'Are you single, sometimes?': Singletons flock to Lisdoonvarna hoping to meet their match

Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival dates back 160 years and draws more 60,000 visitors a year with live country music, dancing, and face-to-face matchmaking instead of dating apps

Colorado woman Mary Timby after last year's Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival after she met Jay Mangan. They're still together and were back for this year's festival. Picture: Eamon Ward

“Matchmaking on now. Hurry,” reads a makeshift sign in the Matchmaker Bar in Lisdoonvarna. In a rush to find love, many are queuing in front of the booth armed with a fiver, hoping for their dream match after filling out a bit of paperwork.

Inside the snug, Willie Daly greets those who have travelled from near and far for the annual Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival. Its roots date back 160 years and it draws over 60,000 visitors a year with live country music, dancing, and face-to-face matchmaking instead of dating apps. With events running throughout the month of September, it's Europe's largest singles festival.