Valuable insights into Irish women and their expectations of a partner were supplied by the PARSHIP Singles Survey, made across Western Europe in 2008. The survey found that women in Ireland, as in other countries across Western Europe, are generally at ease with their single state. That does not, of course, prevent them from hoping to find a fulfilling long-term relationship. Both men and women in Ireland remain more attached to the idea of marriage than single people in other countries.

Women particularly value honesty in a man. They also appreciate a man who communicates well, and both Irish men and women value a sense of humour in a prospective partner. Women also like a man who shows his sensitive side, and they tend not to warm to typical alpha-male behaviour. Nor do they necessarily expect a man to get protective on their behalf.

Generalisations like this provide an initial insight, but what you are interested in is a relationship that works for you and your partner. 30 years of research into relationship have gone into forming PARSHIP’s matching process, and the key factor is compatibility. The long-term success of a relationship, for men and for women, depends on the right balance in a couple: it is a question of your characters, your aspirations in life, your habits and interests and the views you hold. PARSHIP’s service is built around a free compatibility test which analyses the factors that matter in a relationship. Bearing witness to the reliability of the PARSHIP test, to the matching process as a whole -- and to the secure environment and communication methods that PARSHIP offers single men and women -- is the success rate for the service: nearly 40% of PARSHIP’s Premium Members report that they have found a relationship.