Dingle expecting surge in visitor numbers from US and UK
And, after more than 30 years frolicking around the Kerry harbour, the internationally-known bottlenose dolphin Fungie continues to be a star attraction.
The local aquarium, Dingle Oceanworld, is also planning a €1m extension, including two new hi-tech exhibition areas due to be open for the 2016 season.
Oceanworld director Kevin Flannery said factors such as favourable exchange rates for the dollar and sterling against the euro, as well as the success of the Wild Atlantic Way, were all helping tourism.
“If we can’t achieve a record year, given the combination of such factors, there’s something radically wrong. Because of the Wild Atlantic Way, tourist buses are turning up in places along the west coast where they were never seen before. We’ve a fair wind and a calm sea,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of people came to see Fungie and he has also featured in several films and TV documentaries since first being spotted in the harbour in October 1983. Around a dozen ferry boats, some operating year-round, take tourists to see the dolphin splashing and diving in the harbour.
Dingle folk have not yet figured out what will happen when Fungie dies, or if he just disappears overnight. A bottlenose dolphin can live for 40 to 50 years, says the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration of America.
However, by the time Fungie goes, the fishing port, which also has a marina, is likely to have developed a varied range of alternative marine attractions and may even come up with another dolphin.
Some fishermen are also diversifying by getting into eco-tours and sightseeing trips to Dingle Bay and the Blasket Islands.
Activities like whale and dolphin-watching and sea angling are also more popular.
“The entire coastal area from the Shannon Estuary to Bantry Bay has an abundance of marine life — minke whales have already begun to arrive — and there’s huge potential for all kinds of tours which is only starting to be developed,” said Mr Flannery.
Wow Heaven can wait when you see the awesome beauty of Dingle Ireland @wawguide @barrabest #dingle #WildAtlanticWay pic.twitter.com/eoR1ApVLTY
— Dingle Photographer (@yankedoo) April 19, 2015
Meanwhile, a former RIC barracks in Caherciveen, Co Kerry, has undergone an extensive revamp, officially opened by Diaspora Minister Jimmy Deenihan. The building, dating to around 1870, has been converted into a local history museum and interpretive centre for Daniel O’Connell, The Liberator, a native of the area.
Behind the project is the local development association, Acard, which has received 75% grant aid from the South Kerry Development Partnership for the €180,000 project.
Locals and tourists will be able to learn more about the history and heritage of the area through visual and interpretive displays.
There are also panels on the building and history of the barracks, the local RIC and the Fenian Rising.
Two floors are dedicated to the memory of Daniel O’Connell. A special room has been dedicated to the places and people of the Caherciveen area, on the Ring of Kerry.
The imposing building, overlooking the River Fertha, was damaged during the Civil War and had lain derelict for almost 70 years until the first steps were taken to restore it in 1991.
DISCOVER MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
