First Dates Ireland review: Disney fan Shane hits the right note with romantic Ciara
Can you feel the love tonight? Ciara and Shane did
Julieann, 21, from Westmeath is looking for a country boy who’s “well able to pull a lamb,” and is teamed up with 23-year-old Luke – a real catch from a fishing village in County Down. For his part, Luke says he loves “a redhead and red lipstick” and is very happy when Juileann is horrified at the thoughts of having a vegan meal.
From the off, these two are smitten with each other, bonding over their blind Cocker Spaniels and Manchester United. It’s not long before the pair are discussing second dates, with Luke teasing Julieann about whether she’ll be teaching him “how to ride.” A horse, that is. It’s no surprise they both say yes to another date. We hope Luke doesn’t get scared when we watches this back and sees Juileann in the bathroom telling her sister she’s “found a husband.”
There’s a collective “awww” in living rooms across the country when 55-year-old Amanda from Clonmel says she doesn’t think she’s ever been in love. “This is the time I need to start taking chances,” she says. It’s a good match for Sean, 56, from Carlow who’s going into The Gibson with the mantra of “feel the fear and do it anyway.”
Sean, who volunteers with the Samaritans, has recently gone back to college to study Counselling and Psychotherapy, while Amanda is living alone for the first time in her life after all her children and grandchildren have moved out. She’s looking for love, which she describes as the feeling of both head and heart being “quiet, at peace.” Referee Sean is slow to show his cards at the end of the date, trying to get Amanda to go first when it comes to the dread “would you like to go on another date?” question. Thankfully, a beaming Amanda says she would too.
Happy-go-lucky Marina is looking for someone with “an open mind” and finds it in former figure skater Kori. Prior to her first date, the Portland lady says she would be most interested to know whether her potential partner has “been to therapy.” Don’t we all?
The date starts with 30-year-old Kori apologising for being an American, and confessing her dad is a Trump supporter who watches Fox News and votes for people who would like to see “her rights taken away.” For her part, Marina from Clondalkin shares that her dad is very supportive of her bi-identiy and lets Kori in on how the Central Bank is a popular meeting place for “the gays.”
When it comes to a second-date, though, Kori isn’t sure. “I feel like we’d be real good buds.” Marina admits she would have said yes, but doesn’t seem too upset that Kori wants to remain friends only. As she tells the cameras, “you never know... feelings change.”
Ciara, 23, admits she is a “hopeless romantic” and is after someone who “sticks around.” A Disney enthusiast, it’s a match made in heaven when she’s paired with 26-year-old dance teacher and Disney soundtrack aficionado Shane. The Galway man says he is a “child at heart” and he’s “holding on” for a Disney-esque romance. Things can get a bit lonely, he tells the camera, especially at Valentine’s. “The only thing I get at Valentine’s is from my mother… it’s a bit sad.”
Ciara strikes the right note for Shane who says he was “shaking” at times during the date. “If she was a Disney princess she’d be Ariel,” he says grinning. That’s his favourite Disney princess FYI. The two are all giggles and smiles when asked whether they’re up for another date - of course it’s a quick yes from both.
