{"id":297957,"date":"2026-02-14T15:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T15:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/297957\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T15:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T15:37:07","slug":"american-woman-found-her-match-in-lisdoonvarna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/297957\/","title":{"rendered":"American woman found her match in Lisdoonvarna\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jay Mangan had never made a connection at Lisdoonvarna\u2019s matchmaking festival.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But third time was the charm for the Clare man, when he met American woman Mary Timby in a local pub.<\/p>\n

The pair met at the Matchmaker Bar, while attending the matchmaking event which sees tens of thousands of singletons flock to Clare each year.<\/p>\n

Last year, Mary was one of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After first hearing of the festival in an episode of Schitt\u2019s Creek, she flew to Shannon Airport \u201con a whim\u201d, unsure what to expect.<\/p>\n

Jay had attended the festival twice before, and decided to give it one more shot, to \u201csee how it goes\u201d.<\/p>\n

Jay told the Irish Examiner the festival always \u201cfelt lighthearted\u201d to him in previous years. \u201cA bit of craic, a tradition, nothing too serious\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His third time was different.<\/p>\n

Mary explained: \u201cWhen we started talking, it wasn\u2019t rushed or performative. He\u2019s told me he felt calm, which surprised him. Not swept up. Just steady. And I think that steadiness is what convinced him this was something worth pursuing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pair are currently in Mary’s hometown in Fort Collins, \u201ckeeping it cosy and intentional\u201d this Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes the most romantic thing still feels like normal, quiet time side by side,\u201d Mary said.<\/p>\n

She documented her experience at the festival but also in Ireland, with one of her videos gathering over 2m views on TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At first, she kept her beau\u2019s identity private, as they got to know each other better. But now, they have made it Instagram official.<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary Timby and Jay Mangan at the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis name is Jay Mangan, and he\u2019s from Co Clare. It still makes me smile saying that out loud. Clare feels woven into our story now. From Lisdoonvarna to Doolin to Ennis, it\u2019s more than just a backdrop. It\u2019s part of how this all happened,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Like many daters, Mary felt discouraged and was \u201ctired\u201d of the dating scene.<\/p>\n

\n Modern dating can be exhausting. What changed for me wasn\u2019t geography. It was mindset. I chose curiosity over comfort, I stopped asking what\u2019s the most practical move and started asking what would make a good story.\n <\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to fly across the world. But you might need to do something slightly outside your routine. Growth rarely happens in the exact same places we\u2019ve been circling,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Since meeting in September 2025, the pair have had their share of memorable moments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeeting each other\u2019s families. Standing at the edge of the Atlantic realizing this wasn\u2019t just a holiday connection. Seeing him in Colorado. The first time we talked about logistics instead of just romance, because that\u2019s when it became real life, not just a story,\u201d are a few moments Mary looks back on fondly.<\/p>\n

Despite the public attention their love story has received, it\u2019s the \u201cprivate milestones\u201d that matter more to her.<\/p>\n

\"MaryMary Timby and Jay Mangan on the US show ‘Tamron Hall,’ which airs on ABC. Picture: Disney\/Jeff Neira<\/p>\n

The lovebirds are planning their next trip to Ireland for St Patrick\u2019s Day, where they will be back to where it all began.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having real conversations about where and how our lives could eventually merge, and I\u2019m planning to live in Ireland for a few months this summer to experience daily life there together. We\u2019re doing it thoughtfully. Long distance forces you to communicate clearly and plan carefully. It\u2019s not always glamorous, but it\u2019s strong,\u201d Mary said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jay Mangan had never made a connection at Lisdoonvarna\u2019s matchmaking festival.\u00a0 But third time was the charm for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[5658,93,61,60,138699],"class_list":{"0":"post-297957","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-irish-examiner-instagram","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-valentine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}