Michael talks about his unlikely journey to becoming a scientist. He talks about going to St Mary’s Grammar School but failing chemistry. He repeats his A levels and goes on to university, but in a random twist of events, he decides to become a priest.

After the first two years of his priesthood study, his superiors questioned whether he was certain about being a priest and advised him to take a year to think it through. The priests said they sensed that he wanted to get married, so they advised him to go on dates.

During this year, he met the woman he would eventually marry. After deciding that he wasn’t going to be a priest, he began to apply for jobs but had no luck. Then one day out of the blue he got an offer to do a PHD in science. He accepted and is now a top scientist working at Queens University. 

 On top of being a scientist, he is also a purple belt in BBJ. He talks about how he got into the sport and getting battered on the first day. After years of going consistently, he is now operating at a high level and competing regularly. 

This is a fascinating story of twists and turns about a young scientist from West Belfast.

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