Perfect match a tall order for Knock dating service

Vertically-challenged guys hoping to meet a statuesque woman to even things up a bit should steer clear of Catholic dating agency, Knock Marriage Introductions.

Canon Joseph Cooney who runs the service, which saw 10 weddings last year among people it brought together, says: “Height is a big factor in matching applicants — we don’t introduce a man who is going to be two inches shorter than the woman.”

The Mayo-based service, which has been in operation since 1968, launched www.knockmarriageintroductions.com yesterday. 

It has 185 introductions in progress and 10 engagements. The service, established to help Catholics find suitable marriage partners, has been responsible for 910 marriages and more than 18,000 introductions.

Founded by the late Fr Michael Keane, fondly known as Ireland’s Cupid Priest, it is currently run by Canon Joseph Cooney, a retired parish priest of Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo.

Fr Keane set up the service because of the low marriage rate in rural Ireland in the 1960s.

Canon Cooney, who has been running the service for eight years, has found that more professional women rely on it to find a suitable marriage partner.

“I am hoping the website will encourage more men to apply, because we have a lot of professional women on our books — nurses, doctors, and teachers.”

The introduction service’s 45th annual report shows it received 580 written enquiries and about 1,000 phone enquiries last year.

Of the 187 who applied for membership, 98 were men and 89 were women. 69 men who applied were aged 25 to 45, with 29 aged 46 to 75. Sixty-six women were aged 25 to 45, with 23 aged 46 to 75.

Asked about the service’s longer-term success rate, Canon Cooney said they did not know of any of the marriages it was responsible for that had broken up. “Once our members get married we leave them alone because we pride ourselves on confidentiality, but we have not heard of any that failed,” he said.

Applicants, who must be free to marry in the Catholic Church, are asked to complete two questionnaires and attach two full-length postcard-size photographs, together with a payment of €150 for one year’s membership.

About two weeks after applicants are matched by the service, they are contacted to see whether they have met up and how they are getting on.

Canon Cooney said the service was now insisting that applicants choose one of any three suggested introductions at the start of the matchmaking process.

“I found there were fellows taking a look at the first girl we sent them and saying they would wait to see what the next one looked like. They would sometimes look at four or five before choosing one.”