With romance in the air at the annual Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, Margaret Jennings discovers that finding someone special is still a goal for many over 50.

There are 29 men for every woman west of the Shannon, so Deirdre Reynolds decided to head to ... Lisdoonvarna, of course!

IT’S a long, long way from Clare to here. Lisdoonvarna Music Festival may be taking place in Dublin this afternoon but the traditional Matchmaking Festival let down its hair last night for the first of five fun weekends until October 5.