Ireland's most famous dolphin – who left Dingle locals devastated after his mystery disappearance this year – will be honoured with a commemoration in the New Year.
Plans for a remembrance ceremony for Fungie – the iconic bottlenose dolphin who vanished from Dingle Harbour in October – are underway, a local boatman confirmed to the Irish Mirror.
Kerry County Council has also called on the Government to offer supports for a "fitting legacy for Fungie in Dingle to ensure that his story continues."
Jimmy Flannery, the chairman of the Dingle Boatman's Association, said people in the community are "giving it time to sink in" before putting in place concrete plans for a memorial.
But the memorial could take the form of a monument to the famous dolphin – with a water-based ceremony also possible, according to a local councillor.
"Definitely, there will be something," said Jimmy, adding: "Personally, I'll strive to make sure that people never forget what Fungie never did for Dingle – what he did for the people in Dingle, and what he did for the tourist industry.
"I'll make sure that whatever is planned, that something will be there.
"Whether it'll be a monument, or something to remind people and let them know that we're not going to forget him. We'll never forget him."
Kerry County Councillor Breandan Fitzgerald told the Irish Mirror that local authorities are keen to "continue the story" of Fungie, and have written to the Government seeking State supports.
A motion at last month's council meeting – which called on the Government to "support and help all those impacted by the disappearance of Fungie the Dolphin and to provide a fitting legacy for Fungie in Dingle to ensure that his story continues" – received unanimous support.
"I'd be very confident that the council will be fully supportive of any measure that the boatmen do," said Cllr Fitzgerald.
He said there may be a water-based ceremony – similar to the annual 'blessing of the boats', which takes place every year in Dingle – to remember Fungie.
"It could be something like that, that probably will be organised by the boatmen and the fishermen," he added.
