Willie Daly

The Irish Folk Festival is a mirror of Irish culture and way of life. This is more than song, music and dance. Rural Ireland is also associated with the almost extinct tradition of matchmaking. Willie Daly is a matchmaker as the Irish call those who are engaged in arranging marriages in a traditional way. Since over fifty years the locals contact Willie when they are looking for a partner and quite often it works out. Willie matched hundreds of pairs the way he learned it from his father and grandfather.
Willie does not need a high speed computer to match thousands of data. He trusts in his own sound judgement, the choice of an appropriate location and the right event. Whilst so many singles spend a lonely life in front of their PC looking for a match online he creates social outings where lonely hearts can meet. He invites them to a pub where a session and dancing are in full swing. He organises trips on horse back through the magic landscape of the Burren, to experience the overwhelming nature, the horses and the company of other equally minded makes the hearts of the participants grow. There is no guarantee that they will find a match for life, but at least their find with Willies help some magic moments and good company. They leave the lonely life in front up their PC behind. Each year, his tiny home town of Lisdoonvarna (population 800) hosts a matchmaking festival that attracts 40,000 visitors from around the World. They hope to meet Willie – with his unique blend of intuition, quiet wisdom and a small drop of cunning. There is even a bar “The Matchmaker” in Lisdoonvarna named after him. In his book “The last matchmaker” Willie recounts some of the best stories along with his own and here are some of them read by Gerry O’Brien - one of Ireland’s most popular actors