D.I.V.O.R.C.E Keepin 'er Country

In rural Ireland, country music has never been so popular.

A host of new country music stars have tempted a generation

to turn their back on the nightclub, don their Stetsons

and jive the night away from Ballymena to Ballydehob.

This week, we follow three single country music fans

as they look for love on the jiving scene.

He's a bit young.

He's a fantastic dancer. I wonder if his da's here.

Will divorcee Ger's love of dancing find her the ideal partner?

He may or may not be attached, which is brilliant.

Can father-of-ten Tommy's trip

to the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna

find him the woman of his dreams?

I'm lying long enough on my own in a cold bed down there.

It's not too warm, I can tell you that.

-Hmm, well, his daughters aren't too sure.

-He's too choosy.

His woman has not been born yet.

And will a makeover turn separated mother-of-two Cathy

into an irresistible country music diva?

How do you feel?

I feel amazing. I can't wait to get to the Moy tonight.

Boys, leave your Masseys at home!

Welcome to the romantic world of Irish country music.

# Six short months we went together

# Deciding it should be forever... #

For years, country music and social dancing

has produced many happily married couples

who first connected on the dance floor.

38 years ago, two of my friends saw Cecily dancing

and said, "I dare you to go over "and ask her to dance."

So I went over and asked her to dance,

and the first thing she said to me was, "Are you able to dance?"

But today country music star Jimmy Buckley's song The Big D,

about divorce, rings true for an awful lot of single people,

whether they be divorced, widowed or separated.

# I'm going through the big D

# And don't mean Dallas. #

I've gone through a tough time

and I know what it's like to be at home, lonely and on your own.

I've got great company and I've got great friends from country music.

# It's multicoloured and waterproof... #

Part and parcel of what you do when you're out here jiving,

and if you meet somebody that you can talk to

and be free and open with, it makes it a far enjoyable night.

Cathy from Draperstown has been separated for a number of years.

I think when you turn 40 now and you're split up or whatever,

I think people expect you to knit, or to do something like that.

I don't have knitting needles, so, you know, I like to go out.

If I don't have the kids, I like to be out.

And when she's not jiving,

Cathy has her hands full

looking after her two young children, Ethan and Bethany.

Spellings.

Do we know these? Trunk.

Like an elephant.

-T-R-U-N-K.

-Excellent.

Right, can you spell knight?

As in knight in shining armour - who I have yet to meet.

You have no knight in shining armour.

I know I've no knight in shining armour.

-It's all right, you've got me.

-Thanks, Ethan. Thank you.

# Baby, baby You're driving me crazy... #

While the children may sympathise with Kathy's plight,

they're not so sympathetic with her taste in music.

Would you like a wee break? Wee bit of music on?

-How about a wee bit of country?

-Depends what you're putting on.

-What about a bit of country?

-No, don't put country on!

-Ach, you know Mummy loves country.

-Well, we don't!

Come on, have a wee dance. Go on.

Right, I'll do the part of the man for now, right?

-Aye, because you can't get one.

-What?! Ethan McGuigan!

'Mummy thinks she's a bit like Dolly Parton a lot of the time.

'Laughing and jumping around the house, singing

'and going absolutely mental.'

Aye, the craic's 90, it's good.

But I don't like it - I don't like jiving.

Yee-ha!

-Do you like country now?

-Not really.

'Going out jiving isn't just a release for Kathy...'

'..it's changed her life.'

Well, I've lost six stone through Slimming World

and, I have to say, I feel better than I've ever done before.

Like, if you look up there, that was me whenever I was...

That was five years ago, that's me and my sister.

And then that was me a couple of weeks ago,

we were at a hen party.

It's actually helped me lose weight because I love to jive

and a night's jiving, oh, my God! It's like...

We call it body magic at Slimming World.

But, I mean, you just...

I could dance the whole night, I just love jiving.

It really is helping me shift the pounds

and lose inches, to be honest.

# Hey, did you happen to see

# The most beautiful girl in the world?

# And if you did... #

Tommy is a divorced father-of-ten from Fermanagh.

He'd love to share his love of country music with the right woman.

Oh, golly, country music has changed my life so much.

I would have nothing now. I only go to country music and dancing.

I love it so much.

I would've got a wee woman but I'm afraid

because, if there's a wee flaw in one...

I want one with not that wee flaw, do you know what I mean?

It's like getting a tear from the cat.

If you get a bad scrap from a cat,

especially if she's an older cat, that tear is hard to heal.

But if she's a wee young kitten, it'll heal up quick.

I'd rather have the younger woman, you know what I mean?

I don't mean in a bad way or anything.

I don't mean anything bad about it.

But Tommy would like to share some other things as well.

These last two years I've had to learn to do this on me own -

cooking and washing and that kind of thing.

It takes a woman to do the wee extras

and there's a technique to doing ironing and stuff

that I can't really do, you know what I mean?

Somebody was telling me there's a festival coming up in Lisdoonvarna.

I might give that a wee go, you know? You never know.

I'll keep trying, anyhow.

I don't mind if she's 20 or 70, but if I get the right one,

she's for in there.

# My coat of many colours

# That my momma made for me

# Made only from rags... #

And Tommy would fit right in

at the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna,

as all of his family love music and dancing.

And going out with Dad on Saturday nights.

People would ask me,

"Is it embarrassing, going out with your father?"

But it isn't, because he can dance and he knows so many people,

-and more people than us.

-Us.

-And he's good craic.

-Yeah.

He isn't embarrassed to be seen with his daughters.

He never does anything wrong that we are embarrassed about.

Apart from dancing with every woman in the place!

Come on here, missus!

Since his divorce,

Tommy has danced with women up and down the country,

but he is still to find the right one.

Well, I have been all over - Navan, Cavan, Monaghan.

I've been over to a lot of the other dances,

but I just haven't met the one that would click,

that she'd want me and me want her and the two of us want each other.

There's no use going down the road with a women that you don't want.

I wouldn't make a fool of a girl.

I'd like to get a wee honest genuine one, but it's so hard to get.

But Tommy's daughters are not so sure it's as simple as that.

He's too choosy. His woman has not been born yet. No way.

Do you not think?

# I put on my Sunday best

# With my fancy scalloped vest...

# And I went to town and picked me out a wife. #

At home in Galway, divorcee Ger Walsh

couldn't live without the music of her favourite country star,

Mike Denver, to keep the company.

I use country music when I want to do housework or ironing,

because I don't like ironing,

so if you're listening to country music

and when you're doing your housework as well,

it just makes you go a little bit quicker.

# Her Oklahoma dust is everywhere... #

Originally from Kilkenny, Ger is cleaning the house

in anticipation of all her old friends

coming up for their annual trip to the Galway Races

to jive the night away to Mike Denver.

-RADIO PRESENTER:

-Could you play Mike Denver

for Julie, Bernie, Eleanor, Rose?

Thanks a million from Ger.

Well, we played this very first song

and I hope they heard it and enjoyed it.

And, Ger, thanks for the request.

These are all my CDs.

There's Mike Denver, John McNicholl, Nathan Carter.

Also I have tapes, because I have a walkman,

and Marc Roberts actually gave me this tape.

He's a fine-looking thing there, isn't he?

And, erm, I just totally enjoy all my country music.

# Some days a diamond

# Some days a stone... #

And since she became single again,

every country music song has a particular significance for Ger.

Country music, there's a song for everything

that's going on in your life.

The one that, really, I can't listen to is Stand By Your Man!

I can't listen to that song any more!

Being a divorced person,

I don't think, you know, that song, Stand By Your Man?

No, definitely not!

# Sometimes it's hard to be a woman... #

Meanwhile in Draperstown,

Cathy is still on the hunt for her knight in shining armour.

And she's tried online dating with - ah - mixed success.

A friend of mine said recently, she said, Cathy,

"This online dating, would you recommend it? What's it like?"

So I thought about it and I said, "Well, do you have a cookery book?"

She said, "Why?" I said, "Do you ever make anything out of the book?"

She says, "Yeah." I said, "Well, why do you make it?"

She says, "Because it looks nice in the picture."

"Tell me this - at the end, does it ever look like the picture?"

She says to me, "No, not really, mine doesn't."

I said, "Yeah, well,

"that's kind of like what online dating's about too,"

because a lot of the time what is on the pictures

and what's portrayed online isn't what you actually meet in person.

At the end of the day,

I'd like somebody my own age with their own hair and teeth!

There's somebody out there,

there has to be somebody out there for everyone,

that's what they say anyway.

And I suppose my thing is

I don't want to find Mr Right Now, I want to find Mr Right.

And Cathy believes her love of country music and jiving

will help her find Mr Right.

I'm going to go and do it the old-fashioned way.

I'm going to go out and meet people and socialise

and speak to people face-to-face

and have a wee dance with them

and you never know what might happen.

I just think somebody will sweep me off my feet on the dance floor.

Tommy's trip to the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna

is just four weeks away,

and he's warming up at a Gerry Guthrie gig in Monaghan

with a few dances with his daughters.

They're class dancers.

I take them out to dance and they love it and I love it as well,

and you wouldn't be stuck with your daughters with you. Never, no.

Oh, Daddy's number one.

I always love waltzing him and quickstepping him

but it's hard to get him.

He's on demand the whole time, the whole night.

You're like, I'll have the next dance. He's like, I'll be back.

I said I want to waltz and he went off with some young girl.

I was like, "Get back here!"

But whatever woman Tommy gets to dance with here...

ultimately, it's daughters Melissa and Leanne

who'll make the decision whether she's suitable or not.

They'll be watching who I dance with

and they may come over and say,

Daddy, I don't think that's the fit for you.

Maybe I'll be thinking to myself,

maybe there's a wee flaw I can't see.

I'm too choosy anyway, like! You know what I mean?

The one I really, really fancy, you know, I did really fancy her.

I know she was giving me the looks all the things,

and I knew she did like me,

but I don't want to go and ask her out or give her my phone number

because my daughters are there.

But they don't mind. They'd like to see moving on,

but I don't like doing it in front of them, you know what I mean?

-You've been a wee star.

-Thank you.

I'll get a wee dance after.

We'll get another dance, thank you very much.

Every night I go, you always see different faces.

You know yourself, all the strange faces.

A lot that I do know, but I hope I see her again,

because if she does, I'll give her my number. Well, I'll try anyway.

After a four-hour bus journey,

Ger's friends have arrived from Kilkenny

for their annual big night out,

jiving to Mike Denver at the Galway Races.

Is this the couscous?

-Oh, I love couscous.

-Do you?

-Yeah.

-These are my new shoes.

-Show me, give me a look.

I bought two pairs!

-How many pairs of shoes have you now, four?!

-Four.

-Oh, they're lovely.

-I've no black.

-Pink shoe and this dress.

-Gorgeous, lovely.

Can we look at the soles?

-There?

-Look. They need to be buffed.

Well, you can do it later on for us, will you?

# And she loves him in spite of those wicked ways

# She don't understand... #

And once the tea is had,

the conversation inevitably turns to jiving and the opposite sex.

Oh, I was out one night and this guy says to me,

Ger, why don't you drink? I said, do you see that table?

I said, if I drank, I'd be dancing on that.

-Come on, girl, I'll give you a leg up!

-That's what they say.

Some of the older men are much better dancers

than the younger ones.

Do you know what I notice now?

Guys that were heavy...

and when they were walking they were like this,

but the minute they started dancing,

it was like they were gliding along the floor.

So, Ger, tell us,

if you met somebody that glided along the floor, would you like it?

Well, he'd have to do a lot more...

Glide in more ways than dancing!

-No, he'd have to be a great jiver.

-Right.

And if he didn't like Mike Denver,

then, sorry, I'd leave him on the dance floor.

But will there be any suitable jivers waiting for them

at the Galway Races?

There should be loads around that are able to dance tonight.

It's the Galway races, isn't it?

Would you say there would be many loose men there tonight?

-I don't know.

-Are you looking for one?

-No!

If separated mother-of-two Cathy is going to find her ideal man...

-Good morning. Cathy, is it?

-Yes.

..she wants to do it face to face and not online.

So Cathy is going shopping for a new dress in Belfast

before she goes jiving at the Ryandale in the Moy.

Although I feel great being six stone lighter,

I do not know how to dress and what to wear

that would maybe accentuate my figure.

That's no bother. We'll get you looking stunning for your jiving.

Thanks very much. Now is your cue to leave!

And we'll close the door.

-Right, you're allowed back in again.

-Well Cathy, what are we thinking?

I think the shape is very good,

because you have a small, small waist that we need to show off,

but I am not 10% sure on those flowers.

You know, I do like this.

It makes me look slim, I actually feel slim in it,

-but it's a wee bit dark.

-You're right about one thing, Cathy.

At the beginning, you said you had good legs,

and you really do need to be showing them off.

And I think I have the dress just for you.

Cathy, tell me, how do you feel?

-I feel amazing.

-You look amazing.

It's just something that I wouldn't have picked myself. I love it.

The dress goes out. When I dance, it'll go round.

It is so elegant, it's so glam. I wanted to feel like Faith Hill.

I know I don't look like her -

but after the hair and make-up, who knows?

All I can say is, I can't wait to get to the Moy tonight.

Boys, leave your Masseys at home!

In Fermanagh, Melissa and Leanne

are packing their divorced father-of-ten, Tommy,

off to Lisdoonvarna

in the hope that he'll bring back the woman of his dreams.

So, Daddy, how many shirts are you going to be needing?

I would need 12 or 14 shirts at least, if not more,

because this is the biggest scene of my life,

going to Lisdoonvarna.

This is the place for me to bring back Mrs Right -

the one I want, Melissa.

I actually do hope you get a woman.

-It will save us the job.

-Of all this ironing!

Well, if I get the wee woman, as I call her, Mrs Right,

she'll be here and you will have no more ironing to do, Melissa.

-This could be your last pack.

-Oh, yes.

I need a pink shirt,

because a pink shirt is like a magnet to draw the ladies.

-I don't know what's in it.

-Yes, Daddy, I agree.

-This one?

-Yes.

-No, no...

-This is more you. This is with the times.

Daddy, we prefer this one.

This is the magnet, Melissa! Yeah!

Just give me the luck I need. I hope.

Tommy is heading to the matchmaking festival

with high hopes.

And he's not the only one.

Ideally, I'd like Daddy to find somebody

that's a bit of craic, like himself.

He's always up for a laugh.

Somebody nice, kind...

..good-hearted, I'd like her to get along with us as well, you know?

That would be very important. And also age.

I'd like her to be, you know, round the same age as him.

In Galway, Ger and her friends

have already discussed the possibility of meeting new talent.

Girls, girls, are you ready? Are you ready?

And now it just leaves time for a quick rehearsal of the Tommy K dance

before they head to Mike Denver.

Right, are we ready?

# Let's call out his name

# Tommy K, Tommy K

# Tommy K, the DJ

# Tommy K, Tommy K

# Give us the locomotion

# Give me me dancing shoes

# Give us the mashed potato

# Give us the boogaloo

# Give us the words between the songs... #

His daughters have already nicknamed him Tommy K

for his love of country music and jiving.

And Tommy is coming into

the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna

with hope in his heart.

# Tommy K the DJ Tommy K, Tommy K... #

But his first stop isn't to an afternoon dance,

Tommy wants to see what the future holds.

# He's brave and courageous

# Upright and strong... #

-Hello, Tommy.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Pleased to meet you.

-How're you keeping?

Come in. Looking forward to meeting you all day.

-Oh, thank you very much.

-Nice to have you.

Pick 12 cards for me now, please, from anywhere.

-Wherever you want to go.

-One...

..two...

three...

And I'm going to go up beside you to take one,

because I like going close to the ladies, if you don't mind.

-Now, close your eyes.

-Close my eyes?

Now, these are the angels under your hand.

-HE CHUCKLES

-It's not funny.

-You're asking the angels.

-What have I to ask them?

What's the most important thing you want an answer to? You ask them.

I wonder, is there such a thing

that I could get a wee honest, genuine woman?

OK. There's been an awful lot of pain and unhappiness,

there's been an awful lot of stress around you.

-Oh.

-The worst is behind you.

-Oh, thanks, I'm glad to hear that.

You've got to be thankful for now

and thankful for everything else, you know?

And your health is just, mind it, take care of it,

and I think you need glasses.

-I do.

-You left eye's weaker than your right.

-I am blind. How did you know that?

-Ach, sure, I know by looking at you.

I'm as blind as a bat.

-This woman has been married already.

-Right.

So she wouldn't be judging you,

but she would speak it straight to you.

-Ah.

-That's what you need, someone to tell you straight.

That's the one I like.

No, that's the one you need to keep you in your place,

because you're a holy terror, is what you are.

HE GIGGLES

But you will never know unless you ask.

And all that can be said is "yes" or "no" and "thank you".

Ah.

She was a lovely lady.

Some of the things she did tell me, like, definitely goes through.

You know, because she said to me I was dancing too much.

To pick out the girl that I really want, the love of my life,

I'd have to cut down me dancing and chat to them more,

like, you know what I mean?

But I love me dancing, so I'm going to have to tone it down

and not dance as much. Put it that way, like, you know?

It's the night they've been waiting for all year.

Mike Denver live during the Galway Race week.

The Galway boy, Mike Denver.

# Well, I took a stroll on the old long walk

# Of a day-ai-ay-ai-ay

# I met a little girl and we stopped to talk

# Of a fine soft day-ai-ay

# And I ask you, friend... #

For Ger and her friends, it doesn't get any better than this.

And they recognise what these country evenings really mean

to divorced people like Ger.

She's been through a hard time. Tough times, like,

and she's come a long, tough road.

It's given her a new lease of life, like.

Ger's able to get up now.

She's a stronger person.

Much stronger person. More confident.

She's just on top of the world when she's out at country music.

It's... It's...

It's like a medicine. A good medicine.

# Oh, the sun's going to shine

# In my life once more

# Love's gonna live here again... #

Down at the matchmaking festival,

Robert Mizzell and his band are packing the dance floor.

And despite the fortune-teller's advice,

Tommy is getting through his fair share of dance partners.

I did see one smiling at me and asked me where I come from,

and she asked me back to dance her again, which...

That's not a bad hope and another of them winked at me going round,

smiled twice or three times at me.

So it's early in the night yet,

but the crowd is so big, I can hardly get moving.

The crowd is massive.

But I want to take that advice too, as well, that that women gave me,

not dance as much, and I can see what she's telling me,

because I know there's more chances when I don't dance that much.

But I'm going to head back in again because there's two or three.

I think I have a chance. OK, chat to yous again.

# Kick off your shoes and throw 'em on the floor

# Dance in the kitchen till the morning light

# Louisiana Saturday night... #

Finding love on a country-music dance floor is something

Robert Mizzell has seen many times.

We did a trip to Nashville about five years ago

and there was a single girl and another guy on the trip

and they've since got married. So it's good.

You're bringing people together through the music

and country music has always had that, especially in Ireland.

It brings groups of people together.

Cathy's got the dress,

and now, with her hair and make-up being expertly done...

..the men of the Moy may watch out

as she's ready to hit the Ryandale with her friend Cilla.

Oh, my God. I didn't even recognise you coming across the road.

That is absolutely gorgeous.

-What do you think?

-That was some makeover!

I have to say, I love it.

-I'm going with you the next time you go.

-I loved it. Come on.

It was brilliant. Two, please.

# For a girl like you

# A girl like you... #

With this new confidence, Cathy has no shortage of dance partners,

even if they may be a little bit young.

-Oh, my God.

-He was a fantastic dancer.

-Did you see him?

He threw me around the floor like a rag doll.

Fantastic but, I mean...

He goes through all the jives that we would...

Oh, we've seen him at Omagh. We've stayed away from him on purpose.

You know, he's a bit young, he's a fantastic dancer.

I wonder if his da's here.

# A lot of small-town boys can't wait to leave home

# To bigger and better things

# But all I ever wanted was a girl like you

# A picket fence and a front-porch swing... #

In Galway, Ger has attracted another dancer

who, like her, can really move.

There was actually a fella that caught my eye.

He was a fantastic jiver, and if I could have danced with him

I think I would have stayed on the floor the whole night.

He may or may not be attached,

but he seemed to be dancing with a lot of people,

which was brilliant.

# For a heart so true

# And eyes so blue... #

Man or no man, Ger has got it all tonight.

Her favourite singer on stage

and her best friends jiving the night away.

As you can see, music's still playing, I'm off. See you later on.

Come on, Ger, come on.

And I've found a toy boy!

SHE LAUGHS

# Well, I bet my daddy married a girl like you... #

And down in Clare, at the matchmaking festival,

could Tommy have met his match?

He asked me out for a meal tonight.

I said, "I'll go for a meal and a glass of wine,"

and we had a couple of dances in there.

So you don't know what happens... What happens in Lisdoonvarna.

That's what it's all about.

Love can be blind, you know?

Love can be a very funny wee thing.

It takes a while to get the right person,

and I want to make sure.

But, anyway, I don't mind.

I always have me country dancing. Yeah.

At the Jim Devine gig in the Moy,

Cathy's night is continuing to be a success.

And this time, she's found a jiver her own age.

I had a dance there with that fella from Feeny there,

and he is a great dancer, now. There's no two ways about it.

You know what? We kind of fitted well together.

Cathy was very nice to dance with. She had a great beat.

Me and her get on very, very well.

In fact, we hit it right off, right away.

Could it be that Cathy has finally found her knight in shining armour?

-I go to The Mill and I go to Josie's...

-Right.

..and I go to The Four Seasons in Monaghan on a Sunday night.

-A beautiful floor.

-I've never been there, like.

-Well, I'll take you some night.

-Really?

I'll spin over the hill and lift you, if you wish.

-Well, there you go, maybe that's a plan.

-Not too far away. OK?

-All right, there's a plan.

-Cheers.

# I love you both

# And this will be

# Pure H-E-double-L for me

# Oh, I wish that we could stop this

# D-I-V-O-R-C-E. #