They came armed with all the colours of the rainbow, they saw the sun rise during a same-sex céilí, and they conquered any notions it would be hard to find gay love in Lisdoon.

In the early morning sun at Spancilhill Horse Fair, business is brisk and north Clare farmer and matchmaker Willie Daly is a happy man.

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

THEY met and fell in love 43 years ago at the Lisdoonvarna match-making festival and were married the following September.

Recent violence in Clare shows that large urban centres do not hold the franchise on crime and violence, writes Mid-West Correspondent Jimmy Woulfe.