For 37 years, Dingle had a renowned and reliable attraction: A dolphin named Fungie remained in the harbour area of this amiable town. Thousands of people could watch this very special animal from close distance. Dozens of boats made it possible to experience Fungie. This source of income has vanished now as the dophin.
Even if the Fungie hype was sometimes annoying, it was nice to go to the lighthouse and have Fungie quite regularly near by. There were even people who swam together with this animal and reported exciting experiences.
Perhaps Fungie missed the action around him during the lockdown. The races with the boats weren’t possible any more. There is one relief for people who want to get in touch with dolphins: There is a group of several dolphins in the Moray Firth near Inverness. We could watch dolphins at the Ventry / Ceann Trá strand too. Even big media noticed the disappearing of the dophin like the New York Times, the BBC and the Irish Post.
Toíbín who? you might ask – as far as I can see he has not yet gathered the attention he definitely deserves. Perhaps his novel “House of Names” can change that. What’s it about?
Glendalough is famous for the remains of its mediaval monastery from the 6th century – a time when people in the later Germany lived a very restrained and more or less primitive life. But other things in Glendalough are worth registering as well.