How to find your GAA soul-mate
I drank out of wet glasses in strange bars. Cruised around in leathers on my motorbike (chugged into town in Dunnes Stores wet gear on a one-mirrored moped).
I lost phones, jobs, teeth and friends — in the breadth of a typical weekend.
Yes sir, life was good. Then, last week, I asked a human girl to marry me. She said yes — and as is tradition in these things, we’re to be wed.
If I have my way George O’Callaghan will officiate at the ceremony in front of the Shed at Turner’s Cross — but, whether or which, it’s happening, ladies. Deal with it.
But what of the rest of you wretched lot — destined, I know it seems, to spend your lives alone. Fear not, I haven’t forgotten about you.
Neither has Dermot Lawless. The Donegal native was amongst our number four years ago. Single, he knocked about the social scene the normal way — and eventually cracked open the laptop, fired up the modem and logged into a dating website.
And what do you know. When I call him this week, the woman sat beside him — his fiancee — is a lady he met then, online, four years ago. Hey, this internet thing just might catch on.
Last month, Lawless — who spends his days building websites for other people as part of his day job — launched his own dating site; but this one is a little bit different.
LoveGAA.ie is the first place where those who make the annual pilgrimage to Semple Stadium or Croker and spend Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year pointing the car to the local club for training or meetings or pints or whatever, can meet online — and see, hopefully, a romance blossom.
“It’s only coming up on its one-month birthday now,” says Lawless when I ring him one evening this week, after his day’s work is done.
“I came up with the idea while watching an advertisement for a dating website during the Donegal versus Clare match of the All-Ireland Football Championship in July.
“The ad said they could find a partner based on 29 levels of compatibility, but I thought there really is only one level of compatibility — whether your partner likes GAA games or not.
“Ultimately, you know that you’ve met your soul-mate when they stand beside you in the rain at a match, or shout at the one on telly just as loudly as you do.
“And as I looked around afterwards in the paper and online and there was dating services — very good ones — for every type of sub-section of society.
“There’s a lady in Dublin who has one for golfers I believe, and in the UK there’s special ones for Jewish people to Muslims and everything in between. So it was clear there was a gap there.”
And like Cilla used to say every Saturday tea-time, should I buy a hat? Well, one month in, perhaps it’s better the wedding bells are silent yet.
“There hasn’t been any success stories yet, I’m afraid — but it’s really early on, isn’t it. I’ve had a few e-mails from guys to let me know that arrangements have been made to meet up and whatever so it’s all going on.
“The reaction in general has been brilliant — absolutely fantastic. You wouldn’t believe it either with the people overseas — I’ve been getting interest all over the world — people in Britain, the US, Australia — all with an interest in gaelic games and meeting someone else.
“We’re geared up now and have about 1,000 members — and they’re all very, very active. They’re all interacting themselves online whether its sending little icebreaker messages through the site or Microsoft Messenger — it’s really great,” he adds.
And in a world where the gaelic games offer us a parcel of old-fashioned community and allows people to meet in the natural, easy way, Lawless thinks that social networks will do no harm alongside it in the future.
“Many of us are no longer socialising as much as we used to — the opportunity to meet someone is not what it once was. Online dating gives a refreshingly clear opportunity to meet a partner.’’
The site, which is open to anyone over the age of 18, is growing exponentially with members from counties all over Ireland looking for that special someone who loves their team as much as they do.
And though the technology on these sites can sometimes draw on psychology, sociology and economics — sometimes it’s easier just to keep it simple.
“Just to make sure that we have all the bases covered, we have personality matching too... you never know, that Cork/Kerry rivalry might just be too much,’’ he adds.
