My Blind Date with Faith, God and Mickey Mouse. | Mairead Loughran Ryan | TEDxBlack Mountain
Do we need the cross to believe or Mickey Mouse to dream? Or is the real transformation hiding in the space in between?
In this funny, raw, and unexpectedly profound TEDx talk, Mairead Loughran Ryan takes us on a pilgrimage she never meant to take, from West Belfast to a remote French mountain top, all in search of Disneyland. What begins as a misadventure filled with plums, one plug socket, and a very real murder mystery, becomes something much more: a powerful reflection on identity, digital distraction, and what we discover when we slow down long enough to actually talk.
Through beatboxing, shared rations, and stories with strangers from Amsterdam to Cork, Mairead uncovers the real miracle: not faith, not fantasy, but human connection. With wit and wisdom, she reminds us that change doesn’t always look like protest or politics, sometimes it looks like unplugging, listening, and laughing together over bad yoghurt.
"Maybe the change we’re looking for isn’t loud or political. Maybe it’s slow, human, and starts in the space between us." — Mairead Loughran Ryan
Mairead Loughran Ryan is a dedicated mental health
nurse and passionate advocate for human rights and
community wellbeing. Currently completing a Master’s
in Public Health at Ulster University, she brings both
frontline healthcare experience and academic insight
to her work. Mairead previously served on the panel for
the Children's Rights Commissioner and has
represented Northern Ireland at the European Network
of Young Advisors and the UN’s 75th Anniversary event
for the Community Enrichment Project.A graduate of the Alice Academy for Activists and a UN
Women UK delegate, she continues to use her voice as
a published public speaker and freelance teaching
assistant at Queen’s University Belfast. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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