The Irish version of Channel 4's First Dates aired on RTE 2 last night and it did not disappoint. In fact, you could say it was better than the UK version thanks to familiar personalities and charming Irish-isms.
We were spoilt for memorable moments as we eavesdropped on couples navigating their way through those awkward first impressions, from dater Lee dealing with the repercussions of incorrectly guessing Frederika's age to poor Liverpudlian Ciara stood-up at the bar.
But none got quite as big a reaction as the moment we watched heartbreak sweep across Amy's face as Darryl admitted there was no spark and wouldn't be interested in a second date.
The nation wept. And then got angry.
Loving #FirstDatesIRL Can't believe Amy and Darryl didn't work! Go #simonandtynan 💜
— Rachel Hipwell (@hipthewell) April 21, 2016
Oh #darryl it was all there for the taking @Killian_Whelan #FirstDatesIRL
— Brenda Donohue (@BrendaDonohue) April 21, 2016
Women of Ireland unite - let noone date Darryl the landscaper #FirstDatesIrl
— Maria Brosnan (@brosie8) April 21, 2016
"You'd swear no one in Ireland was ever rejected before" landscaper Darryl told Sean Moncrieff. "I thought she was very pretty and thought we'll see how it goes. She was very fun and very intelligent, but personally after ten minutes I knew she wasn't what I was looking for."
The fact that Darryl had no interest came as a surprise to viewers who witnessed an enviable date of laughs and shared interests. He explained to Sean "I didn't want to be a dry shite sitting there for the whole date being rude. Obviously I'm going to sit there and have fun, and she's a fun girl."
Darryl has endured some criticism online since last nights episode, which his mother is none too happy about. "My mother is very upset over some of the things people are saying. As she says all I did wrong was tell a girl I didn't want to go on a second date. I wasn't rude or anything like that."
For the record, Darryl didn't go to Coppers. "A lot of people stuck on the Coppers remark to the taxi man, but I was told I was only doing a u-turn in the car park because I had to go back in to shoot more stuff for the show. I actually didn't go near Coppers."
