First Dates Ireland recap: Mad Johnny sweeps Mary off her feet
'Mad Johnny' and Mary swapped stories and phone numbers on First Dates Ireland
Mary, 74, came to the First Dates restaurant to find a spark, even if she had to “light a match” to get it and over the course of their dinner date, she and John, 76, or ‘Mad Johnny’ as he’s known by his friends, became instant national treasures.
Mary told maitre d Mateo she hadn’t been on a date since she met her late husband, who she was with for 52 years, and she wanted someone to give her a hug.
Mad Johnny arrived wearing a striking Stetson hat with a bouquet in hand to woo a little lady. Johnny is no stranger to the world of marriage but sadly his wife passed away 10 years ago and during their time together she struggled with alcohol addiction. There was a touching moment when Johnny spoke about raising his children alone. “I brought the kids up,” he says. “People used to say to me, ‘aren’t you great’. I’m not great. They’re your children, what are you going to do, abandon them?”
While Johnny’s son encouraged him to take part in the programme, Mary revealed her family, while supportive of her going on the date, didn’t want her to travel from Tipperary to Dublin for filming because of the pandemic. As Johnny eloquently put it: “For years we coughed to cover up a fart, and now we’re farting to cover up a cough.” He has a great way with words.
Mary wowed Johnny (and everyone watching at home) with her tale of smoking cannabis in Amsterdam, and to the camera she recalled a trip to a sex shop where she browsed the vibrators.
Their date went so well, Mary wrote down her phone number at the table and promised to talk to him on the phone. As the show ended, we saw a lovely photo of them having lunch in Cashel for their second date.
Postie-slash-gym worker Kieran applied to First Dates Ireland “to find love” and met student nurse and baker Carla from Co Down. After a confusing conversation about how to pronounce Kieran’s name, they soon settled on a language they were more comfortable with: love. “I love your accent,” he said, while she too loved his “wee Irish accent”.
Things almost fell apart when she realised there was no equivalent for the word ‘wee’ down south but nothing could quite rival the look of horror on Kieran’s face when he realised Carla didn’t know what a spice bag was. When she asked if it’s something that’s cooked at home, you see him considering leaving there and then. “‘Spice Bag’ is in the Oxford Dictionary,” he (mis)informed her, as he repeated the words ‘spice bag’ over and over and expected her to understand somehow what it was. “A spice bag’s a thing. That’s a cultural issue,” he said. Indeed. Luckily, he plans to catch up with her in Dublin over a spice bag.
Hairstylist Lain from Leeds knows what to say to make an impression: “Irish men have got the best arses, ever.” He appeared on the show last year but, after a full year he realised “the only way I can get a date is by going on First Dates.” He was looking for a tall, manly guy - will 6'3" Dean from Cork measure up? They are both hairdressers and, as Dean noted, had very similar personalities but he thought they didn’t have a spark so decided against seeing Lain again. Sadly, Lain was under the impression the sparks were flying. Despite their different feelings, they parted as friends. “Maybe next year,” Lain said. Third time lucky?
Sales manager Andrea was in search of an alpha male after being “so single for so long”. She was paired with Dubliner, John, and they found immediate common ground as they share a job title. All they needed was two cups connected by a string to whisper sweet nothings to each other and they were sorted. The only bad spell in their date was when Andrea revealed she hated Harry Potter to John, who is a massive fan of the series. If it wasn’t obvious when Andrea kept the paper cups as keepsakes to show their kids someday, their feelings were very clear when they agreed to see each other again. However, after a few dates they decided they worked best as friends.
