Netflix (inset) was among several film crews spotted weekend filming this in Lisdoonvarna, including exteriors outside the Matchmaker Bar (pictured) and The Ritz.
NETFLIX, CBS News and several film crews have descended on Lisdoonvarna for the Matchmaking Festival, with organisers describing the level of media interest as unprecedented.
Film crews from CBS News, Netflix, the feature film West Along the Road and London-based Oddarts Media were in Lisdoonvarna during the festival weekend.
Gerry Quinn, Managing Director of the Fiddle + Bow Collection, which runs the festival, said it was the biggest concentration of media interest the event had attracted in a single weekend.
“Media interest this year has been unprecedented. Netflix, CBS News, a major feature film and an independent documentary crew — all here, in the same weekend,” he said.
“Coverage like this reaches people we could never reach ourselves, and if the past is anything to go by, it translates straight into visitors when people start planning their trip for next year’s festival.”
The Netflix-funded documentary Changing the Algorithm follows Finn Daly as he learns traditional matchmaking from his grandfather, Willie Daly.
The documentary is due to premiere at Sheffield DocFest in 2027.
Oddarts Media, the London and Los Angeles production company founded by Kara Welker and Nathan Kloke, has also begun filming The Last Matchmaker, a feature-length documentary about Willie Daly and the matchmaking tradition carried by his family for more than 160 years.
The film takes its name from Daly’s 2010 memoir and filming will continue through the festival and beyond.
A crew from West Along the Road also spent the weekend filming exteriors outside the Matchmaker Bar and The Ritz, two of Lisdoonvarna’s best-known locations.
The film follows a group of women travelling the Wild Atlantic Way with a donkey named Thatcher as they search for the daughter their childhood friend was forced to give up at 15.
Produced by Cowtown Pictures and Stigma Films, it stars Imelda Staunton, Charlie Murphy, Philippa Dunne, Genevieve O’Reilly and Charlene McKenna.
The Matchmaking Festival continues until September 30, with live music and dancing taking place across venues in the town.
Several new events are also being introduced during the remaining weeks of the festival.
Club Soda’s speed-walking event will take place on Saturday from 10.30am to 12.30pm, combining speed dating with a walk through Lisdoonvarna’s heritage trails.
The event begins with coffee at the Hydro Hotel before participants head out for a walk with rotating partners and return to the hotel for live music.
A new “30+ Club” dance event will also take place at the Hydro Nightclub on Saturday, September 19, from 7pm to 11pm.
On the festival’s final weekend, a new speed-dating event organised by Met Through Friends and Mary Timby will take place at the Hydro Hotel on Saturday, September 26.
Organisers say it will be the largest multi-age speed-dating event held at the festival, accommodating up to 100 people.
Participants will register by age group, ranging from their 20s and 30s through to their 60s and over, with each person having up to 10 five-minute dates.
Check-in begins at 8pm, with speed dating from 8.30pm to 10pm. Entry to the nightclub is included in the ticket price.
Mr Quinn said there was strong demand for new ways for people to meet and socialise.
“There’s a real appetite for new singles events and different ways for people to meet, connect and socialise,” he said.
“We’re delighted with the response to this year’s events and are already looking at how we can build on this and bring even more to the festival next year.”
