Although our own Paul Mescal has catapulted the Irish language into the mainstream in recent weeks, tonight’s episode of First Dates proved that ag caint as Gaeilge always has been incredibly attractive.
Grá was in the air in the First Dates restaurant, as a couple bonded over their deep appreciate for our native tonuge, with Aisling from Galway and Lochlainn from Armagh, both 23, matched up.
For Aisling, keeping Irish alive is a family passion, as her entire family speak the language and all of her coworkers do the same. As if we needed anymore proof of how much she prioritises it, she even got a tattoo of the quality assurance logo saying “100% Irish” when she was just 19.
Speaking about how important it is to have a partner who speaks Irish, she said: “It would be great but if they don’t, I could always teach them.
“Otherwise, if I ever had kids with them, they’re going to learn Irish and if you don’t learn it, we’re going to talk about you behind your back.”
She continued: “I didn’t have the appreciation of Irish until I left school and I was working in a bar speaking Irish with the locals. It’s really important for young people to speak the language.”
Honesty on a first date. That’s key! 💗 #FirstDatesIRL continues Thursday at 9:30pm on RTÉ2 pic.twitter.com/YoLyzBE63Z
— RTÉ2 (@RTE2) March 2, 2023
For Lochlainn, he got used to speaking Irish in primary school, but once he hit university he let it slip away. Considering he doesn’t speak Irish often now, he was well able to hold his own in chatting to Aisling. More than that, in her sneaky phone call to a friend in the bathroom, the Galway lady said his Irish was “f**king divine”.
She didn’t have to keep it a secret either, as before long Lochlainn was asking for “marks out of 10” for their date.
“If it’s under seven, it’s the classic: you’re never going on another date”, she joked. “At least, a naoi”, she eventually told him.
As for him, he scored her a nine point one, just to make it extra clear how well they had hit it off.
Speaking after their date, Aisling couldn’t help but gush a little. “I thought he was really attractive and really funny and he spoke Irish, which I thought was actually more attractive! He seemed very like, zen, very calm. A lot smarter than what I normally go for.”
Unsurprisingly, it was a match worthy of the Gaeltacht romances Lochlainn said he’d sadly missed out on. Their next date? Pints in Connemara, if Aisling had anything to do with it, with maybe a spot of surfing lessons from Lochlainn.
And if you’re looking to up your Gaeilge, there’s no better time Seachtainn na Gaeilge, which runs from 1-17 March, has just kicked off. Find out more from RTÉ as Gaeilge here.
Watch First Dates on Thursday at 9:30pm on RTÉ2.
