So the millennium looms, brooding gauchely over the cultural hinterland like one of those trashy alien mother ships from Independence Day. Are we really all that bothered? Y2K is, after all, merely an arbitrary cut-off point. A metaphorical gash in the sand. A blip on the chart. Another excuse for a booze-up (as if one were required).

'Erm. Yes, we do care actually. We care a lot. And it isn't just the prospect of pan-global computer meltdown that's keeping us up at night either. Nope, we're thinking about gooey, old fashioned lurv. Or rather, deliberating over the rather distressing lack thereof in our lives. Many young Irish adults seem positively terror struck at the prospect of winding up single on the big night, of sashaying solo into the 21st century. And those dead set on rectifying the situation certainly aren't placing their trust in anything so fickle as fate.

Dating agencies report an astonishing upturn in business since summer, while lonely heart columns groan under the weight of missives from shy, sensitive types seeking "fun and friendship". And have you been inside a nightclub recently? It's like mating season on the Serengeti; the familiar reek of after-shave, sweat and beer temporarily obscured by the scent of churning hormones and the faint, caustic tang of desperation.

"October is normally not a busy month. The huge demand has come out of nowhere. We weren't expecting it at all," says Rachel McGrath, director of Who's Who for the Unattached, one of Dublin's biggest dating agencies, with more than 2,000 lonely hearts on its books.

"Traditionally the post-Christmas season sees the strongest upturn in inquiries. People are looking for a fresh start. They make a New Year's resolution to meet someone and they are determined to do something about it.

"This year the January rush has arrived several months early. Lots and lots of individuals appear to have made their minds up - they want to find someone before the end of the year. The millennium is very, very good for business."

Dublin-based corporate event organiser Jackie Rafter is one of the many unattached out there hoping meet someone by the end of the year. Single since her separation eight years ago, 37-year-old Jackie says the impending outbreak of fin de siecle hysteria has whetted her appetite for a new relationship.

"Like a lot of people in Dublin I think I've become stuck in a rut. I have a circle of very good friends but I don't usually meet people beyond that. And there seems to be a shortage of men - or at least single men - in Dublin at the moment.

"I think many people are in a similar situation to me. Time flies past and before you know, you've been single for a long time. The millennium suddenly makes you aware of that."

Brian ( he'd prefer not to use his second name), a systems analyst from Cork, typifies the affluent, career-minded high achieving 20 and 30-somethings who have turned to dating agencies for the first time. Aged 28, Brian enjoys a successful career, earns more than £25,000 a year and describes his social life as "healthy". ("I go to the pub a couple of nights a week with my friends.") But he's single. Big deal? You betcha.

"It's weird because people of my generation like to think they are in total control of every aspect of their lives. We've set ourselves targets and goals throughout work and college. And we know what is expected of us to achieve them. We know the rules.

"But when it comes to your personal life - all of those structures sort of go out the window. That can be a little difficult to come to terms with."

The imminent century's end has, he admits, "focused" his thoughts on finding a partner. "At the back of my mind I've always thought - yes, I would like to meet someone. But it was never a really big issue. Now most of my friends seem to be settling into serious relationships.

"It was only when I started asking people what they were planning for the millennium that I realised they'd all made their own arrangements. A lot of couples seem to want to be alone."

Like many of his peers, Brian has never previously considered approaching a dating agency - "I always thought there was something naff about them. That they were for desperate middle aged people." But Y2K anxiety has prompted a change in attitude.

"I haven't made the leap yet. I've started going out to nightclubs a lot more than I used to. But they can be quite horrendous - horrible meat markets. I've made up my mind. If something doesn't happen in the next month I will go to a dating agency."

The agencies often like to paint their clients as breezy, fun-loving types: the bubbly, up-front sort who wants to have a good time and if anything more serious should transpire, well then that's a bonus. The reality is quite different, according to Rachel McGrath. Most of those knocking on her door these past few months are only after one thing - an old-fashioned, long-term relationship.

"They want to meet someone special. There's no beating about the bush - these people know what they are after and can be extremely single-minded about it," she says.

"It's funny - you think that the millennium is supposed to be about partying and letting your hair down, when in fact it has made a lot of people take a long hard look at their lives and where they are going in life."