Holylands girls are in a class of their own

They are wile craic


“What’s your perfect woman?” Maybe it’s an anachronistic question, but it’s a question frequently asked among groups of boys, often sparking heated discussion which you’d die if girls actually heard.

It’s usually met with a variety of standard answers from myopic boys ticking boxes on their favourite attributes – sporty girls, tall girls, smart girls, curvy girls, bubbly girls, skinny girls, shy girls.

But we should be introducing a new “type” of girl into that debate.

A type of girl who has been living among us in a special area of Belfast. A girl who lives a fun impulsive lifestyle and yet contains the level of intelligence to achieve a university degree. Ultimately she is a girl who wants to have as much as fun as possible while not letting their ambitions of achieving a higher education waver.

This girl is of course a Holylands girl.

In the past bemoaned for the cringe “HolylandLAD” lifestyle, the Holylands is a strange place which lives by its own rules. When you think of the ‘Lands you picture groups of boys in GAA tops clutching bottles of vodka and Buckfasts shouting seemingly nonsensical statements followed by ruptures of laughter. Their accents are so thick, you can’t understand a world they’re squawking. They probably can’t understand either. It doesn’t matter.

It’s ultimately a happy place and is ripe with hilarious and unbelievable stories, but the girls play just as big a part as the boys, if not bigger.

Holylands girls have more ownership of our own student ghetto than the boys. You can’t stroll down Rugby Avenue without seeing groups of girls in GAA half zips and skinny jeans walking in packs, laughing about stories from the night before, showing cringy text messages they sent when they drunk and plotting the location of the “pre drinking” session they will be having tonight. They’re not just there to turn heads, they’re not just eye candy, they’re actually “deadly craic”.

I arranged an interview with a group of girls who live on Rugby Avenue and went over to their house on Tuesday. Or as Holylands girls call it “The day after Fly”. I walked into a room full of smiles and laughter as they informed me of events which occurred the night before.

Their house was a buzz of activity and gossip and positive vibes. It was full of: “I can’t believe you went with him”, “I was actually so drunk”, “He’s not actually bad looking”. Everyone was laughing, there were no pity hangovers.

And it’s because Holylands Girls take on such a positive look to seemingly negative things. They are the polar opposite of the pretentious “stuck up” girls you will find in the posher places of Belfast who would look their noses down at the idea of popping open a beer, wearing a Gaelic top and being a little un-lady like in order to have some fun.

They completely abolish society’s “Barbie Doll” expectations for them. They don’t feel the need for 50 per cent of their appearance to be fake and their sole desire in life is not to be chased by all the boys but rather enjoy the craic with them.

I decided to tag along on a night to a Bot Wednesday, part of the Holylands Mecca, with to of Fitzroy’s Finest.

Cookstown native Niamh Sheeky and Radiotherapy student Eva Conlon wanted to show us what a Holylands Girls night out was like first hand. Among a clatter of alcohol and mixers I noticed a bucket laying on the floor.

Niamh explained: “It has the white play suit I wore on Monday to The Fly steeping in it. Look at the cutta that there.

Revealing a moldy brown coloured expensive dress with black stains, she laughed: “The arse of it is pure destroyed. Our Ryan though it be hilarious to throw me about outside only for me to land on my hole”.

Their carefree attitude is liberating and refreshing. They cared more about pouring another glass of vodka and blackcurrant than ordering taxis.

The night was spent ordering countless shots, throwing shapes and chatting to mates, with a mantra of “Thank fuck we’re not in ’till 12 tomorrow”. They don’t end the night with drama, they end it with a Subway and with convincing me to walk upstairs in high heels so I can appreciate their expertise – it is as hard as it looks.

A night out with Holylands Girls epitomises their lifestyle: it’s nonstop laughter and craic, and then brushing yourself off and going to class the next morning.

So the next time someone asks you what’s your “perfect” woman, don’t start listing a bunch of specifics and simply pick the girl who has it all, a Holylands girl.