Lovely write-up featuring our story in the Cork Indo this week …….
*********************************************************************************************************
Eithne Buckley is celebrating 10 years in business this year. She and her partner Daniel, now her husband, set up Twoheartsmeet dating agency in 2011 when Eithne was in an office job and looking for a change of career. While taking part in counselling courses in CIT, now MTU Cork, Eithne and Daniel had made some friends around that time, single and divorced men and women who were looking for love. They found themselves matching their respective friends and sending them on blind dates. Eithne enjoyed it so much she wondered if she could do it full time. The next obvious step was setting up a dating agency which is exactly what she did!
“We did up a business plan as well as sending out questionnaires to all our friends and colleagues asking if they would be open to using a dating agency, if it was something they would seriously consider. We got a very positive response, with about 85% of them saying they would definitely use an agency if they felt they could trust the matchmaker to match them up with a genuine partner” Eithne says.
“This gave us great hope as our gut instinct was telling us the same. A lot of people weren’t comfortable with internet dating and were looking for something with a personal touch. They were finding it harder and harder to meet someone, especially people on their second time around. For example, separated, divorced or widowed people in the 45 to 65 age bracket were a bit nervous of putting their photo up online. They liked the idea of having a matchmaker interviewing both the men and women. It made them feel safe about the person they would be matched with, that there was a screening process involved” Eithne explains.
So ten years later, with 150 couples in long term relationships, 23 couples after getting married and 16 Twoheartsmeet babies arriving into the world, Eithne is delighted that she took the plunge and left secure employment in the middle of a recession to follow her heart! Matchmaking is her dream job she says. She feels she was born to do this, it comes so naturally to her and she gets huge enjoyment when couples get back to her saying how delighted they are to have been introduced to someone compatible to share the ups and downs of life with.
The last 3 to 4 years has seen an increase in younger people joining up, singletons in their 30’s who are disillusioned with online dating. What they are telling Eithne is that a lot of people who go online are only looking for casual relationships. When they join Twoheartsmeet however, and pay a fee, they are taking it seriously. Having to pay a fee to join is a great way to exclude people who are not looking for long term commitment!
Eithne and Daniel have been invited to a few weddings also over the years which was very exciting! It was great to see the happy couples making their vows and to imagine they would not have met if she hadn’t made the choice to become a matchmaker! She has also met two Twoheartsmeet babies in person, one baby girl at her parents wedding when she was six months old and a baby boy at a lunch when his parents asked her to join them and introduce her to their pride and joy, a little baby boy with blond curls! Both of these experiences go down as some of the best Eithne’s had, being able to witness first hand the happiness in the eyes of the new parents!
Not only has Eithne completed courses in counselling skills, she is also a qualified life coach and a few years ago she completed a course in hypnotherapy. She says that all these skills help her when she is profiling her clients, as well as her own life experience. Her marriage to Daniel is her second time around so she is bringing a lot of relationship experience with her to her matchmaking. She understands what works and doesn’t work when building and maintaining a serious committed relationship.
With a lot of people having more time on their hands during the pandemic, several single, separated, divorced and widowed people have pondered their single status and decided they would prefer being part of a loving couple rather than being on their own. As a result, Eithne has been very busy since going back matching and meeting new clients when the counties reopened in May. So if you’re single, separated, divorced or widowed and looking for a long term partner why not check out twoheartsdating.com or call Eithne on 085 7742444 for more information.