Site of Town Wall — An Daingean,an Fearann (tc An Daingean),an Gróbh,fearann Na Cille (tc An Daingean),gort Onóra

Though Dingle appears to have been an important centre of trade by 1257 (McKenna 1979, 16), the first official reference to the walling of the town is not until over 300 years later. In 1569 a request 'to have allowance of 1,000 pounds for the walling of the town of Dinglecoche in Kirreye which they are suitors of was sent to Elizabeth (Cal Car Mss 1569, 396). However it was not until 1585, 2 years after the end of the Desmond Rebellion, that a decree approving a murage grant to the town was issued (CPR Eliz. 1585, 105). The decree incorporated Dingle giving it 'such reasonable liberties as Drogheda hath' and the 'sum of 300 pounds in money towards the charge of walling their town with stone, three quarters of a mile compasse'. It seems likely however that the town had been previously fortified as the walls were recorded as only partially preserved in 1589. At that time the town was described as having had 'gates (as it seemeth) in times past at either end to open and shut as a town of war' (McKenna 1979, 22). Though much decayed by 1756 (Smith, 177), traces of very thick walling, bonded with a clay mortar, were still visible in 1853 near the N end of the town (Hitchcock 1854, 135), and the line of the W curtain was indicated on the 1st and 2nd editions of the OS map. There are no visible remains of any fortifications in the modern town but the linear street plan and burgage plots of its medieval predecessor are evident. Rectangular in plan, the walled town enclosed an area of c. 15 acres with suburbs in Goat Street and John Street, and a linear market in Main Street (Bradley 1976, 124). A built-up archway observed by McKenna in a garden wall at the rear of Dyke Gate Lane may have formerly provided access to the market area. Dingle town defences described by Thomas (1992, 68-70) as follows; ‘small fragments of town wall to SW of Main St. (noted by Bradley 1985 app. as 'possible' town wall). Possible name survival—Dyke Gate Lane - MAPS OS 1846 — SW line of town wall marked. WRITTEN DESCRIPTIONS 1587: 'commodious harbour, also a walled town and corporation' (Camden, 1753 ed l). 1589: Dingle—town wall (Anon, ed Hogan 1878, 189). 1599: 'Dinglenacush is chief town in all that part of Ireland, it consisteth of but one main street, from whence some smaller do proceed on either side. It hath had gates (as it seemeth) in times past at either end to open and shut as a town of war and a castle also. The houses are very strongly built with thick stone walls and narrow windows like unto castles ……There remaineth yet a thick stone wall that passeth overthwart the midst of the street which was a part of their fortification The town is now again [after Desmond attack] somewhat repaired, but in effect there remain but the ruins of the former town' (E. Wright — Hitchcock 140). 1756: 'Dingle is only walled town but now very inconsiderable town walls made of clay mortar, because lime scarce, and much decayed fort at entrance to harbour now demolished' (Smith 73, 177). 1852: 'traces of town's walls remain, especially near the Grove on N side' (Hitchcock 135). - PROPERTY AND TOWN RECORDS: no evidence. MURAGE: a single murage grant is known, dated 1585, and made at the request of the inhabitants who retailed their sufferings resulting from the Desmond wars. The Queen incorporated the town as 'fully as Drogheda' and granted, 'for a stone wall three-quarters of a mile [1,188m] in compass', as proposed €300, to be acquired at the rate of €20 p.a. from the import of wines there (CPCR II 5). This may be seen as the culmination of a number of reports/proposals on Dingle and the area generally — in 1569 a request for 'for the walling in of the town of Dinglecoche' was made in a note on the presidency of Munster (CCP 1 266); in 1580 Pelham recommended that the town of Dingle should be fortified to withstand a possible Spanish landing (CCP 11 306). By 1584 Dingle was on a list of 7 walled towns proposed by the Lord Deputy which included the medieval town of Athlone as well as more recent sites such as Newry (CSPI 533); and in 1589 Dingle was included in a list of 'walled towns' in Munster which required garrisons (CSPI 80). Yet, less than 10 years later it was described as 'not being walled or otherwise defensible' and so it had been surrendered by the townsmen (Norreys to Privy Council, CSPI 1599, 15). This may imply that the walling progressed slowly or inadequately, or even that later writers were misled by the 1585 charter into locating a wall that never actually materialised. This latter seems unlikely given Smith's description of the structure, and the local tradition and/or knowledge which led the Ordnance Surveyors to mark it on the first 6-inch map. Other charters: incorporated in 1585, in a warrant but not activated until c. 1608. No murage or other charters are known for the medieval period. There is a 1299 reference to the 'men of the vill of Dengen' in Kerry (CDI IV 658). The customs returns point to the considerable importance of the port then and even into the 16th century (Orpen III 146; Lydon 1973, 12; NHI 1984 111 12). Circuit details PERIOD: Late Tudor—on murage and other evidence. AREA: 4—5/8 ha. (values speculative). PERIMETER: 875m (incl. 200m along river)/1 175m (1 188m—1585 ref.). SHAPE: square/rectangular. STRUCTURE: stone—clay mortar. GATES: total—2/3. N + S — main gates on single street. W—probable, to harbour— Dyke. TOWERS: unknown but possibly 3—4 at corners (castle at one corner). FOSSE: unknown but to E a stream and to S dyke, possibly in association with an embankment against the sea. FORT: only a mid-17th century fort known, located away from the town on the headland to the SE (Smith's co. map). OTHER SITE STRUCTURES: Dingle's raison d'etre was its natural harbour, which made it for long the main port of Kerry despite its lack of centrality as far as the rest of the county was concerned; the import of essentials or wine and luxuries for the more settled, lowland areas of N Kerry and the export of wool from the highlands of central Kerry, the Dingle and other peninsulas, and of fish from the sheltered and extensive bay and nearby sea were the main commodities. The small stream provided an area for milling as well as a fosse, but bridging it would not have been a decisive locating factor. There is a reference to a castle, in addition to gates, but its site is unknown and not necessarily that marked so on the OS map, which may be part of the N gate; the castle of 1580 is said to have been at the rear of the market house and used as a prison in 1815 (Hitchcock 1855). There is no obvious market place but the mam street widens slightly in its N half. The parish church is just off the main street. There are no references to religious houses but the street names towards the harbour — Grey Lane and Holy Ground — are at least suggestive of a Franciscan house and there is a well to E of the stream dedicated to St. John. Two separate suburbs existed by 1846, Upper and Lower colony, to SE beyond the stream and to W alongside the quay resp. Discussion: Little is known of Dingle before the late 16th century, although it appears intermittently in the customs returns of the later 13th and 14th centuries. It may indeed have been a walled town at that time—it would have been as likely a candidate as its nearest neighbour, Tralee, which got a murage grant in 1286, along with the old Kerry episcopal centre of Ardfert nearby. But there are no medieval murage records and little is known even of the Tudor walled area. The evidence seems sufficient to confirm that a town wall was built but a doubt must remain, given the Norrey's description of 1599. However, its wording may be an exaggeration or the result of mis-information. It is contradicted by Wright’s contemporary description. Archaeological investigation of the possible surviving town wall remains would probably resolve the issue and might even show that the Tudor wall rested largely on an earlier medieval circui