Limerick hurling fan hoping for a love match on popular Netflix dating show

IN ATHLACCA, Christine Hogan is known for her love of hurling matches and trad sessions but now she’s about to be known for something else entirely.

The 35-year-old HR professional has swapped her small-village for a once-in-a-lifetime experiment in love, joining the cast of Love Is Blind: UK season two. It’s a leap that’s taken her outside her comfort zone, from chatting in the local pub to pouring her heart out in a high-tech pod in Sweden, all in the hope of finding love.

“I’m the definition of single,” Christine said, recalling how she decided to apply for the dating show. “All my friends are married with babies. We’ve had lovely hen parties and baby showers and I just wanted to try something new for myself and push myself and just see if I could find a fairytale story myself.”

Christine explained further: “When you're in your 20s there's always a night out and you're meeting people constantly, whereas, when you get a little bit older, in your 30s, you're not really out as much.”

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The Limerick lady is also over using dating apps. “I'm kind of sick of ‘you match with somebody on a dating app and you're just a bloody pen pal’.”

Christine's friends and family were shocked she applied for the show. She said a lot of people in the area aren't familiar with the show but are really excited to tune in. “We went to an Athlacca match there on Saturday evening and went into the local after just for a few drinks and it was lovely, the support from people.”

The show wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision for Christine as she’d watched it before and was intrigued by its unusual premise — dating without ever seeing the person. “It takes the looks out of it,” she said. “While I know it might seem a little bit mad, I just thought… I wonder what that would be like.”

From there, it was a whirlwind — interviews in London, meeting the producers, and eventually flying to Sweden, where the pods were filmed. “It was really nerve-wracking. I've never ever done anything like it before,” Christine said. Meeting the hosts, Emma and Matt Willis, was another highlight. “The two of them are brilliant, they were so friendly.”

Speaking about the criticism of this season's cast, the Limerick woman said some people disapproved of their ages. “We're genuinely looking for someone. I genuinely want to meet someone. I think I'm ready at the age of 35... It's a real marriage so you need to be fully committed to it.” She said when the cast was announced, people began “bashing” the participants’ appearances in videos on TikTok. “It kind of hit me a little bit the first day because, just again, a new world, never experienced that before.”

Away from the cameras, Christine leads an active, grounded life. She loves walks, the gym, and music, especially trad. She is the daughter of Neil and Íde Hogan and her mother is a gifted musician who can play “every instrument under the sun” according to Christine.

Although Christine once thought herself “too cool” to learn how to play an instrument, she has recently started taking lessons on the cajón instrument “I just love to go and watch any kind of traditional Irish music. I'd love to be able to join in on those trad sessions. I will, someday, with the box,” she added.

Love Is Blind: UK will air on Netflix over the course of three weeks with the first four episodes releasing this Wednesday, August 13.