Matchmaking in ireland

The Story Behind The 160+ Year Old Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival

Ireland has a rich and renowned history of matchmaking, but what has this old custom got to give in the age of dating apps? In fact, the festival that bills itself as the largest gathering of the unattached and eligible takes place in the small village of Lisdoonvarna, County Clare. The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival takes place every September. Country music performances, trad sessions and other events are rolled into a month-long carnival of mingling singles. While there, parents would try to match their children with partners deemed suitable. But as Lisdoonvarna grew as a tourist destination, people from beyond the privileged gentry were being pulled towards the area in search of a mate. The main man these days is Willie Daly, said to be both a third-generation matchmaker and the last of his kind. Daly has been in the game for half a century and claims to have matched 3, couples in his lifetime. Ireland is particularly associated with the image of a matchmaking patriarch using his wisdom or wizardry to connect singles well-suited to each other. During the festival month, Daly can usually be found in a pub conveniently named The Matchmaker.

REGISTER TO VIEW

As the holiday season draws ever closer, households across Ireland set out on the cherished tradition of adorning their homes with festive cheer, much like the quest to find love amidst the magical backdrop of Christmas. Let us elaborate…. At Intro, we have always prided ourselves on the very core of our service: verifiable, real people being matched with other verifiable, real people.

REGISTER TO VIEW

My name is Willie Daly and I am a third generation traditional Irish matchmaker: a gift I inherited from my father and his father before him. On the west coast of Ireland, just a few miles from Lisdoonvarna in County Clare , I live on a small elevated farm with horses, ponies and donkeys within view of the Cliffs of Moher , the wild Atlantic Ocean of our own Liscannor Bay and the beautiful, spellbinding, magical Burren. I have been matchmaking for over 50 years and am proud to say I have matched over couples in my lifetime.

REGISTER TO VIEW

Is Ireland’s old-fashioned matchmaking the best alternative to apps and algorithms?

For singletons endlessly swiping on dating apps, a back-to-basics approach might be the antidote to curing a lovesick heart. Thousands have made the pilgrimage to Lisdoonvarna, in the Republic of Ireland, with hopes of finding love. Its matchmaking festival has been going for years and is the biggest singles festival in Europe. Willie Daly is the man responsible for keeping the art of matchmaking alive in the County Clare town. He's a third-generation matchmaker, who first learned the art passed down to him by his father and grandfather when he was a teenager.

REGISTER TO VIEW

REGISTER TO VIEW