Casual dating over 60 in Ireland: sexual health, safety and reporting

Using Granny Slags from Ireland

Granny Slags works in Ireland in the same way as everywhere else: Ireland is one of the countries the members area accepts, and the rules are the same. Joining, making a profile and browsing are free; reading and replying to messages needs a paid membership, which renews until you cancel in Settings > Billing.

A few things worth knowing before you join from here:

• Price and currency. The members area shows the price of each plan, and the currency it will be charged in, before you pay. Our prices page explains renewal and what appears on your statement.
• Who can see you. Profiles are shared with partner sites in the same network, so people who joined elsewhere can see and message you. How Granny Slags works covers this.
• Northern Ireland is different. If you live north of the border, UK services apply: see our UK page for Report Fraud, the 101 line and Northern Ireland's sexual health and support services.

Free STI testing from the HSE

STI testing in the Republic is free: the HSE says all its public STI services are free and confidential. You can test at a clinic or order a kit to use at home.

If SH:24 has no kits in stock, the HSE suggests trying again the next morning. A positive result for chlamydia or gonorrhoea comes with directions to free care and treatment at an STI clinic.

Age is no reason to skip it. A new partner is the moment to test, and condoms remain the simplest protection while you wait for results.

Comfort after menopause

The HSE notes that vaginal dryness is common and often linked to hormone changes, including menopause. Its advice:

• Lubricants and vaginal moisturisers from a pharmacy don't need a prescription. Use a water-based lubricant before sex.
• Don't use petroleum jelly or perfumed products inside the vagina; they can cause infection.
• Ask your pharmacist to talk privately if that's easier.
• See a GP if self-care hasn't helped after a few weeks, if it's affecting daily life, or if you have unusual discharge or bleeding. If the cause is hormonal, a GP can prescribe low-dose oestrogen as a cream or pessary.

Romance fraud: what the Gardaí warn about

Romance fraud is when someone builds a relationship online in order to take your money. An Garda Síochána has warned about it repeatedly, and its figures show it is not only an issue for one age group: in the first five months of 2022, the Gardaí recorded 31 romance fraud cases with reported losses of €812,715. Victims ranged in age from 27 to 69, and all but one had met the suspect on a dating app or social media.

The warning signs the Gardaí list:

• They ask lots of questions but reveal little about themselves, and seem to mirror your interests and circumstances.
• Their stories don't add up, or they always have a reason not to video call.
• They want to move quickly from the dating site to texts or social media, or send you links you didn't ask for.
• They ask for money, bank details, or copies of your passport or driving licence.
• They ask you to pay for a flight, a visa, a medical bill or customs fees so they can come and see you.
• They offer an "investment opportunity".
• They ask you to install a remote-access app or hand over control of your phone or computer.

The rule that covers all of it: never send money or bank details to someone you've never met, however much you trust them. The Gardaí also suggest a reverse image search on profile photos, to see whether the same pictures appear elsewhere under other names. Our romance scams guide shows how these conversations usually build.

How to report a scam in Ireland

If you've sent money or details, speed matters more than anything else. Ring your bank first, then go to the Gardaí.

1. Call your bank immediately to try to stop or recall the payment. The Gardaí say acting quickly improves the chance of getting money back.
2. Keep the evidence: screenshots of the profile and messages, usernames, phone numbers, and any account details you were given.
3. Report it to the Gardaí. There is no single national non-emergency number; contact your local station, or report in person at any Garda station. Station numbers are in the Garda station directory.
4. Report the profile in the members area, and block the person.
5. If intimate images are involved, report them to Hotline.ie, which handles intimate images shared online without consent and assesses reports under Irish law.

The Gardaí put it plainly: don't be embarrassed about reporting. The people behind these schemes are practised at it, and reports help stop them reaching someone else.

If a date goes wrong

If you're in danger, call 112 or 999. For everything after that, free and confidential help exists, and none of it requires you to make a Garda report first.

A SATU is a specialist HSE unit for people who have been raped or sexually assaulted, offering health checks, medicines to prevent infection and pregnancy, and forensic exams. Gardaí are only present if you want them there or are reporting.

Dating habits that suit Ireland

The same habits that keep a first meeting safe anywhere work here: meet somewhere public and busy, make your own way there and back, and tell a friend where you'll be. Keep your full name and home address to yourself until you know the person, as the Gardaí advise.

Two things come up more often in a smaller country:

• Discretion travels. In a town where people know each other, agree early what being discreet means to you both: where you'll meet, whether you'll be seen out together, and what neither of you shares. Our age-gap guide covers that conversation.
• Distances. If your date is a long drive or a rural bus ride away, plan your own way home before you go rather than relying on a lift.

A text to a friend can be this simple. Example: "Meeting someone from the site at the hotel bar on Main Street, 7pm. I'll text you by 9."

Our meeting-safely checklist goes through each step, and the safety and consent page explains what Granny Slags checks and what it doesn't.