"I'm not a believer in the whole love at first sight thing, I reckon you need a couple of dates before you get that far", said Áine, one of the eager romantics at the First Dates restaurant this evening.
And as the saying goes, famous last words.
The First Dates matchmakers are masterful in their matches, whether that's uniting former dating app flames or providing the perfect contrast to one hopeful dater. When it came to Áine, 31, from Offaly and Dillon, 34, from Dublin, their bond became very clear very soon.
Looking for a "best friend" as well as a date, Áine entered the restaurant as a cautious and considered dater, not rushing into the romance of it all. As for Dillon, he was on the hunt for someone confident, as well as pretty, who's "up for a few adventures".
"Limited food palate" aside, the pair were off to a flying start, with Dillon embracing Áine's need to order from the kids' menu in search of something simple. "She likes what she likes", he quipped affectionately.
"I think I'm fairly old school, old-style gentleman. I was raised by a single mother so, me mam, she made sure we had manners growing up", he said.
It was while talking about their kids – Dillon has two daughters, 14 and nine, while Áine has a nine-year-old – that the pair really started to connect. "Nine going on 19", Áine said about her boy. "I suppose because it's just the two of us, I am his best friend.
"He is also very protective of me, I suppose, because he's the only child and he is I suppose the man of the house."
She then opened up about how her last partner had passed away and the journey she and her son had been on since.
"My last partner, my son's daddy, I would have been with him for about 10 years. He passed away from depression*", she told Dillon.
She continued: "He had been ill for a long time, we had had a few scares before that so I think the day that it did happen, I was prepared for it. That's not to say it made it any easier."
She spoke about how he was the playful, spontaneous counterbalance to her careful sensibleness, which she said she tried to carry on now after he's passed.
"You know when you're used to doing something with someone, you split the bills, you plan your week around them, and then when that's gone you have to do it on your own. I would have been fierce, not shy, but fierce reserved.
"I would have been the serious one going, I can't go out this week, I've got bills to pay, we can't be doing this. He'd be like, come on, you want to do something, go do it!"
Speaking about living with the loss, she said: "The grief never goes, there's always a hole but you learn to live your life around it. Part of doing that has been getting out of the house and doing the things that make her happy.
"Don't get me wrong, I do get my bad days and I let them happen because you have to, as I do say to my little lad as well. Let the tears out.
"There's often been times when he's heard me crying or knows I'm having a bad day and he has a little pillow with his daddy's face on it that his nanny gave him. He'll go and get that and he'll bring it down and we have his daddy's spray and we'll spray that.
"He'll be like, no, you keep that tonight. I'm okay tonight, that's for you tonight. He's so good!"
Dillon then opened up about his own experience of loss, as his dad, two uncles and grandfather all passed when he was seven, which led to him and his cousins attending a bereavement camp with Barretstown, an experience that stayed with him.
Áine spoke about how Pieta House had been an invaluable resource for her and her son, too, and spoke about how she'd skydived to fundraise for them despite being "terrified" of heights.
"The lift coming into the hotel here, that makes my legs shake."
After their heartfelt date it was no surprise that the pair went out on the town for drinks. Before long, they were going on more dates, including to the wedding of one of Dillon's friends.
Now, they've confirmed that they are a newly minted First Dates couple!
What is it they say about love at first sight, again?
Watch First Dates Ireland on Thursday at 9:30pm on RTÉ2.
*If you have been affected by issues raised in this story, please visit: www.rte.ie/helplines.
