Doonshean or Doonsheane ( or ''Dún Séann'') is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

in western

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the cou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is located about 3.8 km east from the neighbouring town of

Dingle Dingle (Irish: ''An Daingean'' or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry, Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula, it sits on the Atlantic coast, about southwest of Tralee and northwest of Killa ...

. The area gets its name from the nearby

Doonmore Doonmore is a promontory fort and National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland. Location Doonmore lies on a headland reaching into Dingle Bay, southeast of Dingle town. History Traditionally viewed as being built by the Iron Age ...

fort, with ''dún'' (fort) transliterated to doon, and ''síon'' deriving from the word ''síneadh'' meaning a stretch of land. The

promontory fort A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to da ...

is accessible by walking through the fields. There are also a number of other

ring fort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wale ...

s, enclosures and related archaeological sites in the area. Dún Síon's beach has views of the village Kinnard in the neighbouring parish of Lispole. The ''Siorrach'', meaning "foal", is a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorpholog ...

which can be seen from the beach and is said to resemble a foal. The ''Trá Bheag'', meaning "small beach", runs along the beach until it meets the sea.

Notable people

The sports commentator

Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh (; born 20 August 1930) is an Irish Gaelic games commentator for the Irish national radio and television, RTÉ. In a career that has spanned six decades he has come to be regarded as the "voice of Gaelic games." He ...

was born in Dún Síon, and wrote a book titled ''From Dún Síon to Croke Park''.

References

{{coord, 52, 7, 36, N, 10, 13, 36, W, display=title Towns and villages in County Kerry