It seems the ‘tall, dark and handsome’ cliche really is what women prefer.

A new survey by Herbal Essences shows 76% of Irish women imagine their ideal man to fit this description, while 13% prefer rugged redheads and only 11% favour blonde boys.

When it comes to romance, 88% of Irish women consider themselves to be ‘passionate’ about it.

Three in five of those polled rate the classic Tír na nOg fable of Oisín and Niamh as their favourite love story.

While the modern day romances of Brian O’Driscoll and Amy Huberman, Gay and Kathleen Byrne and Bono and Ali Hewson also made the list.