Footsteps of peig sayers1/27/2024 I feel as if I’m walking in the footsteps of literary greats, travelling up the coastline from Co Clare to Co Galway. Writer Rebecca Black at the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare (Rebecca Black/PA) They jut out dramatically, battered by enormous waves from the Atlantic, sending mists of spray into the air, with the Aran Islands in the distance. I press my hands against the smooth leather cover, thinking, ‘Well, why not?’įrom Willie’s house, it’s a short drive to the world renowned Cliffs of Moher. “Touch it with both hands, close your eyes for eight seconds and think of love, and you will be in love and married within six months,” he tells me. He shows me his 150-year-old book of love, a bulging tome full of pieces of paper pertaining to both those seeking a partner, and those Willie has matched. He matched his first couple as a teenager, after a girl had caught a boy’s eye at church, making the introduction by going with the boy to see a pig the girl’s family were selling.Īpparently the boy and girl’s eyes met over the pig, and the pair were later wed.Ĭlearly a shrewd judge of character, Willie can match couples simply by spotting people he believes are suited, but these days the bulk of his matchmaking comes via letters sent by singletons in their 50s, 60s and 70s from across the world. I receive a warm welcome, as Willie explains how he followed his father and grandfather into matchmaking. The long motorway from Dublin relents to country roads amid seas of green fields, as I travel west before arriving at a goat farm on the outskirts of Lisdoonvarna to meet the man himself. Ireland’s last traditional matchmaker Willie Daly, with his book of love matches and letters from around the world (Rebecca Black/PA)Ĭurious to see the island in a new light, I travel to Co Clare, to find out what Willie’s secret is. I’m learning that a strong sense of romance endures across Ireland – from the relics of St Valentine treasured in a church in capital Dublin, to an etching of doomed lovers Tristan and Isolde at City Hall, a popular annual matchmaking festival, and the most famous piece of jewellery from the island, the hands-clasped heart Claddagh ring. Sipping a cup of tea in his kitchen in one of the most beautiful corners of the Emerald Isle, which has inspired poems by the likes of W B Yeats and Seamus Heaney, 80-year-old Willie Daly flicks through letters from people of all ages across the world looking for their perfect match. You’re never too old to find love, assures Ireland’s last traditional matchmaker, with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes.
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