'He disappeared as mysteriously as he arrived' — crowds gather in tribute to Fungie
Fungie spent 37 years in Dingle Bay.
Picture: Graham Murphy
Tears were shed during an emotional day in Dingle as up to 1,000 people gathered to commemorate Fungie the Dolphin on Sunday.
Fungie spent 37 years in Dingle Bay and was loved by thousands of visitors who travelled from around the world to go out out in boats to see the friendly dolphin.
Jimmy Flannery, managing director with Dolphin Sea Safari and former chair of Dingle Dolphin Tours, said today was emotional.
“It was a very emotional day, an awful lot of tears shed today,” he said.
“A lot of good friends came together to see this that hadn’t seen each other in a long time, people who were Fungie’s friends over the years. That was quite wonderful.”
Mr Flannery gave tours for 32 years and said the enjoyment Fungie showed when interacting with children was especially memorable.
In all four companies offered tours in return for donations to Dingle Coast and Cliff Rescue and Mallow Search and Rescue, including Deep Sea Dingle and Dingle Ahoy.
Local artist Ciara McKenna painted a large mural of Fungie on Dingle Lighthouse. The pier hosted live music sessions and children’s essays or drawings of Fungie were displayed.
Photographer Sean Ó Mainnín, who wrote a book on the dolphin, said Fungie left his mark on the town, inspiring a marine tourism industry which still thrives.
A tour with Fungie was a must-do for every tourist until his disappearance in October 2019.
Mr Flannery said the silence around the Bay in the following days and weeks was very hard.
“It was very nice to have that noise back again today,” he said on today.
Mystery still surrounds the fate of the sociable bottle-nose dolphin.
“We have no idea what happened to him,” Mr Flannery said.
“When there was no body, we will always wonder. He disappeared just as mysteriously as he arrived."
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