We're going to take a close look at the town of Dingle on the West Coast of Ireland and show you why this is such a popular destination.
Come along on our walking tour of Dingle. It's going to focus particular attention on the many shops, pubs and restaurants of this lovely little town. Population is just 2000 and the village area is less than one square kilometer, easy to walk around. Following is the text of the movie. Photos, videos, links and maps will be added later.
You'll be surprised and delighted at how much dining variety there is such as Solas, a Spanish tapa bar. It's ranked in the top five restaurants by Trip Advisor, and for dessert, of course, there are several excellent ice cream shops. After all Ireland is a dairy country with its milk, cheese, butter and ice cream. Murphy's is a big favorite. You can always find some good pub grub. But in addition, Dingle has gained a reputation as one of the best places for gourmet dining. A specialty here is fresh fish. Dingle is an active fishing port still yet, so every day the boats come in and the chefs come and get their fresh fish to serve up to you.
On the map you'll see the comfortable size of Dingle town. It's just about 800 meters across from one side to the other and there's really just a handful of main streets for you to explore. In the middle you'll find Griffin's Gift Shop.
This typical local store is located on Strand Street which is just three blocks long but is packed with shops and pubs. Retail sales to visitors is the most important part of the Dingle economy, and they've done an excellent job of providing many shops that will lure you in and tempt your wallet. Stepping inside, we had a chance to meet the owner and find out a little bit about the town and what kinds of items are popular to purchase.
"Hi, this is Mike Griffin, I'm the owner of this gift shop called Griffin's Gift Shop in Dingle, and we sell a lot of souvenirs to tourists and locals alike, and we have a wide range from T-shirts, to leprechauns, to Guinness merchandise and Irish-made products as well."
"Uh-huh. And nice hats I see over there."
"Yeah we have hats there, hats and baseball caps."
"And magnets, refrigerator magnets."
"Magnets there, yes."
"Okay, thanks Mike."
"Thank you."
The shop clerks in Dingle are all that friendly. Perhaps it helped that I was visiting during the month of May, which is just before the busy tourist season, so people had time to relax and chat.
Across the street to the Strand House that specializes in Aran sweaters and many other kinds of merchandise, all sorts of clothing and a nice variety of gifts.
Some sweaters on offer are the affordable style that are machine made, but others are the special, deluxe handmade sweaters from the Aran Isles.
The shop is a second-generation family-owned business that you run into a lot in Ireland, multi-generations, taking care of the shop, bar, restaurant or the pub.
The ever-popular Guinness items and so many little knickknacks easy to buy and easy to pack, they make very good gifts to bring home.
Strand Street offers a variety of places to eat, including some inexpensive options such as Garvey's Supervalu grocery store and just next door you got Reel Dingle Fish. It's a restaurant with no tables, it's strictly take-away and a small counter you can eat at. You'll get fast service, low prices and delicious fresh fish, along with chips, it's priced at about €10.
For something even more downmarket try this outdoor shack in a parking lot. It's the Dingle Doghouse and they to have got fish and chips for about €10, or you can get hot dogs or burgers.
You don't have to spend a fortune to eat here, but on the other hand, if you want one of the best fish meals you've ever had, you'll find it here in Dingle, for example, at Out Of The Blue. It's very much in demand, so be sure to make your reservations ahead of time.
If you come when they open at 5:30 PM you'll likely get a table, and that first hour the dishes are discounted.
Some typical fish dinners are pollock in potato crust, grilled place filet with prawns, cod medallions topped with roasted fennel, braised turbo cutlet with a creamy clam and mushroom sauce, pan seared scallops, whole seabass, John Dorey and lobster.
"Welcome to Out Of the Blue, where the fish is fresh and the waiters are always well-fed."
(unintelligible greeting, laughter)
"Bon appétit."
It's casual dining with friendly staff, but one warning, meat eaters need not apply. Only fish is on the menu here, no chicken, no meat, just delicious fresh fish from the offshore waters of Dingle. Each carefully plated meal is a work of art.
One block over you'll get to Dano's Bar and Restaurant, one of Dingle's favorite places to host functions, and we came across a local family celebrating first communion. Everybody's all dressed up for this happy event.
The street we've been on with the restaurants is called the Woods. It's right along the waterfront harbor. Now were going inland a few blocks to show you the two other main streets for shopping, Green and Main, starting with a stroll down Green Street.
At the top you've got some functional shops, like a barbershop and a laundry service. You could walk from one end to the other of Green street In about five minutes if you wish. It's only 300 meters long, but there's enough here to keep you busy with all of these shops and restaurants and historic sites. There's a decent variety of stores here, there's a Chinese restaurant open from 4 PM till 11, also offering take-away food. There's a small art gallery with original oil paintings of the area, and how about a surf shop, a popular activity here.
We visited the Celtic gift house and had a delightful chat with the owner Michael.
"How are you? Are you well? Dear, I'll call you back, I'm on camera here." (Laughter)
"Well I'm Michael O'Hare, I run the, the, what do I run again? The Celtic Gift House here in Green Street in Dingle, which is a wonderful town that everyone should visit at least once in their life. It should be on everyone's wish list."
"And why is that?"
"Well it is such a great town, it's great for music, the people are great, it hasn't been spoiled, it's got the most beautiful scenery in the whole of Ireland. It really does have wonderful scenery."
"Right the peninsula, sure."
"Yeah, Slea Head Drive."
"And the shops of town itself, is quite nice and compact and colorful."
"Yeah, yeah, I mean the shops are good and Dingle's pretty unspoiled and it is just a good fun place to be, and we have some great pubs, and we have even better music.
(Music plays)
"That's saying something." "Uh-huh and most of the pubs have dinner as well as lunch?"
"Yeah, a lot of them, and we won the 'foodie town' of Ireland last year."
"It's just pretty, oh that's good, a lot going for it in Dingle."
"Really. Well, let's take a look in your shop."
"We've got really good lines of clothing , hoodies, a lot of rugby shirts, rugby hoodies, rugby jackets, but my first love, music. Yeah, we've got ukuleles, cds, cds for sale, yeah, yeah. All the local Irish stuff. How are you?"
"So, people arrive here, not realizing it's going to be cold and they might have to come in here and buy some garments."
"Yeah, yeah."
We'll come back and talk with Michael some more at the end of the program about Dingle's weather and some other things.
Crinkle has an unusual combination. They've got artisan food and craft. Tit's a coffee shop, they've got deli, many different kinds of chocolates, there's a Mediterranean-style salad bar for takeaway, looks delicious. There are two benches outside the front window you could sit down on while you eat and they've got a lot of handmade items from the Dingle area.
La Bohème boutique describes itself as "the ultimate discovery for fashion-conscious women of all ages." They opened in 1998 in Dingle, providing contemporary stylish clothing.
There is one little side street off of Green, it's called Gray's Lane. There's a bistro but mostly it's a residential street. You can actually find some air B&B rentals in the neighborhood.
This shop sells crystal that is made right in Dingle. It's designed cut and polished by hand using traditional techniques. Right next to it you'll find another ladies clothing store.
We've now entered the Blue Zone. It's pizza, jazz and wine bar joint with a number of other similar shops clustered around it and a little alley that lead you back into a food court, outdoor benches with beer. It's a little cul-de-sac that you'd easily miss if you were just walking along on the main street without paying attention, so be sure to look out for these little surprises.
We've reached the bottom of Green Street and in this final little stretch you've got more shops and there's a really quite interesting gift shop called Sweet Pea. We saw the artist outside putting on a brand-new mural on the purple wall. It looks like angel wings you can stand in front of.
"Oh, for a photo, a photo op."
"Yes, yeah, yeah."
Most of the buildings in Dingle are colorfully painted creating a happy mood, but you don't see many murals like this. They've got an angel on the outside and also they've got one on the inside. Her name is Angel and you have to come inside to pet her, a very clever marketing device. Putting that kitty out in the front window like that attracts a lot of attention. She must be very used to strangers popping in to give this cat a little rub – takes it very nonchalantly and so relaxed you'll be mesmerized.
With such a kind invitation we've got a step into Sweet Pea and have a little look around at all of these interesting gifts.
"Really cute stuff, made in Ireland." (Laughter) Right, here you go. All right that's good. Very unique.
And if you see anything that you like while looking at the video, you can find Sweet Pea on the web, and they have a shop that you can order from. They're not only a quaint little shop, but they're very much up-to-date.
When you leave, Angel is still waiting at her post next to the door, waiting for a little goodbye scratch.
(petting cat)
Now we're taking a walk down Main Street to enjoy the biggest collection of pubs and restaurants in town.
One can't help but noticing all of the cars on the street, there parked everywhere, and there's cars driving down the road. It's not a pedestrian zone. In fact, nowhere in Dingle do you have any real pedestrian zone, aside from a couple of tiny little side alleys. But despite that lack, the town is still excellent for walking because there are good sidewalks, the cars drive slowly and they watch out for pedestrians, and we've seen the town is small, with many interesting things to look at.
Among the many excellent restaurants on Main Street you'll enjoy a Global Village operated by owner chef Martin Bealin.
Not only fresh fish, but locally grown meat and vegetables are on the menu. You can even have a vegan dinner here with seasonal produce grown in their own chemical-free vegetable garden.
We have several other movies about Dingle, including one with a detailed interview with the chef Martin in the kitchen, and lots more information about this wonderful restaurant. So here we're just taking a quick look and then moving along to some of the other fine pubs and restaurants and attractions on Main Street.
Here's what the Tourist Information Office has to say about food in Dingle: "In recent years, Dingle has developed a reputation as a foodie town for its wide variety of quality dining options in over 50 venues. Award-winning restaurants, cafés and bars offer the best of local produce, with fish just landed from the boat and heather-grazed mountain lamb, while local artisan food and drink producers ply their tasty wares in small gourmet outlets and stores. Every October Dingle welcomes thousands of visitors to the annual Food Festival and Taste Trail.
Notice all the empty kegs out front waiting for pickup. Probably they were full of Guinness last night.
Along with the food and drinks you'll get some Irish music such as at Nelligan's, live Irish music every night.
Some pubs still offer rooms for rent, such as at the Old Smokehouse.
Main Street changes names at the bottom of the hill to John Street with yet more gastro pubs and restaurants, including Doyle's, one of the best, where I had an incredible meal of fish on a bed of cassoulet, that traditional bean stew of the south of France.
Like many other places, they open at 5 PM which is a good time to get here to beat the crowd.
Walking now a few blocks back towards the center, you'll see this delightful little stream with wild flowers and plants giving a little touch of the country to the middle of town, and there is a public park right in the center. It's not very heavily used because it's hard to spot it. There's not many signs pointing this way. We will show you the map in a moment. That same stream continues along in a channel passing nice little playground for the kids.
On the map you'll see the route we been walking down Main Street, and around to that park and continuing along to one of the lovely gift shops in town, the Coach House, which is the first store that you're going to come to when driving into Dingle.
Like all of the shop owners in town, this friendly lady is happy to tell us about her store.
"I'm Gloria, Kavanagh, and this is my shop, the Coach House. And I'm here at this location at the entrance to Dingle, a year. First shop in Dingle. I have 19 Irish makers, who make my leather goods, my candles, my Donegal trees, my bowties, Cashmere, jewelry. So I have a collection of 19 makers, each of whom I know, and I travel the country, more so in the winter, meet them in their workshops, get to know them, get to know what inspires them, and get things made to order. And strive to bring a good collection of traditional Irish handmade crafts for people who appreciate things that are from the country. So, that's the Coach House, and it's open seven days a week, really, 10 months of the year. So, we'd love to see you if you're in Dingle."
"Okay, that's beautiful. Now I have to take a picture of your dog. Okay, I'll see you next time."
I mentioned earlier we'd talk some more with Michael at the Celtic Gift House. So let's go back and say hello, and then in a couple of minutes we'll end up with some Irish music in the pub.
"Tell me about the weather here, what is the weather like?"
"Well, summer is my favorite day of the year, okay, so, and you always know it's summer because the rain is warm." (Laughter)
"Get the two jokes out-of-the-way. When I came down here first, I came down and it was particularly a bad stretch of weather, should we say, and I said to a friend of mine, please tell me it is not always like this. And he said to me, and I never forgotten it, and he said, 'one good day in Dingle will make you forget months of bad weather. Like today, yeah, like yesterday. Yeah, and he's right. I mean, if you've got rain for the rest, just remember, um-hhm, this, and Dingle, and everything you saw."
"Right, we've been very lucky. The month of May is a sunnier time."
"It's pretty good, yeah, yeah. Like last year, we had the same, we had what I call Californian weather, okay, but then we will pay for it somewhere, somewhere down the line, you know."
"I went to Doyle's for dinner, thank you, Doyle's, and, Doyle's, yeah. I had the monkfish cassoulet, it was spectacular. Oh good. Yeah, really enjoyed it. Good. You were saying there's no bad restaurants."
"Well it's a real foodie town and the food in town, whether you go into a pub or a middle restaurant, shall we say, or a high-end restaurant, all exceptional, it has to be because the standards are so high."
"Right, so competitive."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You want a good foodie holiday, Dingle, you can't beat, you know."
"Because they can't rely only on tourists. They, they have to bring in the local crowd."
"Yeah. They have certain times, like coming up to Christmas, obviously, then for New Year, Valentine's Day."
"How about winter, February, is the town quiet?"
"February, yeah well we've got Valentines. There's always something going on in Dingle, and people love it. And you can get lovely days as well, so people still want to come to see the sites and the scenery."
"Uh-huh, uh-huh, so it's year-round, yeah, year-round holiday. Pretty much. You're not going to have a warm day in February. Yeah, we don't get severe weather. We don't get feet of snow and stuff like that. Living so close to the ocean. Yeah, we get rain and wind, would be the toughest, you know. Somebody once said there's no such thing as bad weather, just being badly dressed for it, so there is a lot of that."
"And you can take care of that when clients arrive and they're a little chilly, unexpectedly chilly. So what is your most popular item?"
"Well, we have a great line of jewelry, Connemara marble, which is a marble which is only found on the West Coast of Ireland. It's over 250 million years old and we sell a lot of that in the shape of crosses and bracelets and, you know, earrings. Our most-sold piece of jewelry, now, last year when we got them in, pure Connemara, and Connie Morrow with amethyst. Uh-huh. Can you get that?" "Yeah, got it." "There you go. Beautiful."
"Okay Mike, thank you very much sir. Okay. I'll be on my way now."
"We'll hopefully see you again."
We've got more movies about Dingle and many more travel videos about Ireland. Be sure to look for them in our collection.
See Dingle shops in dedicated video page.
