Tag Archives: matchmaking

THOUSANDS of singletons from all over Ireland and far beyond will throng Lisdoonvarna as the Matchmaking Festival returns this September. While live music will ring out from bars and venues around the village, organisers have said that live music events at the Marquee and Pavilion theatre will not be going ahead this year, due to rising operational costs. The festival goes back to the 19th Century and third generation matchmaker Willie Daly, who has made over 3,000 matches over the last 50 years, said that this year’s festival will be one of a kind, with huge pent-up demand out there among singletons.  “Love has been kind of put on hold, a lot of people have been starved for love really, due to Covid and restricted movement. This year there is great enthusiasm with people to get out there and make up for the lost years. “There were a number of lost years and at certain ages it’s serious enough. It’ll …

LOOKING for love, without the pub has been described as “a threatening and scary prospect” by legendary Lisdoonvarna matchmaker Willie Daly. Ahead of a Valentine’s Day like no other, the love guru said Irish society remains without a key social and romantic outlet, as Level 5 restrictions mean pubs and restaurants must remain closed. “Irish men in particular are feeling alone and isolated,” he said. “They’re looking for love without the pub and while I’m not advocating abusing drink, Arthur Guinness was always a marvellous back-up and a source of energy for fellas who might have been on the sensitive and conservative side. They came into their own with a few social drinks in the pub and that’s not available now. The Irish man feels very naked at the moment. His mind, body and soul are in a different place. Love without the pub is a strange situation. I’ve seen it at the [matchmaking] festival. Fellas are shy at 7 …

LOVE in a time of lock-down is still continuing to flourish, with many prospective couples using old-fashioned methods to get acquainted, according to match-maker Willie Daly. The Lisdoonvarna love guru told The Champion that the extraordinary times we are living through have seen a surge in the number of people putting romance to the top of their post lock-down priority lists. “Certainly, the restrictions are making life difficult. So many people have lost their jobs and the lack of social opportunities is making people very lonely,” he said. “It’s very hard on people living alone in small apartments at this time. In the last two to three weeks, I’ve had a definite increase in the number of people coming forward to ask for help in finding a partner and there’s a greater urgency too in their calls and letters.” Mr Daly, who claims credit for around 3,000 marriages over his half-a-century of match-making, said the unprecedented change in people’s lifestyles …

A BACHELOR farmer, who has been coming to Lisdoonvarna for the past 70 years, is still hopeful he will meet “the one”. Ninety-two-year-old Mick Burke, a sheep farmer from Borrislea in County Tipperary, first came to Lisdoonvarna with his mother in 1946. Mick, who was 23 at the time, said, “I fell in love with the atmosphere, the music and the dancing and, of course, the women. After that I was hooked and have been coming back every year since, still hopeful I will meet someone. “I never married. I had a lot of lucky escapes. I fell in love with several women I met in Lisdoonvarna,” he said. A pocket-full of phone numbers he picked up on his visits to the Spa town in September was, he said, “ my fodder for the winter”. He had no shortage of dates and would go dances but had no notion of getting married. “I had a few girlfriends over the years; …

North Clare matchmaker, Willie Daly has been invited to New York for St Patrick’s Day, following the recent publication of an interview with him in one of the best-known newspapers in the United States. The Lisdoonvarna man was invited to the city by a group of publicans in Brooklyn, to conduct a matchmaking weekend there, after an article about him appeared in the New York Times on February 3. “I was invited off the back of the article but, really, I always have St Patrick’s Day at home with my grandchildren and we always participate in the Ennistymon parade, so I have to weight it up against that,” he said. Last year, following national headlines made by whistleblowers, Willie and his family entered the parade as the tin whistle blowers. “I have suggested to the people who have invited me that maybe April 1 or May Day might be alternative times for a matchmaking weekend. St Patrick’s Day is busy …

APPROXIMATELY 40,000 people are expected to attend the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival this month, one local hotelier has claimed. The renowned festival began last week and among the first guests looking to meet her match was television presenter and journalist, Janet Street Porter. Ms Street Porter was in the North Clare village on Tuesday and Wednesday last week and her experience was discussed on ITV’s Loose Women on Monday. She also wrote about her trip looking for love in Lisdoonvarna in her column in the Daily Mail. Ms Street Porter introduced the festival, and the art of traditional matchmaking, to a British audience. The four-time divorcee was matched with John Richardson, who she described as “a very attractive, single, professional man”. Marcus White of the Hydro Hotel believes her visit is already having repercussions for businesses in the area and for the festival itself. “It was fantastic to get someone as high-profile as Janet Street Porter come to the matchmaking festival. …

THE North Clare village of Lisdoonvarna is listed alongside the Chilean Atacama Desert, Australia’s  Whitsunday Islands and the French Riviera in Lonely Planet’s top 52 travel resolutions for 2014. The world famous series of travel books has just released an ebook called Travel Resolutions, 52 New Ways to Experience Planet Earth and Lisdoonvarna and County Clare features at number three. Publishers expect tens of thousands of copies of the free ebook to be downloaded over the coming year and businesses in the North Clare village say this could herald the start of a good year for tourism in the area. Marcus White of the Hydro Hotel and one of the people behind this year’s gay and lesbian matchmaking festival, The Outing, describes the inclusion of Lisdoonvarna on the list as “fantastic”. “We have noticed that since the end of last September, there has been an increase of bookings already for next year. That has never happened before. The economy is …