BBW dating in Ireland: what actually works

The honest picture

We looked for an Irish-run dating site for plus-size singles and did not find a substantial one. What exists is international: curvy apps with some Irish members, country versions of overseas sites, and mainstream apps where you can date as yourself.

That is not bad news. It just means picking a platform for its overall pool and its safety tools rather than for a shamrock on the homepage.

eharmony

eharmony runs an Ireland page and accepts Irish members. The free Basic account lets you take the compatibility quiz, build a profile and see matches; messaging is limited until you upgrade, and the Premium price is shown once you are logged in.

For curvy women who want a relationship, a large mainstream pool screened by values rather than body type is often the better bet in a small country. You are less likely to be found by men searching specifically for size.

WooPlus and the curvy apps

WooPlus is the best-known curvy-specific app and is available in Ireland. The Irish App Store lists VIP memberships at prices including €10.99, €15.99, €20.99, €22.49 and €60.99, without saying which price matches which duration. It holds 4.3 stars from 53 ratings on the Irish store. On Trustpilot it scored 1.5 from 47 reviews, mostly about scam profiles and billing.

Beautifully Bigger has an Irish version at beautifullybigger.com/ie. It describes itself as a site for fuller-figured singles and the people who like them, and says joining is free. Its homepage does not name the company behind it or list paid prices, so read the terms after sign-up before you pay for anything.

We Love Dates is a general dating site, not a curvy one, run by Digital Dudes Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. It serves Ireland and asks every member to pay a one-time £1.99 ID verification. If verified profiles matter to you, that is a useful filter.

Dublin, Cork, Galway and the rest

Be realistic about numbers. Census 2022 counted about 1.26 million people in Dublin city and suburbs, around 222,000 in Cork city and suburbs and about 86,000 in Galway city and suburbs. Any curvy-specific app will have a small fraction of that.

• Dublin: the only Irish city where a niche app can feel busy. Set a 30 to 40 km radius.
• Cork and Galway: expect a short list on niche apps. Mainstream apps with a body-positive profile usually do better.
• Smaller towns: widen the radius to 80 km or more, or set your location to the nearest city if you are happy to travel.

Romance fraud in Ireland

Gardaí said in February 2024 that 245 victims had come forward since 2020, with more than €7 million stolen and an average loss of about €28,500. Gardaí also say many victims never report, so the real figure is higher.

The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau advice is clear: keep conversations on the dating site's own messaging, run a reverse image search on profile photos, be wary of anyone who avoids video calls, never send money or banking details, and never install apps such as AnyDesk at someone's request.

• If you think you are being scammed: stop contact, save every message and screenshot, and report it at any Garda station. Reports are treated in confidence.
• Contact your bank or card issuer immediately. The CCPC says a card payment may be reversed through a chargeback, while bank transfers and instant payments are rarely recovered.
• Report the profile to the app or site where you met.
• In an emergency, call 999 or 112.

Never send money to someone you have only met online. No real partner needs you to pay for their visit.