Dingle to honour Fungie with special tribute day this month

The famous dolphin vanished in October last year.

Dingle in Kerry is set to honour Fungie with a special tribute day this month. The famous dolphin lived in the town's harbour for 37 years where he became a tourist sensation, attracting visitors to Dingle from all over the world. In October 2020, Fungie was reported as missing and despite extensive searches, he has not reappeared. To honour the dolphin a year on, the community of Dingle will celebrate Fungie's life on Sunday, 17 October. The celebration is being organised by local boat operators, who are offering trips out to the entrance of Dingle Harbour free of charge. There, members of the community will share some of their own personal experiences with the dolphin throughout the years he spent in the bay. While the trips are free, people are encouraged to donate to the charities Dingle Coast and Cliff Rescue and Mallow Search and Rescue who assisted in the search for Fungie. Appearing on The Ray D'Arcy Show, one of the organisers of the event Jamie Flannery talked about the impact Fungie had on Dingle. "If you talk to anybody in the town... they all have their own stories, personal experiences with him, outside of the commercial aspect of it," he explained. "He used to interact with humans more so than he used to interact with other dolphins which was a special thing about him. He loved the attention [of] coming up beside the boats. "All the local businesses would say that in the past 37 years that he was there, he definitely had such a substantial amount to give to the community." For more information about the day to celebrate Fungie, see below. Main image via Sean Manion/RollingNews.ie