A local Fungie expert has rubbished "outrageous" rumours that the iconic Dingle dolphin died in a shooting.
In recent days, word has been circulating that the famous bottlenose – who vanished in October from his home in the mouth of Dingle Harbour – may have met his demise via the gun.
But local Jimmy Flannery, who founded Dingle Sea Seafari Tours and knows Fungie better than almost anyone, told the Irish Mirror this evening that the grim rumours were nonsense.
"In my mind, this would never, ever, ever have happened," said the Dingle native.
"I don't believe for one second that anybody in Dingle – or anybody anywhere – would have harmed Fungie.
"As far as I was concerned, there was never anything behind that. It's just a stupid rumour."
Jimmy, who's also the chairman of the Dingle Boatman's Association, said there have been plenty of rumours swirling in the weeks since Fungie's disappearance.
But he added: "Really, it was just one of those things that somebody, somewhere dreamed up – I bet you such and such did this.
"It was probably something that was said off the cuff, and meant nothing."
Dingle locals are still coming to terms with the disappearance of Fungie, added Jimmy, who has ferried hundreds of thousands of tourists out to see Fungie over the years.
"I myself – I knew him 33 years – I know I haven't dealt with it at all yet," he said.
"I know when I go back to Dingle and go out, I'll still spend a couple of hours – and that's months and months after – before I'll believe it, that he is actually gone.
"It'll be the first time in most of my adult life that I ever went out to the entrance to the harbour and he wasn't there.
"On a personal level, it hasn't sunk in with me that he's not with us anymore."
