IF niche marketing is the future of tourism, Clare Island has stolen a march with a package aimed at a particular market: those in their late 20s and 30s who are seeking a partner.
According to the island's development manager, Donal O'Shea, the forthcoming singles weekend on June 20th-22nd will attract people who, for one reason or another, don't want to do their courting at home.
"A phenomenon in Ireland at the moment is the number of people getting separated and divorced," he says. "Then there are people who are being widowed, and people in their 30s who haven't got married yet.
"We're aiming specifically at that particular market, and we got a great response to it last year.
"People who are separated or divorced like to get away from their own environment to meet a man or a woman, as the case may be. They don't like doing it in their own town, especially if they are only split up a short time. They find it better to go away to an island where there is a bit of peace and quiet as well as great craic."
The weekend festivities kick off with a dance to the Tony Chambers band, which featured in the film The Ballroom of Romance. A variation on the television show, Blind Date, will be enacted on stage.
"We also have a matchmaker who goes around handing out cards and trying to introduce people. We have a fortune teller on the island where people can go and see what the future holds for them," he says.
Other events include hill walking and a visit to some of the island's sights. On Saturday night there is a contest where the women select the most eligible men present and the men select the most desirable women.
The idea behind the venture, according to Mr O'Shea, is to develop Clare Island as a niche destination.
The policy makes sense. With four boats serving the island in the summer, sailing several times a day in peak season, it is very vulnerable to the kind of mass tourism that has become such a problem on the Aran Islands.
So far, Clare Island has avoided the influx of day trippers who throng the boreens of Inis Mor during the summer. One reason for this, says Mr O'Shea, is that the Clare Island ferry owners come from the island itself, and are less interested in encouraging day trippers.