Colm Heaney spent much of his childhood bouncing between Canada and Northern Ireland — where his father is from. When it came to making the leap to living in Belfast some 14 years ago, a plethora of cousins and family made for a relatively soft landing.

Colm’s been there since 2001, raising two children with his wife, and working at the Irish Bureau for the Daily Mirror.

I caught up with Colm on a cool Belfast evening — and a hot Edmonton day — to learn more about life on the Emerald Isle.

Image of the River Lagan in Belfast by Jonathan Mckee. Used under Creative Commons License. Image of Colm and his son by Colm Heaney. Used with permission.