Ahoy for Joy

For Belfast teenager, Michael Colgan, words haven’t always come easily. However this changes after he meets Anna, a Dutch schoolgirl, on holiday. During their romantic, care-free, pen-pal exchanges, full of tales of the present and hopes for the future, Michael gives no clue of his true life, at a time when the ‘troubles’ dominated Northern Ireland. Anna is enchanted by Michael and his words, which include poems painting beautiful visions of idealistic Irish life as well as stories describing the warmth and humour of the people surrounding him. What Michael doesn’t write about is the trauma he experiences, which leaves him all but invisible to his peers, silently suffering as the conflict rages around him. Little does he know the profound effect that his words will have on others…