The Dingle Selkie
I’ll tell ye now of the lovely Selkie,
She married Dingle man Cagans
For a short span of time, then returned to the sea.
Near Kerry’s land of goblins
He found her drowning in his net one day
With his strong hand he saved her life
And took her Selkie's skin away,
He wanted her for wife,
The man then married this seal-woman
She’d be his true lover
She become human and shed her seal skin,
His love had won her over
Oh boys, but her true home was the sea,
The waves and tides of the Bay
She’d leave if the chance came to be free
But, faithful girl, she stayed.
Cagans one windy winter morn -
In his nets trapped far from shore -
The end, he feared. But then he mourned
The loss of his darling more.
His cries like waves broke in her ears:
She changed back to seal-form
Then she swam right fast and quelled his fears,
And he was saved from harm.
Says she, “ I’ve lost our home and bed
But I’ll always swim near you.”
“Then I never will sail from Dingle,” he said,
“But swim out each day with you.“
And every day they were seen in the bay
On the sea or near the shore,
A-catching fish and always at play
Till one day they were no more. . . . . . . .
. . . . . . Now, a dolphin’s come to Dingle Bay
Fungie’s made it his home.
He’s never left us, but decided to stay,
Never more to roam.
………………………………………………………………………………………….
NOTE
Dingle Bay is famous for a young bottlenosed dolphin which appeared at the mouth of Dingle Harbour in 1984. In Dingle they say it is Cagans swimming always. Christened "Fungie" by the local fishermen, the dolphin rarely ventures far from the mouth of the harbor, a fact that has baffled scientists and specialists. A simple explanation given is that at the time of his arrival, the body of a young female bottlenose was washed up locally. Dolphins are thought to show great fidelity in their relationships, and may only have one mate for life. Dingle is also famous as the location for three movies: RYAN’S DAUGHTER 1969, FAR AND AWAY 1992, THE FIELD 1993.
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