People went mad for First Dates Ireland last night

The much anticipated Irish version of Channel 4's First Dates kicked off last night on RTE2, and by all accounts, it was a hit. Dare we say, it was even betterthan the UK version? Maybe it's too soon for that, but last night's episode proved that we could certainly do it just as good.

We are definitely big fans of the UK's First Dates maitre d' Fred Sirieix, but Croatian man Mateo Sania proved he was well up for the task at hand last night, providing perils of wisdom when needed ("if she doesn't like you, someone else will") and putting nervous daters at ease.

Reader, we love him.

Now to our daters... and dear Lord did we have some characters. Federica.... need we say more? Poor Lee was just not able for her whatsoever, although we doubt many are. At one point we thought he was just going to run out of there leaving a Lee-sized shape hole in the wall but he stuck it through until the end. We were told in the credits that Federica will be back to the First Dates restaurant, hand sanitiser and all. Fingers crossed it's this season.

Then we had the 'super' pairing of James and Amy. Himself was mad for typography while amongst other things, Amy fancied herself as a bit of a stand-up comedian, although we'll have to take her word for that. James/Jedward was the super standout date here, because he was just like, super, you know? The pair even had a conversation about their favourite meme... is that a thing? Do people talk about that now?!

Despite it looking like Amy had absolutely zero interest, the pair agreed to a second date and it was a match! SUPER.

Unfortunately that was not the case for Darryl and Amy. Sigh. Amy! Our heart broke for her last night, although we're sure she dusted herself off pretty fast. These two seemed to hit it off from the very start - cracking jokes, flirting and generally just getting on like a house of fire. Then he goes and friendzone's her in the final interview. We reckon he wasn't over that 'Queen he didn't treat like royality". Your loss, Darryl.

Last but not least we had Simon and Tynan, who found they had plenty in common aside from their looks (they were the spit of one another) and their rhyming names. From the word go, these two seemed made for each other, and even Mateo and the guys commented from the distance on the obvious spark between the pair. We know they went on a second date for chicken wings but we can only assume they are currently living in a semi-d with a dog like Simon hoped... and planning their wedding... right Simon and Tynan? Right?!

Anyways, enough of us jabbering on, here's what your good selves thought;

We'll leave the last word with the hero of the hour...