Lisdoonvarna

Our B &B host in Doolin persuaded us to stay another night and go to Ireland’s singles festival in Lisdoonvarna. Lots of great music he said. He told us the origins of the festival - an annual trek of Irish bachelor farmers to the place where they might find a wife.
Lisdoonvarna is small. And despite the banner proclaiming Europe’s largest singles festival, we didn’t see any stages. We went into a pub to ask.
The older crowd in the low ceilinged room, with their noisy conversation and laughing, all seemed to know each other. A 70ish man, who had waved us over to sit down, said a lot of them came every year. He met his wife here 40 years ago, and they came back every year after that. He quietly added, “She died two years ago.”
After a few beers, we left for the Hydro Hotel, which our tablemates had recommended for music.
The ballroom startled us. The people there were old. And they were waltzing.
We sat at the bar to reassess our plans. But we were quickly asked to dance, and as we joined the crowd, the dark room, the twinkling lights, the close dancing, the wrinkled smiles of our escorts, and the haze of earlier beers worked their magic. It was like my first high school dance in the dark gym. The air was shimmering with the possibilities of romance, and I felt like I was floating. And one of my dance partners gently got right to the point. “So you’re liking Ireland. Maybe you could move here and marry me.” I started to laugh, until I realized he was serious.
Later I stood in a restroom line with a stooped, small woman with white hair and bright blue eyes she smiled and asked, “How are you doing dear? Have you met anyone?” When I asked her the same question, she said “Oh no,” with a wistful smile. “At my age, I’m just here to look.”
I hope she finds someone looking back. I hope the man at the pub finds someone to come back with next year. I hope my dance partner finds a wife.
Someone told us that a rock band and a younger crowd would come at midnight. But we decided not to stay. Maybe we didn’t want to break the spell of ballroom. Maybe we wanted to float home on possibilities. The Lisdoonvarna we saw is every sweet cliché about Ireland, but the annual September festival includes more than that, featuring country music, horseracing, and a weekend for gay singles. Details about the 2015 festival are on the festival website. I hope it will won’t change much over the years though, for when I am old, perhaps I will go back and waltz. again.