Singles hope for love at first sight at Ardara's Matchmaking Festival

Get ready to fall in love in Ardara with the return of the Ardara Matchmaking Festival after an absence of seven years.

The Matchmaking Festival will bring people together for the purpose of finding love in Ardara for the first time since 2019, creating unforgettable memories and proving there is still romance left in the world.

Held at The Nesbitt Arms Hotel at the weekend of November 27, and organised by the Ardara Town Traders, the festival will feature Mullingar-based and leading matchmaker, Mairead Loughman, of LoveHQ.

The return of the Matchmaking Festival was hailed by Ardara Town Traders Committee member Thomas McWhinnie. He said: “We had a few quiet years with the closing of the hotel (Nesbitt Arms). At the end of the day, the hotel is the heart of the village.

“Our last matchmaking festival was in 2019, so with the opening of the hotel, we are getting back to being the town of the festivals. Ardara was always known as the town of the festivals.

“With the support of the hotel which is fantastic, we are getting all the festivals back in order again, which is great to see.

“The hotel is the heart of the village. Any hotel is the heart of most villages, but especially so in Ardara.”

Reminiscing about the previous editions of the Matchmaking Festival in Ardara, Thomas stated: “The Matchmaking was a lot of fun for everybody. We had people come from all over the country. We used to have the famous matchmaker, a guy called Willie Daly.

“He was down at Lisdoonvarna, and he used to come up with his big book of about seven inches thick, with people’s names. He interviewed them and he tried to match people up. He did successfully get a few weddings sorted out, but he has stopped that now.”

Alanna Sweeney said: “It was always a great weekend in the town, with the buzz.

“We used to get really good bands. We would always have to go to Donegal Town for dancing, so it was always great to have this within your own town.”

The return of the Matchmaking Festival will allow the Ardara Town Traders to invest the proceeds into numerous local projects, including funding for Ardara’s Christmas Lights, the Christmas Kids Party, and Ardara’s St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Speaking of the new matchmaker for the event, Mairead Loughman, Thomas said: “She is a professional. She is going to promote us and she has a massive audience out there. She will be doing TV and radio interviews and has an online registration for the weekend.

“During the festival, she will be here herself, hosting people, hosting events, icebreaking activities, speed dating sessions, mocktail experiences, a tour out to the distillery, and a lot of local attractions.

“All the local pubs are involved with the Matchmaking Festival too. We have the Traffic Lights System, with a green, yellow and red badge on you. At the end of the day, it is all good fun.

“The fact that this is the first matchmaking festival since 2019, we are going all out to ensure it's going to be very good. Already, there have been a lot of reservations in hotels and people being interested and making phone calls about it, so we are looking forward to it.

“Some people will take the matchmaking very seriously. A few marriages have happened from the Ardara Matchmaking Festival through Willie Daly. Some people take it seriously, and others take it as a bit of fun.”

The return of the Ardara Matchmaking Festival, for Tommy, signals a return to Ardara becoming the Town of the Festivals.

“In our Town Traders committee, we have a great bunch of people there,” said Thomas. “The town was quiet for a while, but now it’s open; we are putting every effort into getting it back to where it was.

“The major thing is now the town is booming again, and it is affecting small businesses, shops, restaurants and pubs, which are all getting the spin-off.”

For those wondering whether they should visit Ardara at the end of November, Alanna said: “Just come and enjoy yourself.

“You’ll not regret stepping foot in Ardara.”