- Published
Mary Timby was fed up with dating apps when she booked a trip to Ireland on a whim last summer - from the comfort of her Colorado couch.
asserted
she → publish → couch
The spur-of-the-moment trip was unlike her: Timby, 39, is a self-described "total planner".
But she'd always wanted to visit Ireland, and she found herself exhausted by the local dating scene while navigating a career transition.
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herself → describe → transition
And then she remembered a few throwaway lines from a comedy series about a matchmaking festival in Ireland.
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she → remember → Ireland
So she looked it up - and not only was the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival real, it was also taking place during the entire month of September, when she was scheduled to visit.
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she → look → September
Now, a little more than a year later, Timby is reaping the benefits of that uncharacteristic last-minute decision: She's become a viral star.
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She → reap → decision
She's found love with an Irishman she met at a pub called The Matchmaker.
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she → find → pub
And she's even started a new business venture - bringing others to Lisdoonvarna who hope to follow in her footsteps.
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who → start → footsteps
"It's really about enjoying County Clare, enjoying the festival, and, if you meet someone, you do - and that's what happened with us," says Timby, smiling at her partner, Jason Mangan, sitting beside her.
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Timby → enjoy → her
They're speaking from the windswept coastal cottage they rented together for the summer in his native County Clare - about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Lisdoonvarna, the site of their first fortuitous meeting.
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they → speak → meeting
'Mary, your video is going viral'
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video → go → ?
From the outset, Timby's inaugural Ireland trip seemed to take on a life of its own.
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trip → seem → own
She filmed a short video on the plane before her flight took off, telling her approximately 300 TikTok followers that she was heading on an off-the-cuff trip to an Irish matchmaking festival - and didn't "know what's going to happen".
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what → film → festival
Timby then "turned my phone on airplane mode, then spent about eight hours on the flight (and) woke up at Shannon Airport," she says.
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she → turn → Airport
When she turned on her phone, "it was blowing up".
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it → turn → phone
A group of friends had texted her.
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group → texte → her
"They said, 'Mary, your video is going viral,'" she says.
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she → say → ?
"I didn't even have notifications on for social media."
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I → have → media
She rented a manual transmission car - horrified to find the gear stick on the left side of the driver's seat - and set off through County Clare to her accommodation at an Irish family's home.
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She → rent → home
Then she headed to Lisdoonvarna, where she saw firsthand that the festival is a whole-town, month-long celebration of conversation and dancing, rather than a line of singles waiting to be set up by a sage local matchmaker.
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festival → head → matchmaker
That's changed since the festival's origins 170 years ago, when bachelor farmers and moneyed visitors would flock to the spa town of Lisdoonvarna to bathe in its mineral-rich waters and socialise.
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farmers → change → waters
Generations of matchmakers would ply their trade to set up successful marriages, and word spread.
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word → ply → marriages
Now, while the town's year-round residents number fewer than 1,000, that number swells up to 80,000 each September as revellers descend upon Lisdoonvarna from around the world.
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revellers → number → world
Third-generation matchmaker Willie Daly still holds court at his nearby home and at festival events, and Timby even visited him during her trip - when he put her on the phone to random men whose accents she struggled to understand.
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she → hold → accents
But the real magic of contemporary Lisdoonvarna lies in the town's overflowing streets and pubs - as Timby soon found out.
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Timby → lie → streets
Her first night in town was "a little slow," she admits - and Timby was tired and jet-lagged.
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Timby → admit → town
She retired to her room and spent the next day sightseeing, but the Irish woman running her accommodation convinced her to try Lisdoonvarna again that night.
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woman → retire → Lisdoonvarna
"My AirBnB host said, 'You should go back tonight, because I heard that the younger folks come out at night,'" laughs Timby.
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Timby → say → night
So she did - and found herself dancing and drinking pints at The Matchmaker Bar in the centre of town.
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herself → do → town
That's when a "handsome Irishman" approached her.
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Irishman → approach → her
'Conversation just flowed'
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Conversation → flow → ?
"I went over and introduced myself, and... conversation just flowed," says Mangan, 38, from Ennis, County Clare, about 22 miles southeast of Lisdoonvarna.
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Mangan → go → Lisdoonvarna
He'd been to the festival before and was well-acquainted with its cultural significance, remembering his grandparents making the journey decades earlier for the dancing.
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He → acquaint → dancing
"Unfortunately, I didn't have much time on my hands, because I was turning back to Ennis," says Mangan, designated driver that night for a group of friends.
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Mangan → have → friends
"So I got her name, and I said, 'Oh, sure, I might see you around.'
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I → get → you
He didn't leave it at that, though; Mangan found Timby on Instagram and followed up with a message inviting her out.
"It was short and sweet, and it was really genuine, too," says Timby - and she took him up on the offer.
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she → leave → offer
What followed was a series of whirlwind dates - lunches, dinners, sightseeing and shopping trips.
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followed → follow → dates
Timby extended her time in Ireland and documented much of it for her newfound following - but she didn't reveal anything about her new beau.
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she → extend → beau
They wanted to save the burgeoning romance for themselves.
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They → want → themselves
When Timby eventually had to fly home, there were "tears at the airport" - but they decided to keep the relationship going.
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they → have → relationship
"It was very tough to say goodbye," Timby says.
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Timby → say → goodbye
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
