Hosted by Eddie McGuinness (aka 'The Queen of Matchmaking'), The Outing is set to take place at the Inn at Dromoland in Co. Clare this Valentine's weekend.
Now in its 11th year, the LGTBQ+ matchmaking festival is expected to attract more than 1,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and straight singles and couples from across Ireland and overseas from February 9 - 11.
According to McGuinness, the annual festival is responsible for two weddings ("I've been invited to both") and hundreds of relationships ("lasting anywhere from a couple of hours to weeks, months, and years").
Drag Queen extraordinaire Victoria’s Secret will be taking part in this year's festivities, which not only has romance on the cards, but a feast of music, comedy, ceilí bands, queer arts, drag artists and DJs.
"This is a mixture of the arts, music, and romance coming together," says Eddie, "and I think that's the crucial thing."
The roots of the festival started over 20 years ago, and first came to light when McGuinness collaborated with the team at Lisdoonvarna's Matchmaking Festival in Co. Clare - Europe's biggest singles festival.
"We wanted the Rose of Tralee with a bit of matchmaking - and gay," he laughs. "It's a new twist on an old tradition."
With years of experience managing events such as Dublin Pride, and working as a choreographer and producer, McGuinness says that his ethos has always been about the journey of bringing people together.
"I've always had that passion," he insists. "In 2013, when we started festival, Willie Daly [Lisdoonvarna's famed match-maker] gave me the mantlepiece of the 'Queen of Matchmaking'."
Organised in conjunction with The Outing Queer Arts Collective, with support from Fáilte Ireland, Blacknight Solutions, Visit Clare, Limerick Pride, and Quare Clare, the festival is fundamentally about providing a safe place for people to be themselves.
"We're a queer arts collective, we're all friends and volunteers and this is what we do," he explains. "This is what our passion is."
Hailing from Dundalk, McGuinness says he is particularly happy to see the festival taking place outside of big cities as those in the LGBTQ+ community can be totally reliant on dating apps when it comes to living in rural areas.
"The technology is there but sometimes technology is not all that safe," he explains. "What we try to do at the festival is give people a safe space to be themselves. It's where you can be yourself and find... it doesn't matter who it is, it could be your next best friend!"
"Or your next best lover," he adds, laughing.
With festival-goers flying in from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe, the weekend promises a "nice mixture" of younger and older crowds, giving singles a chance to sit and enjoy a good chat rather than "sitting on their phones and swiping left and right".
"The Outing gives people the chance to meet in an old fashioned way but with a new twist," he insists.
Going forward, McGuinness hopes to put Ireland's LGBTQ+ community on the map even further, having submitted a bid to bring EuroPride to Limerick, Clare and the Mid-West Region in 2028, which would mark the first time that the pan-European international event has been held in Ireland.
Attracting over 100,000 people from all over the world annually, EuroPride is hosted by a different European city each year.
According to Mr McGuinness, working with partners in the Mid-West Region, he is hoping to bring "LGBTQ+ tourists and activists from across the world to Limerick and Clare in 2028, which would also coincide with the 35th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland.
"Limerick is well accustomed to hosting large-scale international events, and we are confident we can follow in the footsteps of Amsterdam, London, Lisbon, Copenhagen and Madrid in showcasing our vibrant LGTBQ+ community here in Ireland, as this would be the 1st time EuroPride would come to the island of Ireland."
The Outing 2024 takes place at The Inn at Dromoland, Newmarket-On-Fergus, County Clare on February 9th to 11th, 2023. Visit www.theouting.ie for ticket and event details.
