Danny sits across from me in a busy café. Upbeat music plays overhead while a man at the next table talks loudly on the phone. We’re both drinking hot chocolate. “I remember walking out of Alpha in the Hub, making jokes about it,” Danny says with a smile. “At the time, I didn’t realise it had actually helped me.”

“So what do you think of Jesus now?” I ask.
“I think He’s real now,” he replies.
This is Danny’s story.

Early Life

Danny grew up in Mullingar with very little Christian influence. His parents were atheists, and for much of his childhood there was strong anti-Catholic sentiment at home. His grandparents, however, were people of faith. They attended Mass regularly and quietly lived out what they believed. As a family, church was limited to Christmas and Easter.

At school, Christianity was mentioned, but only at a surface level. “They’ll tell you Jesus turned water into wine,” Danny says, “but not why that matters.” Like many young people his age, faith felt distant, outdated, and irrelevant.

Alpha

I first met Danny when he was 16, attending a YFC Alpha with his school year group in MyHub. He sat in my small group in his uniform, grabbing tea and biscuits as we tried to create a space that felt welcoming and human—not just religious. Danny was sceptical.

“I thought it was an old wives’ tale,” he says now. “Or a way to control people.” He admits that at 16, he thought he knew everything. Though he showed up each week—mainly because he had to—he left unconvinced. “I remember joking about it afterwards,” he says.

What Danny didn’t realise was that God was playing the long game.

Discovering Scripture

About a year and a half later, something unexpected began happening. “I just kept having this thought that I should read the Bible,” Danny tells me. He ignored it for months before eventually buying one—on Amazon, of course.

He started with Genesis. “That was probably a mistake,” he laughs. He found it confusing and eventually gave up. But months later, after watching online content from a speaker encouraging people to start with the Gospels, Danny tried again. This time, something shifted.

“I read all of Matthew, and a good bit of the others,” he says. “It felt like there was more than just words on the page. Like something else was going on.” He struggles to put it into words but describes an unmistakable sense that Scripture was alive.

Encounter

Danny then describes a moment that still feels vivid. One evening, on his own initiative, he walked into the Cathedral. As he opened the doors, the organ began to play. Sunlight streamed through the high windows, lighting up the pews.

“It’s burned into my memory,” he says. “I was nearly angry. I just thought, ‘I guess I believe now.’”

From that moment, Danny began to live differently—attending church, reading Scripture, and trying to shape his life around the way of Jesus.

Cost and Community

The months that followed weren’t easy. “I was fairly lonely,” he admits. His faith had changed, but his friendships hadn’t. “There’s nothing wrong with that,” he says, “but sometimes there’s a block.”

Over time, community became vital. People began to walk with him, suggest Scripture, and encourage his growth. “When Claire (YFC worker) told me to read Isaiah,” he says, “I couldn’t believe how clearly it pointed to the New Testament.”

Ordinary Faith

Reflecting on his experience with YFC again, Danny now sees its value. “For a lot of young people,” he says, “their only experience of religious people is a priest at Easter or their grandparents.” YFC, and Alpha, he believes, introduced him to ordinary people living out Christian faith, the Youth for Christ team.

“It helps you realise you can believe in God and not be a priest,” he adds.

A Changed Perspective

Faith has reshaped how Danny sees the world. “The little annoyances matter less,” he says. “How you treat people matters more. You get perspective—you realise we’re not here forever.”

As our time ends, I ask him again what he thinks of Jesus now.
“I think He’s real,” Danny says. “If you look at the Bible as a historical document, it holds up. The world itself points to a creator. And Jesus fits into that.”

Yes, Danny. I know exactly what you mean.

Stories of Hope: Danny Byrne