Children at play give a signal of life after lockdown

CHILDREN playing on the Fungie statue at the pier over the weekend presented one of the first signs of life after lockdown in Dingle, where tourism has been put on hold for the past three months. Phase 2 of the lifting of coronavirus restrictions, which came into effect last week, allows people travel within their own county and it resulted in a steady trickle of weekend visitors. There weren’t many by normal June standards, but enough to stand out against the backdrop of three months of almost empty streets. Among them were some of the young Boyles and Stephensons who were glad to get out of Tralee, even for a day. The youngsters were delighted to meet Fungie – in bronze if not in person – and some of the adults in their group were tempted by the prospect of a ‘real pint’ from Quinn’s takeaway pub in Ventry. There was a notable increase in the number of Dublin and ‘up the country’ visitors over the weekend as well but, like the short-stay holiday home owners who have received scant welcome in recent months, they tried to keep their presence discreet. It didn’t work of course: locals spot their out-of-county number plates and ‘OMG the roads are so narrow’ style of driving a mile away. On Monday it was the turn of local children to get out to play after Dingle playground opened for the first time since the middle of March. Riley and Daniel Walsh revelled in the swings and roundabouts, small wonder when they had hardly been outside the confines of their Lios Póil home in months. The beaches at Kinard and Minard were well within legal reach even during the depths of the lockdown but their mother, Katelyn, explained that any time they went to the beach they had to leave because they were so busy with “surfers and all kinds of people”. Eoghan O’Dowd was another youngster excited to be able to meet children his own age in the playground. It carried its own problems with social distancing and hand sanitizing but as his mother, Amanda, said: “What can you do, they have to get out”. Faye Evans was another youngster having a swinging time in the playground. Faye and her siblings thought life under lockdown was great for the first couple of weeks but they soon got fed up of watching television, they missed playing football and meeting their friends, and worst of all there were no big birthday parties. So getting out to the playground was very welcome and even the problem of social distancing wasn’t a big concern given that West Kerry has been largely unaffected by the virus. However, one parent was concerned that this will change as coronavirus restrictions are lifted and people from the more severely affected areas of the country turn up in greater numbers. It is a concern shared by many locals who feel West Kerry will be in more danger over the next few months than at any time since last February, when coronavirus was first detected in Ireland.

Two-year-old Daniel Walsh from Lios Póil in Dingle playground when it reopened on Monday.

Eoghan O’Dowd was one of the many local children delighted to see Dingle playground reopening.