The Elect (Northern Irish Short Stories #3) by Gary Crossey
The third story in the Better World with Design Northern Irish Short Story series. In 1980s Belfast, while bombs and checkpoints divided the city, a small American religious community tried to build their own version of wholesome recreation. "The Elect" follows two young men navigating a church disco in Bangor, exploring themes of faith, performance, and belonging. Inspired by James Joyce's "Two Gallants" and drawn from journal entries kept during the my early years in Northern Ireland, this fictional narrative examines what happens when spiritual structures reward the appearance of goodness more than its practice. Part of a 15-story collection paralleling Joyce's Dubliners, set against the backdrop of Belfast.
