Dingle Peninsula
Corca Dhuibhne | |
|---|---|
 Location of the Dingle Peninsula | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Ireland |
| Adjacent to | |
| Area | 583 km2(225 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 952 m (3123 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Brandon |
| Administration | |
| County | Kerry |
| County council | 3 seats |
TheDingle Peninsula(Irish:Corca Dhuibhne;anglicisedasCorkaguinyorCorcaguiny,the name of the correspondingbarony) is the northernmost of the majorpeninsulasinCounty Kerry.It ends beyond the town ofDingleatDunmore Head,thewesternmost point of Ireland.[1]
Name
[edit]The Dingle Peninsula is named after the town ofDingle.The peninsula is also commonly calledCorca Dhuibhne(Corcu Duibne) even when those referring to it are speaking in English.Corca Dhuibhne,[2]which means "seed or tribe of Duibhne"[3](a Goddess fromIrish mythologyand anIrish clanname), refers to thetúath(people, nation) ofCorco Dhuibhnewho occupied the peninsula in the Middle Ages and who also held a number of territories in the south and east of County Kerry.
Geography
[edit]The peninsula exists because of the band ofsandstonerock that forms theSlieve Mishmountain range at the neck of the peninsula, in the east, and theBrandon Groupof mountains, and theMountains of the Central Dingle Peninsulafurther to the west. Ireland's highest mountain outsideMacGillycuddy's Reeks,Mount Brandonat 951 m, forms part of a high ridge with views over the peninsula and North Kerry.
Conor Pass,which runs fromDingleon the south-western end of the peninsula towardsBrandon BayandCastlegregoryin the north-east, is the highest mountain pass in Ireland,[citation needed]a narrow, twisting road; it weaves its way around the sharp cliff faces and past the highcorrielakes.
TheBlasket Islandslie off the west coast. They are known for the literary and linguistic heritage of the former inhabitants. However, these remote islands have been uninhabited since the 1950s following an evacuation.
Culture, literature, and language
[edit]The western end of the peninsula is aGaeltacht(Irish-speakingarea) that has produced and heavily influenced a number of storytellers, poets, and writers highly important toModern literature in Irish;Piaras Feiritéar,Máire Mhac an tSaoi,Pádraig Ó Siochfhradha,Cáit Feiritéar,andPeig Sayersamong others. This is the westernmost part of Ireland, and the village ofDún Chaoinis often jokingly referred to as "the next parish to America."
Although he greatly admired the post-Irish War of IndependenceGaeltacht memoirs from Corca Dhuibhne and the surrounding islands, and particularly the memoirs ofGreat Blasket IslandseanchaitheTomás Ó Criomhthain,novelistFlann O'Brienalso chose tosatirizetheirclichesquite mercilessly in hismodernistnovelAn Béal Bocht( "The Poor Mouth" ), which is set in the fictional, desperately poor, and constantly raining Gaeltacht of (Corca Dhorcha); a parody of (Irish:Corca Dhuibhne).
Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh,award-winningseán-nos singerand performer ofIrish traditional music,was born in theAran Islands,but grew up inDún Chaoin.Nic Amhlaoibh has both performed and recorded Irish language songs from Corca Dhuibhne, including at least one song composed upon the nearbyGreat Blasket Island.
Archaeology
[edit]The peninsula is the location of numerousprehistoricand earlymedievalremains including:
- Glanfahan,site of ancient dry-stone huts (clocháns)
- Caherdorgan North,with medieval stone buildings
- Ballywiheen,containing an ancient stone fort and monastic settlement
- Kilmalkedar,monastic settlement with Ogham stone
- Ferriter's Cove,at the western tip of the peninsula; and
- Gallarus Oratoryin the very west of the peninsula near the village ofBaile an FheirtéaraighinArd na Caithne.
Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne, situated in the village of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter) has exhibitions detailing the archaeology and history of the peninsula. Some of the exhibitions include Ogham stones, artefacts from the excavations at the nearby monastic site of Riasc (Reask) and objects on loan from theNational Museum of Ireland.[4]
In April 2021, Irish archaeologists from the National Monuments Service and Ireland's National Museum announced the discovery of an untouchedBronze Agegrave, skeletal remains, fragments of human bone and a largesemicircularslab in the underground passageway. Archaeologist Mr Ó Coileáin reported: “We think this may have been a ritual site with an element of burial in it and this could be one of those. This looks like it is a chambered tomb from theprehistoricperiod which might have been a significant marker on the landscape ".[5][6][7][8]
Places of interest
[edit]
The peninsula is known for theMVRanga,aSpanishcargo vessel that wrecked on the coast in 1982.[9]
Gallaunmoreis a standing stone and National Monument.
Rahinnane Castleis a 15th-century castle built on a medievalringfort.
Slieveglass, an area of high ground near the village ofBrandon,was the site of Ireland's first fatal airliner accident. On July 28, 1943, aBOACShort S.25 Sunderland III,G-AGES, crashed at 2,000 feet while descending intoFoynesin fog, killing 10 of the 25 onboard.[10]
In film
[edit]David Lean's 1970 filmRyan's Daughtertakes place at a village on the Dingle Peninsula in the immediate aftermath of the 1916Easter Rising,and was partly shot on location nearDún Chaoin,Coumeenole Beach,Slea HeadandInch Strand.[11]Far and Away,a 1992 film directed byRon Howard,was partly filmed on the peninsula.[12]
The filmLeap Yearis partly set in the Dingle Peninsula, but none of the filming took place in the area.[13]
Several local areas were used for filming ofStar Wars: The Last Jediincluding Dunmore Head and Slea Head where a replica of the clochán huts ofSkellig Michaelwere built.[14]
In music
[edit]Dingle is mentioned inPhil Colcloughand June Colclough's "Song for Ireland."
Gallery
[edit]
-
The Dingle Peninsula as viewed fromBanna Strand. -
Dingle Peninsula coastline. -
Minard Castle,Lispole,County Kerry. -
Eask Tower,with the tip of theRing of Kerryin the background. -
Beaches near Dunmore Head. -
Garfinny Bridge,medieval bridge and National Monument -
Sunset over the Dingle Pensinsula, as seen from hills on theIveragh Peninsula,1987
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^MacCulloch, JR (1837).Statistical Account of the British Empire (volume 1).London: Charles Knight & Co. p. 345.Retrieved13 May2014.
- ^Suzanne Barrett's Ireland for Visitors, April 2009
- ^"Ireland's Dingle Peninsula Tourism, April 2009".Archived fromthe originalon 21 March 2007.Retrieved26 April2009.
- ^"Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne: Exhibitions".Músaem Chorca Dhuibhne. Archived fromthe originalon 9 October 2011.Retrieved7 April2011.
- ^Metcalfe, Tom (30 April 2021)."'Untouched' Bronze Age tomb containing human remains and a mysterious stone found in Ireland ".livescience.com.Retrieved7 May2021.
- ^Davis-Marks, Isis."Irish Farmer Stumbles Onto 'Untouched' Ancient Tomb".Smithsonian Magazine.Retrieved7 May2021.
- ^McGreevy, Ronan."Ancient tomb discovered by farmer on Dingle Peninsula".The Irish Times.Retrieved7 May2021.
- ^tSíthigh, Seán Mac an (16 April 2021)."Ancient 'untouched' tomb discovered on Dingle Peninsula".RTÉ News.
- ^Hertz, Kayla (25 April 2017)."Fascinating shipwrecks across the Wild Atlantic Way".IrishCentral.Retrieved31 August2017.
- ^"ASN Aircraft accident Short S.25 Sunderland III G-AGES Brandon village, Dingle Penninsula (sic)".aviation-safety.net.Retrieved20 February2023.
- ^"Ryan's Daughter (1970): Locations".IMDb.Retrieved31 May2011.
- ^"Far and Away (1992): Locations".IMDb.Retrieved31 May2011.
- ^"Leap Year (2010/1): Locations".IMDb.Retrieved31 May2011.
- ^"Star Wars Filming Locations in Ireland | Where Star Wars is Filmed".Authentic Vacations.24 November 2018.Retrieved5 April2022.
External links
[edit]
Dingle Peninsulatravel guide from Wikivoyage
