A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN...
Festival tributes to bachelor Mick, 97
A BACHELOR farmer who attended the Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival for 72 years has passed away without finding a wife.
Mick Bourke, 97, from Tipperary, first went to the Co Clare event in 1946 when he was 23 years old.
He never missed a year since until his health began to fade a few years ago. He died recently.
Festival marketing manager Julie Carr said: “Mick was well known and loved by many in Lisdoonvarna and messages of sympathy have been pouring in all week to us, via social media.
“Pe o pl e a r e s p e a k i n g of hi s warmth, his sense of fun and his razor- sharp dancing skills. He was a legend in Lisdoonvarna and he never gave up hope of finding love in over 70 years attending.”
In 2016, a party was organised for Mick at the Spa Wells in the village, where he was presented with a cake by matchmaker Willie Daly.
It was attended by friends and regulars and marked Mick’s attendance at the festival over eight decades – thought to be a record.
Wi l l i e s a i d : “He n e v e r married, the problem was he too good- looking, all the girls liked him and it wasn’t easy to choose one and leave the rest.”
Mick’s ni e c e Cath e r i n e Bourke, who lives in the US, said: “Those years were the happiest times of his life. He l oved dancing and would often go two to three times a week.”
She told of how he had mentioned immediately falling in love with the atmosphere, the music, the dancing – and of course the women .
Mick told her : “I used to go home with a pocketful of phone numbers – thi s was my f odder f or the winter.”