Paris, the City of Love, has its eyes peeled on the Town of Romance as the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival approaches the halfway mark. The festival runs throughout the month of September.

My own love affair with Lisdoonvarna goes back several years. I’m an Irish woman who has lived in Paris for many years, and I first visited Lisdoonvarna after writing my Master’s memoir on the subject of the Matchmaking festival.

In 2018, while sitting with Julie Carr, PR for the festival, in the Royal Spa Hotel, I watched through the window as people made their way up and down Main Street. I noticed the beautiful dresses worn by women heading to the afternoon dancing sessions on Lisdoonvarna’s legendary dance floors. It gave me an idea: why not launch a ‘Lisdoonvarna Dress,' designed by a couture designer from the capital of fashion and worn by an Irish woman in honour of the festival?

To date, there have been four ‘Lisdoonvarna Dresses.' Sean Byrne, who designed the 2021 dress, is now working for Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. His creation highlighted the dance link between Paris and Lisdoonvarna and included a special tribute to Margaret Kelly, founder of the Lido Bluebell Girls. During the Nazi occupation of Paris, she hid her husband, Marcel Leibovici, in an attic near a police headquarters for two and a half years after he escaped from an internment camp. Their story inspired François Truffaut's film "The Last Metro." Sean said he was delighted to pay homage both to Lisdoonvarna and to a feisty Irish woman who had left such an imprint on the Paris stage. The Irish woman who wore Sean Byrne’s creation was fabulous singer Maria Doyle, who has always done herself and Ireland proud.

Singer Maria Doyle (R) in Sean Byrne's Lisdoonvarna Dress at Irishwoman Margaret Kelly's tomb in Montmartre, with Patricia Killeen. (Alma Fakhr)
2Gallery

Singer Maria Doyle (R) in Sean Byrne's Lisdoonvarna Dress at Irishwoman Margaret Kelly's tomb in Montmartre, with Patricia Killeen. (Alma Fakhr)

I love following the progress of the designers and the women who wore their scintillating dresses, and I’m already looking forward to a fifth Lisdoonvarna Dress.

There is no shortage of inspiration. Michael Stewart, from Kilkishen, Co Clare, presented his first haute couture show at the Irish Embassy in Paris this July for his label "Standing Ground." With the Embassy’s gilded salons serving as an elegant catwalk, he unveiled a spectacular white grand-finale dress. It was a showstopper, with a long train featuring 15 metres of Carrickmacross lace. Even Anna Wintour appeared amazed by the beauty of the creation. And there is another Clare connection in Paris: Clare woman Alison Milton has recently taken up her post as Ireland’s new Ambassador to France and was there to host the sparkling haute couture event.

I went to the festival in 2018, 2019 and 2022, and in 2022 I also visited Willie Daly. It was so lovely to see him at his farm, to see his donkeys and the cart that was used in "The Quiet Man." Previously, I’d always met him at the Matchmaker’s Bar. My husband and I put our hands on his ancient love ledger. Willie maintains that when a single person places their hand on his book, they are likely to find a match, but when a married couple put their hands on it together, their relationship will continue to blossom and they’ll enjoy many more years of romance.

Willie was very taken with my handsome French husband and wanted to know if he had any brothers or cousins who looked like him, as he felt they would be easy to match. However, Willie will always put his Irish bachelors’ best feet forward. As he told me: “It’s great to partner with Paris in the spirit of love, music and dance. I hope some Parisian showgirls will also make it over to Lisdoonvarna; they would be absolutely delighted with the Irish bachelors’ dancing steps.”

Over the years, I’ve organised a few ‘Lisdoonvarna-Paris, Franco-Irish Balls’ in Paris, at venues including the famous Centquatre, Café Blanche, Le Cirque, and O’Sullivans Bastille – all iconic addresses in the City of Light.

What may also encourage Parisians to head to Lisdoonvarna this year is the return of the Lisdoonvarna hotels to the heart of the festival. The Hydro Hotel alone has 70 great acts programmed, alongside live music, social dancing and speed dating throughout September.

In Paris too, people are looking for alternatives to dating apps. Face-to-face matchmaking is not only quaint, but it can also be very efficient. Then there’s that ‘eye meets eye’ across the Lisdoonvarna dance floors, together with the quirky atmosphere of the place, which appeals to the French spirit of romance and originality.

What I particularly loved on my three visits was meeting couples who had been matched there, got married, and later returned to kick up their heels on the Lisdoonvarna dance floors to celebrate their great finds. So many spoke highly of Willie, and I’m looking forward to seeing how his grandson will carry the matchmaking banner forward.

It’s a real gift to be able to match people well. Willie is a third-generation matchmaker who has made thousands of matches – and has many more to make. It’s lovely that his matchmaking legacy will continue.

And not forgetting the advice of Christy Moore in his famous song "Lisdoonvarna": “If it's music you want, you should go to Clare.”

With so many newly developed Paris-Clare bonds, surely on one of these fine September mornings a few Paris residents will be saying: “Sure, I’m off to Lisdoonvarna in the morning.”

Patricia Killeen hosts the show ‘Turning Points’ on World Radio Paris, and writes for various English-language publications. She launched the ‘Lisdoonvarna-Paris, Franco-Irish Ball’ and the ‘Lisdoonvarna Dress.'

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