Dingle local responds to rumours that Fungie was “shot dead”

The popular dolphin has been missing since October.

For the last few weeks there has been a vigilant watch around the coast of Dingle in the hopes that Fungie will return. Unfortunately there has been no sighting of the dolphin since October and now rumours have emerged that he may have been shot. Yes, shot. Locals recently responded to these rumours and said that it's pretty much entirely untrue. Kerry local Jimmy Flannery, who has been running tours to see Fungie for 33 years, told The Sun: 

"There has been absolutely no sign of Fungie whatsoever unfortunately. No matter what, you are going to get stories of this, that and the other thing. And that (the rumour about Fungie being shot) is local gossip. There is not a chance would there have been anything like that happened to Fungie in my mind, not a chance. My honest response is yes I have heard it (the rumour). I just went ‘not a chance’, there isn’t a hope in God’s earth that anybody would have harmed Fungie. In my mind, it would be unbelievable that anybody could ever harm him". My honest opinion on that one is that I think it is gossip. You are always going to get it".

Experts who have been leading the search say the rumours are very unlikely and that if Fungie had indeed been shot that they would have found him by now. As the weeks progress it's seeming less and less likely that the popular dolphin with make a reappearance. Fungie has been a staple in Ireland since the 1980s with locals and tourists alike flocking to see him every year. Those living in Dingle are still hoping that they might get a Christmas miracle this year and that Fungie will return before the end of the year.