LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE of First Dates Ireland was the last in the current run (boo!) but, boy, did it go out with a bang.
Enter Niall Byrne, a Dublin Bus driver from Blanchardstown.
You might remember the 37-year-old father-of-one as the hero driver who jumped off his bus and saved a woman from being mugged and attacked on Dorset Street in 2015.
I would get dates off the bus.
Atta boy, Niall.
Niall was paired with Karen, a mother of one from Lucan, Co. Dublin, who reckoned that her hair was scaring men off.
Things seemed to go well at first.
There was laughter, flirting and high-fiving.
Karen ordered a shot of sambucca to go with her meal of, er, cod…
But Karen sarcastically replied, “I just realised something – I’m completely in love with you,” when Niall recounted his heroic exploits. A harbinger of doom, perhaps.
Cut to Niall knocking back a pint.
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It quickly became apparent that these kids might not be suited to one another…
Flipping the bird isn’t a great sign, is it?
The straw that broke the camel’s back, though?
Niall remarked that he would have liked chips with his dinner. (Classic Irish male comment.) When the waitress came to clear up the plates, Karen said, “He wants to know where his chips are,” and successfully mortified Niall.
The following interaction then took place.
- Karen: Why didn’t you say it to her instead of waiting for me to say it?- Niall: I wasn’t waiting for you to say anything. I speak for myself.
Afterwards, they were asked if they’d like to see each other again and Niall responded…
Maybe if she learns her manners properly.
Karen’s response? “Whatever.”
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Some people were firmly in Niall’s camp…
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While others were #TeamKaren
At least it gave us one of the most awkward moments in First Dates history, right?
