Lisdoonvarna
| Lisdoonvarna Lios Dúin Bhearna
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| — Town — | |
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 Lisdoonvarna
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| Coordinates: 53°01′49″N 9°17′22″W / 53.0303°N 9.2894°WCoordinates: 53°01′49″N 9°17′22″W / 53.0303°N 9.2894°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Clare |
| Elevation | 20 m (70 ft) |
| Population (2006[1]) | |
| • Urban | 767 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | R133984 |
Lisdoonvarna (Irish: Lios Dúin Bhearna, meaning "Enclosure at the Fort by the Gap") is a spa town of 822 people (2002 census) in County Clare in Ireland.
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[edit] Events
Famous for its music and festivals, in September each year one of Europe's largest matchmaking events is held in the town attracting upward of 40,000 romantic hopefuls, bachelor farmers and accompanying revellers. The month-long event is an important tourist attraction. The current matchmaker is Willie Daly, a fourth-generation matchmaker.
A now-defunct music festival which took place near the town is celebrated in a song of the same name written by the Irish folk singer, Christy Moore. This festival took place until 1983, when the last event was marred by a riot.
[edit] Name
The town takes its name from the Irish Lios Dúin Bhearna meaning the "lios dúin", or enclosured fort, of the gap ("bhearna"). It is believed that the fort referred to in this name is the green earthen fort of Lissateeaun (fort of the fairy hill), which lies 3 km to the north-east of the town, near the remains of a Norman-era castle.
The present town is a comparatively new one by Irish standards, dating mainly from the start of the 19th century. The town is mentioned in the Elizabeth Kelly book, Apologize, Apologize.
[edit] See also
List of towns and villages in Ireland
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1841 | 257 | — |
| 1851 | 201 | −21.8% |
| 1861 | 151 | −24.9% |
| 1871 | 141 | −6.6% |
| 1881 | 218 | +54.6% |
| 1891 | 171 | −21.6% |
| 1901 | 223 | +30.4% |
| 1911 | 249 | +11.7% |
| 1926 | 220 | −11.6% |
| 1936 | 193 | −12.3% |
| 1946 | 231 | +19.7% |
| 1951 | 332 | +43.7% |
| 1956 | 618 | +86.1% |
| 1961 | 625 | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 656 | +5.0% |
| 1971 | 459 | −30.0% |
| 1981 | 607 | +32.2% |
| 1986 | 648 | +6.8% |
| 1991 | 842 | +29.9% |
| 1996 | 890 | +5.7% |
| 2002 | 822 | −7.6% |
| 2006 | 767 | −6.7% |
| [2] | ||
[edit] Notes
- ^ Census Statistics Office Ireland : Alphabetical list of Towns with their population, 2002 and 2006
- ^ http://www.cso.ie/census and www.histpop.org. Lisdoonvaarna was not regarded as a census town until 1891. Pre 1891 totals are for the townlands of Lisdoonvaarna and Rathbaun, where the spas are located and the first guesthouses were built for tourists in the 1870s. For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee “On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses” in Irish Population, Economy and Society, edited by J.M. Goldstrom and L.A. Clarkson (1981) p54, and also "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850” by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1984), pp. 473-488.
[edit] External Links
BBC World Service documentary about the matchmaking festival
