The 2 Johnnies have once again set the internet alight with a fresh episode of their 'GAA Catfish' series. The term 'catfishing' refers to the act of luring someone into a relationship using a fake online persona, a concept made famous by the MTV show, Catfish: The TV Show.
In 2022, Johnny 'B' O'Brien and his co-host Johnny 'Smacks' McMahon released a two-part podcast warning about the perils of catfishing. They dropped a third instalment in January 2025, sharing more stories of alleged deceit, sparking a flurry of social media chatter.
Statista reports that between 2022 and 2023, 22% of people had personal experiences with catfishing. The Tipp natives' cautionary tale, told in three parts, warns against trusting online acquaintances.
Here's the lowdown: Part One - Johnny B recounts how, after becoming single, he was followed on Instagram by an account featuring pictures of a stunning woman named "Cora O'Donovan."
He said they hit it off after exchanging messages: "Last year, I became single. It's never easy, no matter what way it goes. And in January, around Christmas time, this girl follows me on Instagram. She's absolutely stunning. Drop-dead gorgeous. She's from Limerick and has 15,000 followers, and it's followed by a few people I know personally," he shared, reports RSVP Live.
"So, one night I'm looking at her stories and I said, go on. I'll send her an old DM."
After chatting with the account, he and "Cora" plan to meet up, but each time, an excuse is made and the meeting never happens. One evening, while the 2 Johnnies are out in Dublin, he gets a message from the account saying they will meet at a popular pub that night.
Upon arriving at the pub, they are greeted by a woman who they've named "Nicky" for the podcast's purpose, who has been described by the "Cora" account as her flatmate, according to the podcasters. The podcasters don't meet anyone in person claiming to be "Cora" that night, nor do they see anyone resembling the photos on the account.
They leave and continue their night elsewhere. In the morning, Johnny B receives some messages from the "Cora" account, apologising for not showing up, and invites the 2 Johnnies to her house for breakfast.
Johnny B accepts the invitation and goes to the given address, where he is met by "Nicky," the person who the podcasters say met them at the pub the previous night. They say that "Nicky" tells Johnny B that "Cora" has gone shopping and will be back soon.
After spending some time in the house, having breakfast and waiting for "Cora" without success, Johnny decides it's time to leave, and accepts "Nicky's" offer of a lift from Dublin to Tipperary.
Following a discussion about the repeated disappearances of the person behind the "Cora" Instagram account, Johnny B and Johnny Smacks concluded that the account was fake. They suspected "Nicky" of masterminding the deception and decided to share Johnny B's catfishing experience.
They believed she had been using content from various social media accounts to craft intricate, location-specific fake online personas. Johnny B remarked, "I consider myself reasonably intelligent, but in this story I was very much taken for a fool."
In the podcast series' second episode, the 2 Johnnies claimed to have uncovered numerous young men who had fallen victim to or been contacted by fake accounts, likely run by the same individual behind the "Cora" account. "Here's the thing. This is something that you see on Catfish the television show and you think 'that only happens in America'. This has happened in Ireland to a lot of people and a lot of people that we all know in the entertainment industry in the GAA, everywhere," they stated.
They discovered multiple profiles with indicators of being fake, using different names and photos of various women. These profiles interacted with each other, bolstering the illusion of authenticity.
The podcasting pair wanted to caution people about who they interact with online. "We're never going to reveal the identity of anyone that's connected to this story. All we can hope is that this catfishing stops and anyone who is tempted to do something realises how wrong that is," Johnny Smacks stated.
"And also there was nothing illegal in this, there's nobody who has been asked for money or tried to be scammed from these accounts. We need to state that but look, these people have been affected by this, their lives have been affected and it needs to stop."
After the initial episodes were released in 2022, The 2 Johnnies podcasts surprised listeners by releasing a third part of the series this week. The episode aimed to update listeners on alleged developments in the story since the initial podcasts were aired.
They mentioned that the alleged catfish, still referred to as "Nicky," declined to participate in a planned BBC documentary about the saga after the initial podcast episodes were released. Due to the refusal, the 2 Johnnies did not feel right proceeding with the project, and production was halted.
The podcasters revealed that they had been contacted by a multitude of men who suspected they were victims of catfishing last year. Upon investigating, it appeared "Nicky" might be the individual ensnaring these men with a new pseudonym: Aoife Kennedy.
The supposed 'Aoife' profile flaunted photos of a prominent influencer, according to the podcast hosts. 'Conor', a pseudonym for privacy, featured in the third episode, shared how he clicked with 'Aoife' on a dating app before the situation took a disturbing dive; the person he was in touch with shared distressing tales of traumatic life events.
"It's time to address this issue and call on social media companies to do more to combat fake profiles," the podcasters urged. Guest speaker, clinical psychologist Dr Malie Coyne weighed in on the possible motivations behind catfishing and its harrowing impact on those deceived.
She highlighted how being "duped and betrayed" by a catfish is often underestimated in its severity, stating, "It can completely disrupt your sense of trust and stability."
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