Fungi the dolphin makes waves in Dingle
Posted Tuesday, April 10, 2007, 5:12 PM by Lonely Planet
Jim Flannery, skipper of the Lady Avalon II, gazes across the still water of Dingle Harbour as his grandson Colm drones towards us in a motorboat, hood up like Charon crossing the River Styx. "What are our chances of seeing Fungi?" I ask. "Like all of us, it depends what humour he's in" says Jim. "He feels energised when the sun's out and he's had a good feed of salmon."
Fungi is an oversized dolphin who has been a special friend to the town of Dingle in County Kerry, Ireland for over twenty years. In the early Eighties, vague reports that the same dolphin was swimming alongside fishing trawlers, all year round, led to an American tourist paying a local fisherman three punts (Irish pounds) to take him out. Eleven boats now head out every day in the summer, packed with crowds that have a high chance of snapping the sociable dolphin swimming or even jumping alongside their vessel.
I've opted for the full-on 'swim with Fungi' experience and I'm hoping this dolphin is all he's cracked up to be as I pull on my wetsuit. I'm accompanied by four New Yorkers, whose upbeat attitude makes them the perfect companions as we hurl ourselves into the icy Atlantic. Fungi soon appears, but he plays a trick whereby he swims up close, then when we're in the water, reappears half a mile away. Jim says he's focused on feeding, but I think he's a mischievous dolphin.
We have our most memorable encounter in the motorboat, when Fungi leaps across the stern then bobs from port to starboard. It's amazing that he greets most boats in this manner, but I have to ask Jim about the conspiracy theories I've heard. One newspaper article claimed the original Fungi died and was replaced by an impostor shipped from Florida. Jim dismisses such heresy, and tells tales of Fungi cheering young girls suffering from leukaemia or cancer, and repeatedly pointing his nose at the chest of a woman later diagnosed with breast cancer. The sharp wind is bringing tears to our eyes as we head back to the pier.
- James Bainbridge
Labels: Europe
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2 Comments:
Hiya
Just thought I'd let other travellers know that Ireland hasn't used the punt for FIVE years! They have been using the Euro since January 1st 2002.
Since that American was handing over his punts in 1984, linds, it would have been rather farsighted of the man to be carrying euros at the time. I think you'll find most people are aware of the currency change. After all, it did happen FIVE years ago.
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