Dingle still waiting for restoration of old order

SIX months ago, the people of Dingle, in association with Kerry Co Council, held a plebiscite in which 93% of the townspeople voted to reinstate their traditional bilingual names, Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúis.

The Government’s response was to tape over ‘Dingle’ on every signpost in Co Kerry. Now our plebiscite lies bound in red tape, awaiting Government attention.

Recently, we highlighted a survey carried out by Dingle guesthouses, pubs, shops and restaurants over the St Patrick’s Day holiday weekend. It showed that eight out of 10 tourists said they had trouble finding the town. All American guidebooks refer to the town and area as the Dingle peninsula, and they found that the removal of Dingle from the signposts was very confusing. Dingle businesses reported trade down by as much as 50% on previous years. So far, all of this has been greeted by Government indifference and apathy.