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ake a look below and see if your 2008 Dingle vacation is corresponding with any special events in the area or with a public or bank holoday weekend.

January Dingle Peninsula Events

• January 1st: New Years Day

February Dingle Peninsula Events

• February 14th: Valentines Day
• Romance fills the air in Dingle!
• TBA: Paidi O Se's Gaelic Football Weekend Competition
• The annual Paidi O'Sé Gaelic football tournament takes place locally in the West Kerry Gaeltacht. Both local clubs and clubs from all over Ireland compete.

March Dingle Peninsula Events

• March 17th: St. Patricks Day
• Saint Patrick's Day celebrations in Dingle start with a bang at 6 a.m. with Dingle's Fife and Drum band leading the townspeople on a musical parade around Dingle Town. This early morning parade finishs up in St. Mary's Parish Church where an early morning mass is celebrated.
• At 1 p.m. a multi-coloured Saint Patrick's Day parade starts at Dingle hospital and follows a route around Dingle Town.
• March 21st - March 24th: Easter Bank and Public Holiday Weekend

April Dingle Peninsula Events

• TBA: Circuit of Kerry Rally comes to Dingle
• The eight stages of the eagerly awaited Circuit of Kerry Rally (Round Two) takes place in the Dingle Peninsula. The classic stages of the Slea Head Drive and Brandon Creek are famous with all motor enthusiasts. Slea Head in particular is a great test of skill and nerve for any driver with nothing but fresh air and a drop in to the Atlantic Ocean on their right hand side for most of it. This stage also has one of the only water ford crossings on any stage in Irish rallying.
• A price giving cermony takes place at 9 p.m.

May Dingle Peninsula Events

• April 30th - May 5th: Féile na Bealtaine

• Féile na Bealtaine is Dingle's largest arts festival. The festival celebrates the arrival of summer. Féile na Bealtaine aspires to build on the rich arts and culture that exists on the Dingle Peninsula and to extend and broaden our artistic horizons - above all to entertain and to invigorate. The traditional arts of storytelling, song, music, and dance as well as contemporary visual arts and literature are key elements of the festival. Fun for all ages is guaranteed!
• Furher information can be found on the official Féile na Bealtaine website.
• May 2nd - May 5th: Bank and Public Holiday Weekend
• TBA: Béal Bán Horse Races
• The annual Béal Bán Horse Races are held on the beach beside Ballyferriter village just west of Dingle. A great day of fun is always guaranteed on the shores of Dingle Peninsula's Smerwick Harbour.
• TBA: FBD International Cycling Race (Stage 3)

• Dingle is the finishing point for stage three of the FBD International Cycling Race. Stage three sees the cyclists race 178km from Cobh to Dingle. An uphill sprint finish on Dingle's Main Street awaits riders at the end of their journey.
• TBA: FBD International Cycling Race (Stage 4)
• Dingle is the starting point for stage four of the FBD International Cycling Race. Stage four is the most difficult stage of the race which sees the cyclists race 150km from Dingle to Listowel. A feature of stage four is the exceptionally wild coast and cliff scenery of the Slea Head Drive and the crossing of the famous ford near Dún Chaoin (see right)

June Dingle Peninsula Events

• May 30th - June 2nd: Bank and Public Holiday Weekend
• TBA: Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race
• The Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Yacht Race is a bi-annual 280 mile offshore race organised by the National Yacht Club Dun Laoghaire and Cumann Badoiri Naomh Bhreannain since 1993. This is a tough upwind race which is a test of crew and boats which passes some of the most spectacular coastal scenery in Ireland.
• TBA: Ventry Regatta
• The Ventry Regatta's annual naomhóg racing is held just west of Dingle Town in the picturesque setting that is Ventry Harbour. Ventry Regatta is one of Ireland's oldest regattas and is renowned in song and story, particularly in the classic writings of the great Blasket Island authors. Side events such as a Feis, horse show throwing, sandcastle building and entertainment for children also feature.

• TBA: Maharees Regatta
• The Maharees Regatta's annual naomhóg racing is held just north of Dingle Town in the scenic Scraggane Bay. The regatta attracts crews from counties Galway and Clare as well as local crews from all around the Dingle Peninsula.

July Dingle Peninsula Events

• TBA: Dingle Triathlon
• The triathlon starts just west of Dingle on Ventry Beach. The bicycle section passes Cill Bhreac House.
• TBA: Baile na nGall (Ballydavid) Regatta
• Baile na nGall (Ballydavid) Regatta Regatta's annual naomhóg racing is held just west of Dingle Town in this picturesque West Kerry Gaeltacht fishing village.

• TBA: Féile Lughnasa (Festival of Lughnasa)
• Féile Lughnasa (Festival of Lughnasa) is a revival of an ancient pre-Christian celebration of the harvest that is held annually just north of Dingle Town in the Cloghane/Brandon region. This is a community based festival that features music, street theatre, a treasure hunt, and art workshops.
• Furher information can be found on the official Féile Lughnasa website.

• TBA: West Kerry Agricultural Show
• West Kerry's annual Agricultural Show takes place in Dingle Town. The agricultural show features cattle, sheep, and horses as well as arts, crafts, cookery displays and showjumping for children.

August Dingle Peninsula Events

• August 1st - August 4th: Bank and Public Holiday Weekend
• TBA: Féile Lios Póil (Lispole)
• Féile Lios Póil (Lispole) is held just east of Dingle Town in the quaint village of Lispole. The festival features something for all ages, including arts, crafts, Irish dancing, a table quiz, a car treasure hunt, gaeilic football competitions, tug of war competitions, athletics and hill walking.
• TBA: Dingle Horse Races

• The Dingle Races is one of Ireland's oldest horse race meetings and holds a deep and proud tradition. The Dingle Horse Races is Ireland's biggest flapper meeting. Set in a most scenic location, the magnificent Ballintaggart Course enjoys a spectacular panoramic view of both Dingle Bay and Dingle Harbour and is an ideal venue for a family outing.
• Many well-known personalities and politicians have visited the Dingle Horse Races over the years including Ted Kennedy, Bob Dole, Julia Roberts, Aiden McGuire, Charlie Haughey, Alan Dukes, Mary Black, JP McManus, and Bertie Ahern.
• TBA: Brandon Regatta

• The Brandon Regatta is held just north of Dingle Town in Brandon village. Brandon regatta is a series of traditional curragh (boat) races with many different categories. Contesting boat teams travel right up the west coast of the Dingle Peninsula. Winners and losers alike celebrate with music and song afterwards.
• TBA: Dingle Regatta
• The Dingle Regatta's annual naomhóg racing is Kerry's biggest naomhóg racing event. Crews from all over Ireland come to Dingle Town to race their rivals in the placid waters of Dingle Bay. Music and song is always abundant in Dingle Town for the regatta.
• TBA: Féile na Lúnusa
• Féile na Lúnusa combines the celebration of the ancient festival of Lúnasa and the celebration of the harvest of the sea. Thus the wonders of the variety of the fish harvest are combined with the celebration of the beauty of the location. The outings following the story of Jesus in Dingle and the lectures, especially the Celtic Year add depth to the festival.
• TBA: La Solitaire du Figaro Yacht Race

• The very prestigious La Solitaire du Figaro international single-handed yacht race will again be including Dingle as a stage venue for this year's event. The 1,898-nautical mile race between France, Spain, and Ireland is regarded as one of the toughest yachting events in Europe and over three weeks proves a real test of skill and endurance for the competing sailors. The Dingle stop-off brings some of Europe's top sailors to West Kerry. Each year the race is a highly successful and memorable occasion that creates a wonderful festival atmosphere in Dingle Town. The crews will be based in Dingle Town for four days.

September Dingle Peninsula Events

• TBA: Inch Polo Festival
• Inch Polo Festival is the world's largest beach polo festival and brings polo teams and ponies from around the world to play polo on the beautiful flat sands of the Dingle Pennisula's Inch Strand. The Inch Polo Festival which is played on a three-mile stretch of coast, makes for extra excitement as both the ponies and the ball move faster on the hard-packed sand.

October Dingle Peninsula Events

• October 24th - October 27th: Bank and Public Holiday Weekend (Halloween)

• TBA: Blessing of Dingle's Fishing Fleet (Maritime Festival)
• The annual blessing of the boats ceremony gets underway at St. Mary's Parish Church where Dingle's Fife and Drum band lead a parade down to Dingle pier. A multi-coloured spectacle awaits the marchers as all fishing vessels, pleasure boats, Fungi boats, and yachts are decked out in flags and buntings. Mass is celebrated on the pier and then the boats form a procession out to Dingle's harbour mouth where a wreath is laid on the placid waters of Dingle Bay in honor of the many who have lost their lives at sea over the years.

November Dingle Peninsula Events

• N/A

Decemmber Dingle Peninsula Events

• December 25th: Christmas Day
• Dingle takes some time out and enjoys the seasonal festivities.
• December 26th: Wren's Day
• Dingle Wren boys take to the street in a blaze of colour continuing an unique and unbroken folk tradition that was for many centuries practised in most parts of Europe. The Dingle Wren is a memorable day of marching, music and dance. Dingle Town is a hive of activity as Dingle's Wren Boys bring an explosion of colour and boisterous exuberance that is welcome in the midst of winter's gloom.

• December 31st: New Year's Eve
• At 9pm the annual fireworks dsiplay lights up the sky over Dingle Harbour.
• Close to midnight, all locals and visitors converge at "The Bridge" for the begining of the countdown to the New Year. Dingle's Fife and Drum band then leads a parade around down after the countdown.