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While counting in the European Elections is not to take place until tomorrow, an RTE Exit Poll is predicting that Brian Crowley (Fianna Fail) and Kerryman Seán Kelly (Fine Gael) are to take seats in Ireland South. For more details on this development visit http://www.rte.ie/news/elections/

Spills and thrills on the Ocean waves High octane encounters on the ocean waves will bring a carnival atmosphere to Dingle this June as the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race kicks off this Saturday June 6th. Hosted by the National Yacht Club in association with Dingle Sailing Club (www.saildingle.ie), this race has earned a reputation of being one of the toughest challenges on the Irish Sea. After leaving Scotsman’s Bay, East of Dun Laoghaire, on June 6th, competitors shall tackle the seaward extremities of Wicklow Head, the Old Head of Kinsale, Fastnet Rock, Mizen Head, Gull Rock, Washerwoman Rock off the Great Skellig before finally arriving at the finish line at the entrance to Dingle Harbour. The sight of the yachts pulling into Dingle on June 8th is sure to prove some spectacle as the 40 ft+ beauties plough through the playground of Fungie the Dolphin. This is sure to be a tremendously exciting event with as Dingle and the surrounding area has several excellent vantages points along the coastline to view the yachts come into the harbour. In true Dingle style, the competitors will be greeted with a flurry of music, dance and celebration in recognition of their amazing achievement. More information on the Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Yacht Race, which is sponsored by the Dingle Skellig Hotel, is available at www.nyc.ie, www.dingle-peninsula.ie or www.dingleskellig.com. Check out http://www.dodingle.com/ for information on accomodation.

Mairneálaigh, an exciting new exhibition by Dingle artist Deirdre McKenna (pictured above) will be unveiled this Saturday at the Dingle Marina Centre at 8pm. This exhibit is an exclusive preview of a selection of oil paintings that will be on show later this summer in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall from one of Kerry’s most exciting young artists who has exhibited across Ireland, Europe and the USA. The Belfast exhibition is set to coincide with the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge and it is considered a major honour for any artist to be selected to show at this international event. According to Deirdre, these paintings look at a tradition of maritime activities, drawing on personal experiences at sea. The often life-size oil paintings represent contemporary scenes of centuries’ old sea-faring traditions, borne from Deirdre’s own personal relationship and fascination with all things maritime. “Growing up in Dingle, the sea has always been an inspiration to me” she said, “In 2007 I was one of the thirty pilgrims to sail from Dingle to Santiago De Compestela in Spain on the Jeanie Johnston, the trip remains a constant source of inspiration.” This exhibition combines Deirdre’s love of the sea and her career as an artist . Mairnéalaigh will be launched this Saturday, May 30th, at 8pm. The exhibition will run from May 30th – June 1st at the Dingle Marina Centre from 11am-5pm and all are welcome to attend. More information on Deirdre McKenna is available at  http://www.deirdremckenna.com/. Locals may known Deirdre as the daughter of Pádraig and Siobhán McKenna, Cuilín.

Ionad an Bhlascaoid in Dún Chaoin will play host to two of the most accomplished singers in the Gaelic tradition, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh from Dún Chaoin in West Kerry and Julie Fowlis from North Uist in the Scottish Hebrides, in a special concert at the centre on June 6th. It will be the final concert of their nationwide promotion tour of their new collaboration ‘Dual’, an album on which the two singers work alongside Éamon Doorley and Ross Martin. The album is a collection of songs and music from Ireland and Scotland which have been given an interesting twist. For example, on one of the tracks Muireann sings some verses of the famous Irish song ‘An Chóisir’ while Julie mixes in verses of the Scottish song ‘Chuirinn mo ghiollan a dh’iomann nan caorach’ Also included on the album are beautiful renditions of songs like ‘Beauty Deas an Oileáin’ and ‘Alasdair Mhic Giolla Ghasda’. The collaboration has earned good reviews around the globe. Robin Deneslow from The Guardian says ‘Fowlis is Scottish, while Nic Amhlaoibh is Irish, and this delicate, finely performed set explores the musical links and traditions of the two Gaelic communities… one of the most intriguing folk albums of the year’, and Amanda Darling of The Stornoway Gazette calls it ‘A marriage of two like minded souls, this album ‘Dual’, meaning to ‘interlace, twine or braid’ or ‘one’s inheritance’, truly showcases the girls prodigious talents.’ The two have won numerous awards recently. Muireann toured and performed with various musicians and groups before joining the group Danú in 2003. In 2004 they won the BBC 2 Folk Award for “Best Group”. At the same awards, the song “The County Down” by Tommy Sands that Danú had recently recorded, won “Best Song”. Muireann herself won “Best Singer” at the liveireland.com Awards in 2005. Now a regular contributor to television and radio programmes at home and abroad, she featured prominently in the recent “Highland Sessions” BBC television series, celebrating the best of Irish and Scottish traditional music and song. Julie was awarded Folk Singer Of The Year at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Music Awards 2008, and she won Album Of The Year and Gaelic Singer Of The Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards 2008. This concert is being held with the assistance of Ealaín na Gaeltachta. Tickets are available at €15 from The Blasket Centre. Further Information: Dáithí de Mórdha, Ionad an Bhlascaoid: (066) 9156444 or 0879778871. Visit http://www.muireann.ie/ and http://www.juliefowlis.com/ for more info.

The second Rugbaí Corca Dhuibhne Beach Tag Rugby Festival will take place on Saturday June 27th at Muríoch Beach. Rugby in Kerry is undergoing a massive growth, particularly with the success of Munster and the national side. A spin off from this has been the success that Beach Tag rugby has created.
Rugbaí Corca Dhuibhne, Europe’s most westerly club, are delighted to host the tag rugby festival in Kerry this year. The event will see teams arrive from all over Ireland along with supporters. Many of the teams will already know of the open and friendly welcome that awaits them on their arrival. Mick Galwey’s legends will again be there along with a team with former Kerry captain Dara Ó Cinnéide. As the Dingle Peninsula is know for its scenery and, of course, the ‘craic’, teams will have a fun filled weekend awaiting them.One of the GAA’s main breeding grounds for Gaelic football stars, “An Gaeltacht” at Gallarus (located right beside the beach) have made their facilities available for the event to ensure that the festival runs successfully. With the help of the various accommodation centres, restaurants and pubs the organising committee hope that all teams and spectators have an enjoyable weekend. For further information contact Adrian on 087-2976569 or Damien on 086-8187810. Visit www.munsterrugby.ie to register your team for this event.

Excitement gripped Dingle last Thursday as members of Munster RC brought the SIX NATIONS TROPHY, the TRIPLE CROWN and the MAGNERS LEAGUE CUP to the CBS Hall on John Street to an event hosted by Cumann Rugbaí Corca Dhuibhne. Hundreds of people turned out to photograph and touch European Rugby’s top accolades. Medal presentations were also made on the night to the Rugbaí Corca Dhuibhne U-16s, (pictured above) winners of the West Munster Plate and the U-18 Corca Dhuibhne Ladies’ team, winners of Division II of the Munster Provincial League this year. The Rugbaí Corca Dhuibhne Team Social will take place this Friday night in Dannos, where the seniors will be presented with the Galwey-Foley County Championship Cup. Several awards will also be made to the Seniors and the Corca Dhuibhne Over-35s. All are welcome to attend. Visit www.dinglenews.com or  http://www.irishrugby.ie/23_15548.php for more info.

After leaving Dingle on July 26th 2008, father and son team Mark and Sam Swain completed the adventure of a lifetime this week as they reached Tokyo last Thursday having cycled 15, 685 km (aprox 10,000 miles) across Europe and Asia from Dingle to Tokyo. Mark (50) and his son Sam (18) set out last summer from Commenoule with the intention of cycling from Dingle to Tokyo . From there the pair cycled through Kerry, Cork and Waterford on their way to the Ferry in Rosslare, traversing the UK and gaining access to France and Mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. Then it was on though France, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and China before reaching their destination in Japan. Mark and Sam are originally from Canterbury in England however have been dividing their time between the UK and Dingle for the past 20 years. According to Mark, this trip has been in the pipeline for almost eight years as when his son Sam was ten years old he asked how long would it take to cycle to Japan. 2008 saw San turn 18 and Mark reach the milestone age of 50, so they decided it was the perfect time to undertake the risky task! The pair are expected to return to Dingle this summer where they will no doubt receive a heroes welcome. Mark plans to write a book about his and Sam’s experiences documenting the trip in a similar fashion to Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman when they circumnavigated the globe on motorbikes. More details on Mark and Sam’s amazing adventure may be accessed at their travel blog http://bugbitten.com/father_son_cycle/. More info is available at http://dinglenews.blogspot.com/

Real music fans will be delighted to hear that Mick Flannery is set to play two gigs in MacCarthy’s this July 23rd and 24th. His gigs at the same venue earlier this year were an amazing success and complete sell-outs so fans are advised to get their dibs in early-on as this is an amazing opportunity to see one of Ireland’s most exciting new artists in the intimate setting of MacCarthy’s Pub on Upper Main Street/Goat’s Street in Dingle. Contact MacCarthy’s Pub at 066-9151206 for more infomation.

The Dingle Local Area Council Elections take place on June 5th and, with an extremely crowded marketplace this time around with no less than nine candidates contesting three seats, predicting an outcome is proving to be nigh-on impossible. Sitting councillors Micheal O’Shea (FF, Milltown) and Seamus Cosaí Fitzgerald (FG, Dingle) are seeking re-election with Brendan Griffin (Keel, FG) and Bridget O’Connor (Camp, Ind.) trying their luck for the second-time round. Several new candidates have entered the fray including Breandán Fitzgerald (FF, Dingle), Patrick Hanafin (Lab., Dingle), Theresa Raftery (SF, Lispole), Darach Ó Murchú (Greens) and Breannainn Ó Beaglaoi (Ind.). With so many candidates concentrated in the Dingle area and an increase in the register eligible to vote in the Milltown/Castlemaine area (following last years boundary revisions) this is a council election like no other. Will the additional votes in the Eastern part of the constituency, coupled with a high concentration of candidates in the Dingle area, upset the apple-cart? It could create a scenario where West loses out to East as the many candidates in Dingle could substantially diminish each others core support, while candidates due-east pick up the additional support with the extended boundary in their own area. Only time will tell but this election, especially with the current economic climate on the Dingle Peninsula, is one which may shake things up substantially. By taking part in The Dingle News Poll (by visiting www.dinglenews.com or www.dinglenews.blogspot.com) we can all gain an insight into how the candidates currently stand and what the outcome is likely to be.
Visit www.dinglenews.com to take part.