Is God cool? - Church of Ireland

In the Church of Ireland, I'm part of an organisation. We believe in God and Jesus, but we don't pray to Mary and stuff like that, so that makes us different from Catholics. Most of my friends are Catholics, but we don't really ask each other about our religion. It's private.

I spent nine months preparing for Confirmation. We had meetings with the rector every second Sunday and then every Sunday coming up to Confirmation. A big part of Confirmation is getting us to take part in social activities in the church, like theatre groups and folk groups. There are excursions, too, and a weekend away with the other people you'll be making Confirmation with.

I made my Confirmation last October. When you're baptised, your parents and godparents make promises for you. At Confirmation, you make your own decisions. It's grownup. You're taking responsibility for your own faith now. I understood more about my faith and felt like I was closer to God.

The ceremony involves making a promise that you believe in God. You thank your godparents for helping you early in your life, but now you know you're going it alone.

I wore a long skirt and a top. They were new - pretty much everyone gets new clothes for the day. And you're usually given some kind of jewellery. I got a gold necklace from my parents, and some jewellery and vouchers from relations and friends.

After the ceremony, we all went down to the church hall and had tea and coffee and biscuits. That was organised by the people who had been confirmed the year before, so it'll be my turn to help out this year. Afterwards, we all went home for family dinners.