Finding love is not an easy task. Matchmaker Connie Thompson helps singles seeking their perfect partner.
Despite the explosion of computer dating services and singles dances for the young and sophisticated, a popular place to meet that someone special is the Sunday afternoon tea dance at the Castle Arms Hotel in Durrow, County Laois.
Married couples attend for the dancing, but singles are there to find a match. They are assisted in this endeavour by dedicated matchmaker Connie Thompson who introduces the matchmaker's dance.
Long lines of men and women who waltz down the hall, make up their minds if they like what they see, separate and then make their way up to the top of the hall again for a new partner.
Connie Thompson believes a matchmaker,
Is just someone who introduces two people together and after that the two people make their match and if Paddy don’t like Mary, maybe there’s another Mary further down the line.
Paddy Finnegan and Mary Fox met at one of Connie Thompson’s dances. Both were married previously and recently bereaved. Attending the tea dance was Mary’s first socialising since her husband died. Mary and Paddy are enjoying each other’s company and are in no rush to get married.
Wedding bells not right now but maybe in time.
For some like John Joe Travers the tea dance is a weekly outing, but he has yet to meet the person who will succeed in getting him to settle down.
A ‘Nationwide’ report broadcast on 17 January 2000. The reporter is Mary Fanning.
