It’s Dingle all the way for DJ Annie Mac! Here she shares her guide to making the most of a few days in the West Kerry town.
Where is your favourite destination and why?
A town called Dingle in West Kerry. It’s on the southwestern-most tip of Ireland, and it really is the last point of Europe before America. So it’s quite a dramatic place in its own right. It is quite a big town nestled on an inlet surrounded by sea and water. The views there are only of mountains and sea, so it’s very wild.
When was the last time you were there, and who were you with?
I used to go on holiday to Dingle as a kid but I still go there now as an adult. I visit once a year — every December — to work for an Irish TV show/festival called Other Voices, which I host. It takes place in this tiny little church on the main street called St James’ Church, and it attracts artists and musicians from all over Ireland and the rest of the world.
It takes a long time to get to Dingle. You fly to Cork Airport and then it’s a two-and-a-half-hour drive from there. It’s a pilgrimage. But you always have the most soulful experience in this town hearing music and song and stories in this very wild and beautiful place. It just means a lot to me to go back there.
Where do you like to stay there?
Dingle is a proper tourist destination —everybody seems to know about it. And so in the summer, there are so many places to stay. When I go, I end up staying in Benners Hotel, which is right on the main street. But I would recommend any of the B&Bs. A lot of them are right on the water, so you can really feel like you’re next to the sea. And the breakfasts they serve are always big Irish fry-ups.
What are your top three restaurants in Dingle?
Out of the Blue, Doyle’s and Solas are my favourites. Solas is the Irish word for light and it’s a beautiful vegetarian restaurant that does gorgeous pizzas. But the food generally in Dingle is really progressive. Doyle’s and Out of the Blue both serve great seafood. And then there’s an amazing coffee shop I go to called Bean in Dingle.
What would you do if you only had 24 hours there?
Drive on the coastal road around Slea Head. The views are just out of this world: especially the one of an island that is known locally as An Fear Marbh — Irish for “the dead man”. There’s also a beach nearby called Coumeenoole that we used to visit when I was a kid and it’s one of the most wild and beautiful I’ve ever seen. It’s really good for families, with golden sand, and it’s just worth going there just to see the waves come in. I’ve got some really treasured family photos taken on that beach with my family. Going back to it as an adult is pretty special.
Then there’s a pub at Ventry Beach where you can have lunch. Then drive back into Dingle and I’d say spend an afternoon mooching because this town is great for mooching — there’s gorgeous local craft shops and loads of lovely artisan food. And then before dinner have a pint — you’ll want to find a trad session: loads of musicians playing really good traditional Irish tunes in the corner of a pub. There’s various pubs in Dingle to find that, but a safe bet is O’Sullivan’s Courthouse.
At Foxy John’s pub you can literally go in and buy a bag of nails and some rat poison and a pint
What is the one unmissable thing you recommend doing?
Pubs in Dingle are very special. There’s a really famous one called Foxy John’s, which looks like a hardware shop — its windows are full of nails and hammers and screwdrivers and stuff. When you go in there’s a bar on one side, and on the other there is an actual hardware shop. You can literally go in and buy a bag of nails and some rat poison and a pint. And then there’s just loads of gorgeous pubs that are like people’s homes. You go in and find a little snug and an Aga, so it’s very cosy and convivial. There’s a pub called Kennedy’s which is gorgeous for that. Also a famous place called Dick Mack’s, which has loads of really nice snugs. It’s not just about getting wrecked — you can go there for coffee or lunch and have a nice bowl of chowder. The pubs are very much more about having an all-day experience than just being places to go to get hammered.
Is there a hidden gem you are willing to share?
Opposite Ventry Beach, there’s Carhoo Hill. You can park at the bottom and pay a woman to walk through her field up to access the top. There’s a tower at the summit called Eask Tower, and I still can’t get over the view from there. From every angle it is beautiful. Climbing up there gives you a perspective of Dingle and it is spectacular.
Favourite shops?
It’s called the Dingle Bookshop and it sells a load of Irish language books. I wouldn’t want to name one specific craft shop in Dingle as there’s so many lovely ones. But there is an antique shop called Fado — which means “long ago” in Irish — that I recommend. I would say visit these two.
The one thing you would bring home as a souvenir?
I think the nicest thing would be just to go to the bookshop and buy a book by an Irish author. Also, there are these things in Ireland called worry stones, which are little polished crystals that you rub in your hand to relieve anxiety. I’ve bought a few of them over the years and I think they make nice little gifts. But apart from that, I always come back from Ireland with Guinness paraphernalia. I like to collect beer mugs from the pubs, the nice-looking ones.
Your packing essential?
A rain mac is a must. You have to be prepared for six different types of weather in one day. It’s so changeable. So you would want a light rain mack that’s wind and waterproof. And because I mostly go in the winter, I like to take a big old woolly jumper.
Is there a song that reminds you of the place?
So many because I go back there in order to listen to music. But I wrote an article for the Irish Times a few years ago about being homesick for Ireland and I wrote it off the back of a trip to Dingle.
The Irish musician Hozier was there at the same time as me and he performed in the church where he sang My Lagan Love, which is such a beautiful Irish song and it was the most gorgeous rendition. I think that song — specifically him singing it — will always remind me of that place and of what it does for me, which is fill me up with such a strong sense of home and a strong sense of identity.
