Two lovely Laois women go speed dating on TV as they start searching for true Love in the Country

TWO lovely Laois women are searching for rural romance in the new series of Love in the Country, the popular RTÉ 2 television show presented by Anna Geary.

Danielle Cusack from Clonaslee and Lisa Walsh from Cullohill bravely took the bull by the horns and applied for the dating show, in the hope of finding an ideal man who isn’t afraid of mucking about on the farm.

It’s difficult to meet someone when you’re living in the middle of nowhere and looking after animals round the clock, so the feelgood six-part series aims to match rural singletons with other farmers, or with anyone keen to try out life and maybe even love in the countryside.

Veterinary surgeon Danielle (34) featured in the first episode of the second series, which aired on Monday 7 October. There will be updates on her progress in further episodes of the show, which airs at 9.35pm every Monday and can be seen on the RTÉ Player.

Specialising in equine work, Danielle has a hectic life with her veterinary business and helping to manage the family farm with parents John and Imelda, in the beautiful but relatively isolated foothills of the Slieve Blooms.

In the first episode, Danielle headed off to Dublin for her speed dates and whittled down the eager applicants to just two, in the form of Liam and Fred. 

The delighted winning duo headed down to Clonaslee to meet Danielle's family and savour a taste of life in the country, which included some memorable up close and personal scenes with some four-legged residents. As viewers of the episode already know, the equine experience was not for the faint-hearted!

Explaining her decision to appear on the show, which was recorded over the summer, Danielle said: “With work commitments at the moment, it’s hard to find the time to meet somebody. Going out and socialising at the weekends is a bit of a challenge. It’s hard dating in rural Ireland because I find a lot of people my age have emigrated.

“Obviously, you have your local pubs but where we live here, you wouldn’t have a big night life. It would be the same people every night, or every weekend, still standing in the same spots.” 

Danielle laughingly described her dream man as a tillage farmer, with maybe 200 acres of straw at harvest time. On a more serious note, she explained: “To come into my life is going to be a really big commitment for them, because my job is 24/7. I’m hoping to find somebody that is not afraid to get dirty, or romantic Sunday afternoons spent around the farm cleaning.” 

However, anyone who wants to date Danielle must pass the ‘Daddy Test’, as her horse breeder dad John told the show: “That person has to have the same enthusiasm about the horses, they are 24/7. You’re married to the animals as much as to whoever you’re married to.” 

Danielle said she is ready to make the right sacrifices for the right person and wants to find someone who is ready to settle down. She said: “When I’m at work I’m very serious but when you get me on a night out, then I’m a great laugh and great fun and I’d be the first one jumping around the place having the craic. I have so much love to give. I want to give that now to somebody and to share my life with somebody.” 

Meanwhile, farmer and beauty therapist Lisa (34) enjoys mixing glamour with getting her hands dirty on the farm. With her own salon in Cullohill, she has found herself lambing a ewe one minute and then manicuring somebody’s nails half an hour later, having washed her hands thoroughly of course!

Lisa told the show: “It is a funny combo but it works perfect. I’ve always loved animals and I think my perfect date would be the Zoo. For me, I suppose the perfect man is somebody that is kind. Kindness is key. Whatever comes after is good.” 

She added: “You have to make your own path as well. Daddy said you have only one spin on this earth, so you might as well take a chance. 

"So this is my chance. If it works out, it works out. And if not, I’m pushing myself out of my comfort zone and doing something I probably would never have done. So we’ll see how it goes.”