Irish language dating series Grá ar an Trá (Virgin Media One, Monday) returns to the airwaves three months after co-host Gráinne Seoige was ghosted by voters when she ran for Fianna Fáil in the general election. With Seoige having given the electorate the ick, the question posed by the new season of this shameless Love Island rip-off is whether she has a future as an on-screen cupid.
The answer is a resounding “níl”. Seoige is wildly miscast as “An Cinnire Grá” – a sort of love doctor tasked with pairing off couples with differing levels of Irish proficiency. The idea is that the more fluent person in the couple will teach the language and that, along the way, love will bloom.
Sadly, the results are more “naw” than Grá. Seoige has no chemistry with the contestants, and it is hard to see what she brings to the table as a relationship guru. As a former journalist turned unsuccessful politician, how is she qualified to offer advice on romance?
That isn’t the only glaring flaw. The action is narrated by the duo of Bean agus ‘Man’ an Tí, Síomha Ní Ruairc and James Kavanagh. They spend most of their screentime giggling at one another and surely have a claim to the title of most annoying people to ever appear on Irish television.
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Grá ar an Trá also arrives with a degree of controversy. It was originally supposed to air late last year only to be abruptly delayed. At the time it was assumed that this was because Seoige was running for the Dáil (Virgin Media would only say it had been “postponed”). However, it has since been reported that the season had to be re-edited after it emerged one of the contestants had a conviction for the assault of a woman.
That participant is now entirely absent from the show, which was shot at Oyster Bay Lodge in Woodstown, Co Waterford. But even without such setbacks Grá ar a Trá is a lustreless pudding of a series that suffers from a stonking lack of coherence. One hesitates to hold up Love Island as an example of broadcasting excellence – but at least it has rules so simple a sheet of plywood could understand.
With Grá ar an Trá, by contrast, there is a feeling of the entire thing being made up on the spot. As Cinnire, Seoige announces she is going to pair off the couples – but then says she’s decided to spend a little longer observing them. Meanwhile, the participants take part in an obstacle course race, with the winner choosing one of their fellow contestants for a date. So at least one couple has already paired off by the end of the first episode – where’s the need for Seoige watching on as a love doctor?
Further adding to the confusion is the fact that two of the male contestants speak of a potential partner as a “he” so viewers may surmise that they are gay. In which case – and as there are only two of them – they presumably have to couple up. So, again, what’s the point of Seoige? (a similar question the voters of Galway West asked in November).
The Irish language component feels like an afterthought, too. Everyone speaks in English, and it is tempting to conclude that Virgin Media only commissioned it the entire affair in the first place because somebody noticed that “Grá” rhymes with “Trá”. There are better dating shows out there, and the Irish language does not need a pat on the head from the Virgin Media light entertainment department, which is just as well. This series is a mess that underwhelms in almost every way imaginable.
