Your Friend, My Friend brings Belfast its largest Singles Party on Friday, April 17th with over 200 local singles, pizzas, drinks and a great evening out; something you won’t find on any app.
Dating app downloads are falling for the first time in a decade. With 78% of Irish singles reporting “app burnout”, the creeping exhaustion of swiping without any real connection, one Irish company has been quietly building something better. And now, for the first time ever, it’s coming to Belfast.
Your Friend, My Friend (YFMF), Ireland’s fastest-growing singles events company, will host its debut Northern Ireland event at Haymarket Belfast on Friday, April 17th, 2026. The Belfast Singles Party will bring together 200+ single people aged 24–50, kicking off the brand’s 2026 summer series, a nationwide run of events spanning Cork, Dublin, Galway and beyond.
Why Belfast, Why Now?
Belfast has one of the most vibrant social scenes in Ireland, and its singles deserve more than an algorithm. YFMF has been watching the appetite grow in the city for a while and 2026 is where it all begins.
The format is simple but it works: a relaxed, buzzy evening with great food (pizza throughout the night), YFMF’s signature icebreaker, and a room split evenly between men and women so the balance is built in from the start. No awkward name badges. No pressure. Just the right conditions for real conversations to happen.
Tickets are already selling fast.
The Dating App Backlash is Real
YFMF has tracked this shift first-hand. In a survey of its own attendees, 44% said they had deleted at least one dating app in the three months before coming to a YFMF event. Many said they felt lonelier after using apps than before.
“Dating apps have left a generation of people feeling like they’re failing at something that should be natural. We’ve had people tell us one of our events gave them more genuine conversations than a year on the apps. What we’ve built isn’t a gimmick. It’s just what happens when you put real people in the same room with great energy and no pressure.”
Samantha Keating, Co-Founder, Your Friend, My Friend
About Your Friend, My Friend
Founded in 2023, YFMF has grown from a single Dublin event into Ireland’s largest singles events company, hosting over 150 sold-out events annually and bringing together more than 15,000 single people each year. From intimate speed dating nights to large-scale parties, every event is built around one idea: dating should be fun again.
Event Details
Friday, April 17th, 2026 | 8pm – 11pm
Haymarket, Belfast
Tickets: https://yourfriendmyfriend.ie/event-product/98
Instagram: @yourfriendmyfriend.ie
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