MATCHMAKING:Muddy Matches, an agency specialising in arranging friendships between country-loving folk, is spreading its net in Ireland 'I stopped counting after 100 couples, to be honest, and I probably get three or four people a week writing to us to tell us they've met their match'
MY MUDDY-TOWNIE RATIO is 30:70, according to UK dating website Muddy Matches, which has recently launched in Ireland. This apparently signifies: "Can be muddy, but only when it suits you," which is still a lot more Only Fools and Horsesthan "You know where the nearest park is, you just don't want to get mud on your shoes," as those who score 10:90 are described by the site.
The idea behind the online survey I've just taken is to gauge exactly how far my country-mindedness extends in order to help me meet others with a similar level of "muddiness." It was devised by Lucy and Emma Reeves, English sisters who grew up on a farm and decided that, given how hard it was to meet people in rural settings, and with shared interests in country life, there was a gap in the market they could step, welly-clad, into.
"As country girls ourselves, we felt that if we were looking for boyfriends or friends, it would be important to us that they share the same interests," says Lucy, who at 29 is the younger of the two. This is how the sisters came up with Muddy Matches, an online dating site and social networking community specifically for those of a country bent.
Although their offbeat idea only became an online reality 18 months ago, Muddy Matches already has more than 10,000 members, and continues to grow at a rate that amazes its creators.
Lucy attributes much of its success to the fact that people involved in rural life face serious challenges when it comes to meeting people by more traditional routes. "If you've exhausted all the talent in your local pub, it's quite difficult," she says. "Imagine you're on a farm and you're tied to your farm on very strict hours. You can't go that far if the cows need milking at 4am, so it's very difficult to get out and find new social circles and ways of meeting people."
It's not just for farmers, however. "What we found when we formed Muddy Matches was that there's a narrow view of what country people do, and we didn't want to stereotype, which is why we came up with this concept of 'muddiness' and the muddy-townie ratio," explains Lucy.
"The only thing you can't have to be 'muddy' is an aversion to mud. That's the one thing that unites all country people from all walks of life, whether it's a farmer who breathes the air of country life and never sets foot in the town, or someone who just likes a walk in the country at weekends."
The important thing, she points out, is that people with specific country-related interests should feel free to express them within the Muddy Matches site. "For example, if you like ferreting, you can tick that you like ferreting," explains Lucy, adding with a hint of the kind of humour that has helped make Muddy Matches such a hit: "Although, obviously, not everyonemight like ferreting." For those who are particular ferreting fans, and you know who you are, there is an option to tick the appropriate box in the section on "interests" as you create an online profile.
Other options including "walking - dog walking", "walking - gentle strolls", "walking - hiking" or "walking - to the pub and back." This approach helps open the site to a wider audience, in recognition of the fact that even like-minded country-folk can vary in terms of their interest in all things bucolic.
"For example, Emma would certainly be muddier than me," admits Lucy. "She lives and works on the farm, whereas I have spent quite a bit of time abroad, and lived in London for a while, although I'm pretty much based in the country all the time now."
The two matchmakers had no concerns about any negative connotations surrounding the concept of internet dating. "We'd seen the success of bigger online dating and social networking sites, and it had shown that online dating was actually quite cool now, and that people were doing it not because they had to, but because they wanted to," Lucy says.
Their canny business sense has clearly paid off, not just for them, but for the numerous Muddy Matches members who have found love through the site. "I stopped counting after 100 couples, to be honest, and I probably get three or four people a week writing to us to tell us they've met their match," she says.
What neither Lucy nor her sister was expecting was the buzz they get from the romantic results their quirky company generates. "We launched the site and thought it was a good idea, but we never thought about how it would affect us," she says. It was at a country show where the sisters were manning a Muddy Matches stand that they came face-to-face with the consequences of their endeavours. "We were doing a show and a couple came up to us and said 'Hello, you don't know us but we met on your site.' "
Lucy admits she was moved - "It's a really wonderful feeling" - but refuses to be called Cupid, reminding me that the sisters don't match people themselves, but instead allow their members to make their own choices. "You could call us love facilitators," she laughs. The site can also confirm its first marriage, which took place in May, no mean feat after only 18 months in business. "They sent us the pictures and we were even mentioned in the best man's speech."
It's only one of the myriad of success stories they are aware of, including that of a couple who lived in the same small village and cast admiring glances at each other on the street on a daily basis, but didn't realise they were both single until they met on Muddy Matches.
Now the Reeves girls are ready to bring their formula to Ireland, and have altered their site to make sure that "Irish muddies" can be accommodated. "Hand on heart, when we originally launched the site, it was open to Irish members, but we hadn't really considered the Irish market very much," admits Lucy somewhat sheepishly. "We launched the site with the UK market in mind."
But Lucy, who has paid several visits to Ireland, was amazed to find on a riding holiday in Cork last year that there was no Muddy Matches equivalent for Ireland. "I spent a lot of time talking to people in the pub there, and it was something they'd never heard of in Ireland," she says. What really galvanised the sisters, however, was e-mails from Irish people eager to join in the agrarian antics. "The real catalyst was people writing to us from Ireland, saying 'This would work really well in Ireland'," Lucy says.
The sisters heeded the call from single muddies across the Irish Sea, and made the necessary changes to ensure that Irish people could be welcomed into the fold. If they get enough interest, they'll be returning to these shores in their custom-made motorhome - "we just call it the van" - to organise the kinds of activities they've been co-ordinating across the water, including speed-dating events, volunteer weekends and activity weekends.
They've also heard tell of a certain Irish festival that was at the vanguard for rural matchmaking here long before the internet cornered the singles market. "The motorhome will have to make a stop in Lisdoonvarna," says Lucy.
The only bad news for Irish farmers reading this piece is that neither of the two Reeves girls is in the market for a muddy match. "We were single when we launched the site," says Lucy, "but we knew we couldn't go on the dates ourselves. People always ask us whether we take the best ones for ourselves, but we have a policy of not dating those on the site."
Yet some of its magic must have rubbed off on the Muddy Match creators, given that since the launch of the site both girls have found romance themselves. "We've since matched ourselves up with muddy people, but not via the site," says Lucy.
A disappointment, perhaps, for all the Playboys of the Western World on the prowl for love, though the good news is that there are thousands of other muddy-minded maidens online at Muddy Matches to whom they can confess their patricidal urges. Their Pegeen Mike could be only a mouse-click away.
[ www.muddymatches.co.ukOpens in new window ]
Let's do lunch
A lot can happen in a year, as Anne-Marie Cussen, managing director of the Irish branch of It's Just Lunch.com, can testify. The dating agency is celebrating its first year in Ireland, during which time it has orchestrated thousands of first dates and been instrumental in bringing together several couples. "We've had a number of success stories," says Cussen.
A far cry from the Muddy Matches online dating service, It's Just Lunch interviews each prospective member before matching them with other members they deem to fit the bill. A phone call with your first match can come within 24 hours. "We book a place in one of our restaurant partners and all you do is go along and show up," explains Cussen. With over 700 people already signed up for a year's membership, which costs €799, It's Just Lunch is clearly doing something right. Yet despite the success, there have been no nuptials to date, though Cussen puts that down to time. "We've had no weddings yet, but it would probably have been a bit quick," she says. Roll on birthday number two.
It's Just Lunch, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast, tel: 01-6724060. www.itsjustlunch.com