A woman who worked as a bouncer at a Belfast pub will be ordained this weekend as a deacon at a ceremony in Durham Cathedral Cambridge graduate Julia Candy has been called to the ministry of the Church of England and will train to become a vicar.

The 30-year-old, from Whitley Bay, will be based at Durham St Giles, not far from where she lives with her husband, 25-year-old Guy Bennett-Hunter.

She supported herself while studying for her PhD in psychology at Queen’s University in the Northern Irish capital by working as part of the security team in a bar.

Dr Candy said: “During the week, it was mainly students but at the weekend there were some real characters.

“There would be a mixture of Protestants and Catholics, so sometimes the troubles would spill over.

“But being a woman, I would usually have to deal with other females fighting about a man rather than 400 years of political unrest.”

Dr Candy based her research on the development of national identity and sectarian attitudes amongst Northern Irish children.

She experienced some scary moments, especially when she met with those who had been or continue to be involved in paramilitary activities.

She said: “I was in a taxi from a Catholic area and as we went down a staunchly Loyalist area, there was a group of youths causing trouble.

“They started pelting the taxi with stones and a brick came through the side window where I was sitting.

“I just screamed and we had to skidaddle out of there pretty quickly.”

Dr Candy, who attended Modern High School, North Shields, before studying for a degree in social and political science at King College, Cambridge, also ran a youth club on the notorious Shankill Road, in Belfast. She hopes to offer her skills to young people in Durham by setting up a youth club and drama group during her time at St Giles’ Church.

She said: “Young people feel like they are forgotten about and that they can offer nothing to society so they are dispossessed.

“They feel like nobodies but they are really special and have a lot of offer. They need to fee that they are taken seriously and listened to.”

Dr Candy, who was one of the members of the public standing on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London, last year with a placard that said “Humanity is underrated”, is one of seven people being ordained on Sunday.

The others are former Army captain Simon Cake, Phil Smith, Tom Glover, James Menzies, Sheila Day and Susan Chew.