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| The Matchmaker Bar in Lisdoonvarna (lovinkat/Creative Commons) |
Love is in September’s air, especially if you happen to be in the rural Irish town of Lisdoonvarna. Never heard of it? I don’t blame you, neither did I, until I came across a story about Europe’s largest matchmaking festival with 160+ years of tradition.
Apparently, every September, singles from around the world, some 60,000 of them, descend on Lisdoonvarna for a full month of dancing, meeting, mixing, and matching, in the hope of finding their special someone. In times of online dating sites and apps, it’s a strangely and refreshingly analogue concept. Imagine, instead of racking your brain while trying to type up something uniquely witty to draw the attention of your chosen online one, you could just walk into a bar in a village where everybody’s looking for the same. Then it’s all up to you, your natural charm, your gift with words...and, yes, your dance moves! Admittedly, it’s not for the shy or the faint of heart.
I guess you can still exchange phone numbers and texts AFTER the initial contact, providing you both left a positive impression on the other. But the idea of meeting someone the old-fashioned way, you know — IN PERSON — is at the same time progressive and vintage! So vintage that there’s still the old-fashioned matchmaker ready to jump in and direct Cupid’s arrow your way.
“The original matchmaker, Willie Daly, began a matchmaking service for those in search of love, creating a “Lucky Book” of profiles. His great-grandson, also called Willie Daly, continues this important service today. He meets each hopeful singleton and enters their information in the famous 160-year-old “Lucky Book”. Daly claims that if you place both hands on the cover, close your eyes, and think of love, you’ll be married within the year.” — theirishroadtrip.com
Here’s a video story about the matchmaker Willie Daly. Matchmaking seems to be a family trade — Mr. Daly is the third matchmaker in the family, continuing the tradition of his father and grandfather.
And it all happens in the picturesque Irish countryside where you can take your heart’s interest for a romantic day trip. Not to mention — it’s IRELAND, the land of pubs and Guinness! What could go wrong?
The official website says the festival attracts people of all ages – from 18 to 80. Now, I am too happily married, and although not that close to 80 (yet), even if I wasn’t married, I feel too bruised by life to try dating again. Nonetheless, I would love to be a fly on the wall in Matchmaker Bar, or a casual observer hiding behind a mug of ale and soaking in the happenings in Lisdoonvarna.
Would you try it?