Adventures in Belfast: Northern Irish Life After the Peace Agreement

"Caroline Oceana Ryan's Adventures in Belfast takes the reader into the heart of Belfast--and into deep and passionate conversations with a wide range of Northerners.

While this is partly a personal journey, with both a spiritual and a mythical thread running through, it also allows room and attention to a multiplicity of views and experiences, which add depth to the historical and political context of “Norn Iron.” A timely, engaging and insightful read!" - Ruth Carr, author of There is a House and The Airing Cupboard (Summer Palace Press, Ireland)

"Ryan may be cast as the stranger in a stranger land, but she brings an insight that others will enjoy, thanks to her humour, poignancy and a prevalent personal touch.

Not shying away from the hard questions of the Troubles, this is a book that is ambitious yet accessible. Readers in Northern Ireland will enjoy the retelling of their stories through Ryan's degree of separation; others will enjoy seeing the separate pieces of the Troubles told together as one." - Colin Dardis, author, Doji: A Blunder

"I highly recommend this well-written, hard-to-put-down book for those interested in understanding Northern Ireland’s history, the Troubles, and post-Peace Agreement life." - Jane Blanchard, author of Women of the Way: Embracing the Camino


Dive into the people, history, turmoil, and myth of life in the North of Ireland . . .

From the major political events that shaped post-Peace Agreement life, to deeply ingrained traditions and powerful storytelling and myth.

These are down-to-earth images of a complex culture, and the forces that have divided it for centuries.

You'll meet genius poets, hopeful politicians, former paramilitaries, Northern students and working people, each drawing a vivid picture of a country of longstanding feuds, amazing humor, and the hard work and ingenuity that built the Titanic, and rebuilds a culture.

This is a story of ordinary people living out their own best and worst aspects, in a time of astounding transition.

From Chapter 7 – Wait Till I Tell Ye

One night my friend Chris Keenan, a young Northern Irish short story writer, regaled a friend and me with some old Irish tales as we sat in an atmospheric old pub on the docks of Belfast Quay. We listened while the fire burned in the large fireplace and music, talk and laughter rang out all round.

“My grandparents used to tell us about Finn MacCumhail [Finn Muh-KOOL],” the great Northern warrior. “The most famous one of all is how the Giant’s Causeway was born.

“What happened was, Finn MacCumhail was living on the North Antrim coast. And there was Benandonner, a huge giant living off the coast of Scotland, on the Isle of Staffa.

“Finn and Benandonner started hurling abuse at each other across the water, shouting, ‘I’m going to get you, you horrible eejit!’ So then they just said, ‘Let’s get together and let’s fight this out!’

“So Finn built the causeway right across the sea and when he got to the Island of Staffa, he didn’t see anybody. He was so exhausted by then that he fell asleep. The Scottish giant Benandonner sees the causeway and says, ‘Ah, I’m going to get that frigger now!’

“He starts running across the causeway, towards Ireland, to get to Finn. Finn’s wife seen the Scottish giant coming across, and he’s humongous! She thinks, ‘If he gets my Finn, he is gonna kill him!’

“So she goes to the sleeping Finn and puts a bonnet and puts baby clothes on him. And the other giant comes across the causeway to the north coast of Antrim. And he says, ‘Right, where’s Finn?!’
“And Finn’s wife says to him, 'Would you be quiet! My baby’s sleepin’!’
“The Scottish giant looks down and he seen the baby, and says, ‘Jaysus! If Finn MacCumhail’s baby is as big as that, imagine how big MacCumhail is!'

“So he went flying back across the causeway, smashing it up as he went ...