Dingle

Dingle (Irish: An Daingean or Daingean Uí Chúis, meaning Fort or "O'Cuis' Fort") is a town in County Kerry in Ireland on the Atlantic coast approximately 49 kilometres (30 mi) south-west of Tralee and 71 kilometres (40 mi) north-west of Killarney. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it is situated on a natural harbour below Slievanea mountain.

Principal industries in the town are tourism, fishing and agriculture: Dingle Mart (livestock market) serves the surrounding countryside. In 2006 Dingle had a population of 1,920. Dingle is situated in a Gaeltacht region.

Development of the port
The town was developed as a port following the Norman invasion of Ireland. By the thirteenth century more goods were being exported through Dingle than Limerick, and in 1257 an ordinance of Henry III imposed customs on the port's exports. By the fourteenth century importation of wine was a major business. Maurice Fitzgerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, who held palatine powers in the area, imposed a tax on this activity in about 1329.By the sixteenth century Dingle was one of Ireland's main trading ports, exporting fish and hides and importing wines from the continent of Europe. French and Spanish fishing fleets used the town as a base.

Connections with Spain were particularly strong, and in 1529 Thomas Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Desmond and the ambassador of Charles V of Spain signed the Treaty of Dingle. Dingle was also a major embarkation port for pigrims to travel to the shrine of Saint James at Santiago de Compostella. The parish church was rebuilt in the sixteenth century under "Spanish patronage" and decidated to the saint.

In 1569 the commerce of the town was increased when it was listed as one of fifteen towns or cities which were to have a monopoly on the import of wine. (More on Wikipedia)