hike 10 minutes in a January gale to grab a coffee, visit friends, or do your shopping?)
There was uproar about the plan a year ago, and most of the businesses, associations, and residents sent in opposing submissions. Do you think Kerry County Council paid any attention to the submissions? It seems not. They just launched a new traffic plan that still takes away the parking. I haven’t seen it yet, but it appears that instead of removing 130 parking spots, they now propose to remove only 122. Very generous.
They say it’s a new plan, and so the old submissions are invalid. All the submissions need to be re-done. For what? To save another few parking spaces? I think they could have a battle on their hands this time. Stay tuned…
P.S. In the interest of fairness, I have heard from both the press officer of Kerry County Council and a local Counciller who say that this is just a draft, that they are open for input, and that submissions will be taken seriously this time around. Let’s hope so!
Technorati tags: Dingle, traffic, plan, Kerry, county, council
The sun has been blazing down in Dingle. Well, sort of. The weather has been stupendous up until today, and that means that farmers have been burning gorse to clear pasture up on the hills before the seasonal ban comes into effect. According to a friend, there were more than 100 fires in the Dingle area yesterday.
The smoke, oddly enough, had no intention of rising and floating away. Instead, it meandered down into town, where it settled in and made itself at home. The photo on the right was taken in the middle of the afternoon, and it sure was murky.
So what do you do if you want to take a stroll? We drove up to the fresh mountain air at the top of Conor Pass.
There, in the parking lot, we were greeted by a goat. Yes, indeed, she (I think it was a she, even though she had a beard) trotted up to the car and bleated for attention. She looked to be feral (Dingle used to be known for wild goats) and seemed somewhat arthritic, which is perhaps why she was hanging around looking for handouts. I sadly didn’t have any ice cream on me, but an apple core, tossed from a passing car, interested her greatly.
She didn’t much like to be petted, perhaps because one horn appeared to be damaged and was wrapped close to her head, so we left her and headed up the hill. She bleated a few times and then followed.
We walked, and she trotted along behind for the first 500 meters or so, before she became distracted by an especially tasty patch of grass. She raised her head and bleated out an invitation for us to join in the grazing, but we politely declined and kept walking.
When we returned, she was back in the parking lot, scaring a car-full of tourists who were put off by her over-eager approach. I tried to pet her again. She butted away my hand, maybe offended that we had spurned her grazing invitation.
If she sticks around, she could become a permanent fixture on the Conor Pass like Fungie in Dingle Bay. I’d say she would take some getting used to, however, to judge by the haste with which the tourists drove off and by my slightly sore hand. Maybe those folks in Killorglin know what they are doing, sticking their goat high up on a pedestal, but I don’t know. A goat up close and personal is kind of fun.
Technorati tags: Dingle, Irish, goat, Conor Pass
I wish all a very happy, sweet and prosperous 2008 from Dingle, Ireland!
Here are a couple photos of the fireworks that they set off last night by the harbour in Dingle town…
Last year was far too stormy for the fireworks display, but this New Year’s Eve was still and warm here in Kerry.
The calm weather and lack of rain put everyone in an elevated mood and made the celebrations a little more special.
Let’s hope it’s a good omen for the New Year. We deserve one that’s warm and dry!
Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh.
Technorati tags: Dingle, 2008, New Year, fireworks, Kerry, Ireland
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There are a lot of tired people in West Kerry today after yesterday’s Wren’s Day festivities. It was great fun as always. Here’s a bit of footage for you!
Technorati tags: wren, day, St. Stephen, Dingle, Kerry
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Here’s a little bit of video my father took of the Christmas charity swim in Dingle. I’m in the last frame running out of the cold water as quickly as I can! I hope your Christmas day is much less severe than the Kerry sea in December.
Merry Christmas!
This is always a hectic but fun time of year for me, since yesterday is my Aunt Carol’s birthday, today is my mother’s birthday, tomorrow, of course, is Christmas, and then there is the wren on the 26th.
Today, despite dire weather forcasts, the sun shone brightly, the wind was slack, and the afternoon was much more like May than December.
With the shops closed and the deliveries done, we all went for a stroll on Ventry beach, including Ivan the ice cream dog (above).
What an absolute delight. I might have ice cream and chocolate on the brain for most of the year, but for these few days it’s great to relax and spend time with family. I hope this day was as enjoyable for you!
Happy Christmas!
Today, the Dingle Camphill Community had an open day and craft’s fair. Camphill Communities are for people with special needs including autism, Down’s Syndrome, etc.
It might be a little early for some to be thinking about Christmas gifts, but if you want something really special, you can buy all sorts of wonderful crafts made on the premises and of course the money goes to support the (non-profit) organisation.
Basket making, weaving, etc. are used as therapy, and it’s brilliant to see the pride they have in their work.
There are quite a few Camphill Communities around the country, and I can’t recommend paying a visit more strongly. It’s usually possible to just drop in, and it’s utterly heart-warming. If you come home with a special gift, so much the better.
Kieran Murphy is a chocoholic ice cream man (a director of Murphys Ice Cream) living in Dingle, Co. Kerry, Ireland.
Please ask if you wish to use text or images.
Copyright (c) Kieran Murphy 2006-2008.
