Dingle Peninsula

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Location map of the Dingle Peninsula

The Dingle Peninsula (Irish: Corca Dhuibhne - sometimes anglicized as Corkaguiney) is located in County Kerry and is the most westerly point of the Republic of Ireland and Europe.

1 Name
2 Geography
3 Culture and language
4 Archaeology
5 Gallery
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Name

The Dingle Peninsula is named after the town of Dingle. The peninsula is also commonly called Corca Dhuibhne even when those referring to it are speaking in English. Corca Dhuibhne, which means "seed or tribe of Duibhne"^{[citation needed]} (an Irish personal name), takes its name from the túath (people, nation) of Corco Dhuibhne who occupied the peninsula in the Middle Ages and who also held a number of territories in the south and east of County Kerry.

[edit] Geography

The peninsula exists because of the band of sandstone rock that forms the Slieve Mish mountain range at the neck of the peninsula, in the east, and the unnamed central mountain range further to the west. Ireland's highest mountain outside Macgillycuddy's Reeks, Mount Brandon at 951 m, forms part of a beautiful high ridge with stunning views over the peninsula and North Kerry.

The Conor Pass, which runs from Dingle on the southern end of the peninsula towards Brandon Bay and Castlegregory in the North, is the highest mountain pass in Ireland, a tight, precarious road, weaving its way around the sharp cliff faces and past the high corrie lakes.

The Blasket Islands lie off the west coast. They are famous for the literary and linguistic heritage of the former inhabitants. However, these remote islands have been uninhabited since the 1950s following a government rehousing plan.

[edit] Culture and language

The western end of the peninsula is a Gaeltacht area that has produced a number of nationally notable authors and poets; Ó Siochfhradha and Peig Sayers among others. This is the most western part of Ireland, and the village of Dún Chaoin is often jokingly referred to as "the next parish to America".

[edit] Archaeology

The peninsula is the location of numerous prehistoric and early medieval remains—for example, the Gallarus Oratory in the very west of the peninsula near the village of Ballyferriter (Baile an Fheirtéaraigh) in Ard na Caithne.