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Dunquin
Dún Chaoin
Village
Dún Chaoin pier
Dún Chaoin pier
Dunquin is located in Ireland
Dunquin
Dunquin
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°08′01″N 10°27′16″W / 52.133488°N 10.454521°W / 52.133488; -10.454521
CountryIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyCounty Kerry
Population
 (2011)
 • Total160
Irish Grid ReferenceQ320008
Dún Chaoin is the only official name.

Dún Chaoin (Irish, meaning 'pleasant fort [ˌd̪ˠuːn̪ˠ ˈxiːnʲ]), unofficially anglicized as Dunquin, is a Gaeltacht village in west County Kerry, Ireland. Dunquin lies at the most westerly tip of the Dingle Peninsula, overlooking the Blasket Islands.[1] At 10°27'16"W, it is the most westerly settlement of Ireland and of Eurasia, excluding Iceland. Nearby Dunmore Head is the most westerly point of mainland Ireland. The town is linked to Dingle via the R559 regional road. It is also part of the civil parish of the same name.[2] In summer a ferry connects the village with the main island of the Blasket Islands.

There is dramatic cliff scenery, with a view of the Blasket Islands, where Peig Sayers lived. A museum in the village tells the story of the Blaskets and the lives of the people who lived there including the well-known writers of the island, which includes Sayers, Tomás Ó Criomhthain, and Muiris Ó Súilleabháin. In 1588, when the Spanish Armada returned via Ireland many ships sought shelter in the Blasket Sound — the area between Dún Chaoin and the Islands — and some were wrecked there. A memorial stands on the cliffs overlooking the site. Dunquin is located on the Dingle Way, which is a 179 km circular walking trail which takes in much of the Dingle peninsula.[3]

The Village

This documentary film was made during 1967-68 by Paul Hockings and Mark McCarty, shot almost entirely in Dunquin and the Great Blasket. It was the first film to be completed in the style that came to be known as Observational Cinema.[4]

Ryan's Daughter

Scenes from the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter, based on a screenplay by Robert Bolt and directed by David Lean, were shot at Coumineole Beach and Ceathrú (Caharhoo) in Dunquin. The town's then-struggling economy was largely revived by the production of this film and subsequent tourism. Its marginal condition beforehand had been documented in the 1968 ethnographic film "The Village".

Scoil Dhún Chaoin

Scoil Náisiúnta Naomh Gobnait, Dún Chaoin was first opened in 1914. Before that, the school was located across the road in Baile Bhiocáire. During the 1970s Scoil Dhún Chaoin was the subject of a countywide and national campaign which featured protest marches, sit-ins and arrests. A government decision to close the school was strongly opposed by the local community and following almost three years of closure, the school was reopened in 1973.[5]

CAMRA

The British Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) was founded in Kruger's bar in Dunquin in 1971.[6]

People

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dún Chaoin". Dingle Peninsula Tourism. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  2. ^ "Dún Chaoin/Dunquin". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Dingle Way: Map 7" (PDF). Irish Trails. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  4. ^ "The Village". UCLA Program in Ethnographic Film. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Scoil Dún Chaoin celebrates landmark in its history". Irish Independent. 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Key Events in CAMRA's History". Camra.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  7. ^ "Hasty Weddings And Bachelors Beware 1982". RTÉ. Retrieved 18 April 2017.

External links


Places in County Kerry
Authority control databases
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