Dingle fisherman dismisses rumours Fungie is 'missing'

Fungie has been spotted in the waters around Dingle since 1983.

A Kerry fisherman has dismissed rumours that Fungie the dolphin was missing, claiming that he sees the beloved cetacean "as regularly as you would see the same person at a pedestrian crossing".

Fisherman Paul Hand said Fungie, unlike the rest of Ireland, is able to hang out with his friends and doesn't have to social distance.

“I saw him yesterday morning. There is a lot of feed around Dingle Bay at the moment. It is not common to see a lot of bottlenose dolphins inside in Dingle Bay. Pods of them come from time to time and he mixes with them and he goes out to the bay during the summer and comes back," he said.

"Before the weather breaks at this time of year, you have whales and dolphins and every type of thing inside in Dingle Bay after the feed. When the weather breaks that feed is gone.

"Every dolphin on the planet knows that better than ourselves. So Fungie has gone out with the pod of dolphins."

Paul said he saw Fungie "yesterday morning" and others saw him just a few hours later.

Paul joked that Fungie clearly “doesn’t believe in social distancing” and is living the high life for the autumn, cavorting with his pals in Dingle Bay.

He is 100 percent alive. I mean if your dog goes missing you don’t say they are dead

Paul said he came in from fishing yesterday evening to his nephew telling him that reports had gone up on social media that Fungie was missing.

“I said ‘what are you on about?’ I saw him Monday morning and evening Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening. I saw him Wednesday morning. And Thursday morning but not the evening. I said ‘there is dolphins in the harbour he is probably out with them.’ He is 100 percent alive. I mean if your dog goes missing you don’t say they are dead," Paul said.

"I pass that dolphin every day.”

Concern had mounted in Dingle after a Facebook page had reported the dolphin hadn't been seen for a few days.

A post on the page said, "For the past two days, Rudi and I have been searching for Fungie everywhere. There is absolutely no sign of him. Today I raised the alarm and I have to thank Mary and Mick O'Neill from Dingle Boat Tours who were so kind to take us on a very long search along the coastline and search in places we could not reach with our own small boat because of the waves. Meanwhile, two other boats started a long search as well.

"We are very upset because it looks like we have lost our best friend. Fungie was a part of a lot of people's lives. He was and is and will always be loved all over the world."

The two persons behind the page Jeannine Masset and Rudi Schamart regularly post pictures of Fungie and track his movements. They posted an update on the sighting by Paul Hand.

The couple, who are from the Netherlands but living in Dingle, take their little rubber dinghy out daily to search for Fungie. They have been tracking the friendly dolphin for over 25 years.

Their YouTube and Facebook pages attract thousands of hits annually. The dolphin has been seen in the area since 1983.