'I wasn't nervous at all': Sinéad shares her thoughts after First Dates experience

Throughout her life, Sinéad O’Beirne Brinn has borne witness to epic love stories but has never experienced love at first sight.

She didn’t find the one in the infamous First Dates’ restaurant, but she still believes there is someone out there for her.

Originally from Dooradoyle, Co Limerick, the yoga teacher and donkey sanctuary worker, had dinner with Co Wexford man, Michael on the TV show last week.

Even though they won’t be going on a second date, the pair agreed to keep in touch.

“I really was excited, I actually thought I could be meeting that soul person,” says Sinéad as we catch up after the big date.

“Hopefully there is that person out there, it’s just taking a little bit longer to find them than the average person.”

Throughout her life, she bore witness to epic love stories. Sinéad's grandmother loved so much, she died of a broken heart.

“When my granddad died, my granny pined and died of a broken heart after a couple of years,” she recalls.

“And then, I look at my mum and my dad. My dad idolised her like she was just his princess. He was so proud to be with her. My mum still pines for him every day. Her life isn't the same without her true love. I look at my brother, Donal, with his wife… I know there are some really good connections out there.”

Speaking of her experience on First Dates Ireland, she says: “I thought it was one of the best days of my life. From beginning to end, they treated me like royalty. They really are behind you to try and find you someone. I couldn't have asked for a nicer group of people to look after me. I loved the experience and I would recommend it to anybody.”

When she arrived in the Dublin restaurant on January 11, Sinéad sat at the bar as she waited for her date to arrive. First impression?

“I would have thought he wasn’t my usual type, but obviously my usual type doesn’t work as I'm single,” she laughs.

“I thought, delve deeper into personality and really get to know this person, so that's what I did. I really liked his personality, the conversation flowed no problem between the two of us. We had great craic at the table, we laughed loads.”

Before going up to the big smoke, she had chosen a pink dress - with the help of her daughter, Casey.

“That day when I was driving up, I felt like a million dollars. I was very comfortable. I think that with age, the older you get, the more confident you get. You get to relax into who you are as a person, and you hope people accept you for that. I wasn't  nervous at all, and I don't mean that in a cocky way. I was just in a really good place,” she recalls.

Even though it didn’t work out this time around, Sinéad remains hopeful. For now, the 60-year-old is happy with her own company.

After all, she’s a busy woman. When she isn’t working as a yoga teacher or at The Donkey Sanctuary in Cork, she is involved with the Women’s Shed and the Men's Shed in Limerick.

“What I think would be lovely, would be to have a person you can do nothing with. I have loads of people I do things with, but it might be nice sometimes to watch a bit of reality television or whatever it is and have a laugh with that person. But I prefer to have no person than the wrong person,” she says.

As you get older, she points out it can be challenging to meet people.

“It's harder to meet that person because you're not going to be going to nightclubs and all of that, it's not the same as when you would have been younger. You do have ideas about what might be right for you because things might have worked out before, so you know what you don't want, I suppose. So it is a little bit more challenging.”

One thing is clear, after her appearance on the television programme, she gave a bit of hope to the women around her.

“We had a viewing party, they put it on in the big screens. About 60 people turned up and the support was overwhelming. My phone is hopping from women that are saying, ‘Fair play to ya, I wouldn't have been able to do what you did’. There are an awful lot of women that I know of, like myself, that are single. Dating apps, things like that, you're not going to be as into them, maybe as somebody that's way younger than you.”

For now, Sinéad can still count on her “person” - her daughter, Casey.

“She's my person, she's my world. To have her support me is just amazing. I wouldn't have done it if she didn't give me that support and encourage me. She's so proud of me and she's sending me loads of screenshots of the date from social media.”

As the conversation comes to an end, this reporter couldn’t help but ask - what is the best date she has ever been on?

“Well, I'm still waiting to go on that date, so I will tell you in the future when I meet that person. I'm still waiting for a very special date.”