AN BI-MONTHLY event in Dublin which aims to help people make new friends has really taken off as people abandon social media and seek some old-fashioned face-to-face interaction.
The idea was first conceived in Dublin two years ago and event organiser Dereck Phelan took it over when he moved from Kilkenny to Dublin and found it hard to meet new people in the city. Just four people turned up to the first night but Phelan told TheJournal.ie that word spread quickly and 30 people were at the next one.
He is still friends with some of those people today and what started as a personal quest for new mates now attracts dozens of friend-seekers every month.
The event is hosted at either the Mercantile pub on Dame Street or O’Donoghue’s on Suffolk Street and usually lasts around two hours. It runs similar to speed-dating events with participants moving to speak to a new person every five minutes. If they get on, they can exchange contact information then and there or later in the night as most people stick around for a few drinks afterwards.
Around 30 people turn up each time, Phelan said, and it’s a new group every time as people are generally successful at making friends the first time they go.
“People tend to start Whatsapp groups after the night to stay in touch with all the people they met and then arrange to meet up for drinks,” he said.
“We get a lot of people around 30 who have friends who are married with kids and don’t go out with them anymore and there are a good few foreign people coming to them as well.”
Phelan said he believes this is something that appeals to Irish people in particular as a way of meeting new people because it involves a face-to-face chat.
“I think social media has changed everything. People are stuck to their phone and don’t talk like they did before. Social media has taken over but I think people prefer that face-to-face,” he said.
The next speed friending event take place at the Mercantile on 16 August. More information on it can be found here.
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