Dingle
'Dinglea classy town' (in Irish, An Daingean or Daingean Uí Chúis) is a growing town in County Kerry in the Republic of Ireland, on the Atlantic coast some 50 km west-south-west of Tralee and 80 km 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.
Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and farming. In 2002 Dingle had a population of 1,828 (CSO census). Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht region.
There are many opportunities to hear traditional Celtic music in the town, particularly in 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 dolphin named Fungie showing up for tour boats operating from the harbour. The town has a growing arts and well-known jeweller Brian de Staic is based there, as is the pottery master Louis Mulcahy.
Famous GAA commentator Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh was born west of Dingle in 1930. Dingle is twinned with Tolfa, an Italian town, and is a sister city of Santa Barbara, California.
Name
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 town's name was officially changed back to Irish in early 2005, using the official form An Daingean (longer versions of the Irish placename include Daingean Uí Chúis and An Daingean Mór).
In the case of Dingle, 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 Dingle. There is a similarly named town called Daingean, located in County Offaly - this being an anglicised name. 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 have approved the holding of a plebiscite for the change of name to the bilingual "Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis"[1].
