WHO can forget the lyrics of the matchmaker's catchy song in Fiddler on the Roof? In the name of tradition, much care must be chosen to find a good catch, complete with looks, reputation, intellect and riches. Interestingly enough, such tradition still finds its way into a quaint town called Lisdoonvarna in Ireland.
About 40,000 single men and women flock to the small spa town of Lisdoonvarna in Ireland every year with one thing on their minds -- to find the perfect mate. This 150-year-old matchmaking festival is the subject of folklore and the whole town comes alive in September and early October. It is probably Europe's biggest singles festival.
There is much music and speed dating during weekends. Other exciting activities are held in 17 venues throughout the town during the week, for example the "Lisdoonvarna Meeting" -- a horse race for amateur jockeys. As with every much celebrated event, the festival culminates with the awarding of the coveted titles of "Mr Lisdoonvarna" and "Queen of the Burren" to the best-matched couple.
This festival was borne more out of necessity in those days where farmers, who had eligible sons and daughters, were often too busy or lived too far apart to have any social life of the regular kind. Thus, "basadoiri" or matchmakers of old invited these eligible bachelors to meet once a year when the hay and crops were gathered, their reward being the collecting of generous dowries once successful matches were made.
Rumour has it that Willie Daly, the present day Lisdoonvarna matchmaker, has been bringing couples together for more than 40 years and has his grandfather's matchmaking book dating back 130 years to prove it. Just a simple filling of form listing basic details and interests for a nominal fee sets the hopeful on his romantic quest for a life partner. It is all done in a decent manner, with no secret trysts unlike what Will Smith, the date doctor did in Hitch.
In fact, I was told that a friend of my brother-in-law met his bride at the festival and they are still happy together. But Willie once lamented to a local tabloid that a decade ago it was all about falling in love and finding a soulmate, but in the last 18 months, people are asking, "Has he a house or is he solvent?"
What is it about match-making that intrigues us and is it still relevant in today's society? When I ask students which they would prefer: match-made or love marriages, there is always a split down the middle with half the class preferring one to the other. Sometimes, discussions turned into heated debates and like warring chieftains defending their territories, I fear war might have broken out had I not stepped in.
Most people in my parents' era found their partners through a matchmaker.
Others argue that falling in love is a magical experience like in Barbara Cartland's ageless romantic rendezvous. But people can also fall in love for the wrong reasons. For example, some people love the idea of being in love so much, they end up falling in love with the first person that is nice to them.
A lot of people are scared of being alone, so they get committed to someone quickly and people also fall in love to show off to others that they can be loved as well. But my students will unanimously agree that neither arranged or love marriages are made in heaven.
The festival, itself, is brilliant, really. It is like a hunting game for hordes of lonely souls seeking the prize of an Irish heart. I hear that 10 cheerleaders from Texas are due to arrive in Ireland, and these high-kicking girls are heading to Lisdoonvarna and have already got in touch with Willie. They could have fathers who own oil wells or they could perhaps be searching for rich, lonely travellers such as themselves.
Some have thumbed their noses at the festival saying that no self-respecting person would join the hunt which is contrived and commercialised. Others may go away feeling shortchanged as they had set their hopes too high and could not find their princes among the down-to-earth bog farmers there.
But if there is this willy-nilly feeling deep down that will not go away, telling you that the biological clock is ticking, then by all means call at Willie's office at the Matchmaker Bar or one of his clinics in the Hydro Hotel. The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival is simple fun, and as they say "the craic is mighty in Lisdoonvarna".
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