Willie Daly is a matchmaker from the small village of Lisdoonvarna in Ireland. Willie is known for his ability to match individuals to their ideal partner.
at Lisdoonvarna Festival
Lisdoonvarna
The Matchmaker
The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival has it all:
“Rural Ireland can be a lonely place. There’s a lot of lonely men, farmers left behind, while a lot of women are based in the cities, so the festival is a great place for them to meet up”
Matchmaker, Willie Daly
While the festival has moved into the 21st century, Willie still believes in the old-fashioned method of round-the-table talks with couples and getting the passion flowing by getting them dancing together.
Ireland’s most famous matchmaker is Willie Daly. His passion is to help hopeful singles, of all ages and nationalities, find a life partner and have a lot of fun on the way. Since he started out as a matchmaker 50 years ago, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, Willie has set up around 3,000 marriages.
Willie took over the matchmaking business from his father back in the 1960’s – and back then the job was mostly about helping shy farmers pluck up the courage to meet a suitable lady. The farmers, who often lived and worked on very remote farms, had poor social skills, especially when it came to socialising with women and ‘courting’.
Willie carries around what he calls his ‘Lucky Book’ – a precious notebook of love-seeking profiles which is about 150 years old. He explains, “If you touch this ‘love ledger’ you’ll be married and in love inside of six months. If you are already married, you will recreate the honeymoon period you first had”.
Romantic Ireland will never be dead and gone, not while Willie Daly, has a hand to play in the age-old art of ‘courting’.
“My grandfather, who was also Willie, did a good bit of matchmaking,” says Willie. “Though what he did was on a different scale to what happens today. This was the nineteenth century, and houses had no electricity or running water. There were no motor cars, and the matchmaking was conducted at horse fairs or cattle fairs or at weddings, and even funerals. News about the matchmaker spread through word of mouth and people thought nothing of walking a good distance if it meant a chance of finding romance”
Matchmaker, Willie Daly
