In this weekly feature, Her.ie goes behind enemy lines to see what it’s really like to be single in Ireland. From speed dating to making speedy escapes, our no-holds-barred blog will follow our attempts to venture into the dating jungle, play the field and share any wisdom that we finds along the way.

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Week Thirty-Six: Gone Fishing Well, I did it. I am officially now an online dater. Even though I put it on the long finger for a few days after my last blog, I finally logged on to fill out a profile and find a man to sweep me off my feet. Sounds simple, right? Well, no because I almost fell at the first hurdle. While Tinder is the equivalent of a one-night stand (straightforward, quick and doesn't demand too much), Plenty Of Fish is more of a long-distance relationship (time consuming, requires dedication and forces you to do the running). For those of you who are unfamiliar, POF asks you to fill out a profile... ultimately, selling yourself. While I've never had any bother extolling my virtues in a job interview, there's something very unsettling about deciding which of your hobbies are the most attractive and striking a balance coming across as a good time girl (and receiving a ton on indecent proposals) and a bunny boiler who is looking to put a ring on it in the next few weeks. Anyways, profile done and photos carefully selected, I sat back and waited. Well, to be honest, I actually forgot about it. While Tinder is ever present on your phone, I hadn't realised there was a app for POF and my new dating pal completely slipped my mind. I've since put the head down and put a bit more effort in and according to POF, my account has been viewed over 300 times already! Since I've received about 30 messages already (25 of which have been of the instantly discarded 'hi. how's you' variety), this experiment has gotten off to a great start as one of my concerns was that I wouldn't have any approaches and this would make for a very boring story! There is a bit of banter going on with one boy in particular and I'm hoping to spend a bit more time looking at what POF's stable of men have to offer over the next week so make sure to check back for an update on my adventures. In the meantime, here's a lovely story that Louise sent in this week to encourage me to stick with it!

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Don't fear the POF; like a night on the tiles there is equal chance of finding a hottie at the bar, or a 2am sloppie! After coming out of a five year relationship and imminent rebound phase, I had decided to get on POF as a way of 'retraining' for the dating world. I had no real intention of seeking anything serious but thought I'd at the very least get a giggle from the offers of 'one night only in my hotel room'. In total, I actually met up with three guys. The second was THE WORST date I have ever been on. When I tried to flee from the offer of a second coffee, using babysitting as my excuse, he walked me to the bus stop and waited for me to get on the bus. I got off two stops later and legged it! The first was lovely and continued for at least five dates. It fizzled out though, mostly due to his intent on leaving the country. I hit it off with guy number three right away during our mid-week, post-work drink... which turned into four drinks and a wee kiss by the canal. He then sent me his number through a POF message and I patted myself on the back for a flirt-job well done! However, after a bit of text banter at the end of the week, he stopped texting... right after I bit the bullet and suggested a met up again. His loss, I thought! Turns out, he is crap with his phone and replying to messages. This is one thing I've learned in the last one and a half years of being his girlfriend:) He did reply early the next week, looking for a dinner date (which I very much hmmed and hawed over). I have since given out to him about blanking me, to which he insists on not remembering that he hadn't replied. The dates after the second one became more frequent and pretty soon, we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I had to move to Galway for six months for work, during which time he drove up every second weekend and we have been living together for the last four months. Guess I found my fish:) We want to hear your dating stories! Email us at hello@her.ie or tweet us @Herdotie with the #shiftyfirstdates.