Lonely hearts flock to Irish village

Move over Paris. An Irish village is challenging your title as the city of love.

The month of September is dedicated to a unique matchmaking festival in the Irish village of Lisdoonvarna .

Only 800 people call the village home, but each year some 80-thousand people from all around the world flock to the picturesque settlement on Ireland’s western coast in the hope of finding love.

The festival dates back some 150-years, and embraces traditional matchmaking techniques. Very few introductions involve social media. Instead, the village becomes an open-air meeting place offering singles a place to talk, drink, dance, and hopefully fall in love.

The festival has seen impressive growth over the past 20-years. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to even get a hotel room. One innkeeper estimates the festival brings in nearly $3-million in just four weeks.

KYMA 2019