[7] Dessie played football for the Star of the Sea youth club in north Belfast,[8] where he was teammates with Bobby Sands and Raymond McCord as well as players who went on to join Loyalist paramilitary organisations.
[14] Bournemouth refused permission for Black to trial with Premier League Leeds United,[15] but at the end of the season did not offer a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) contract.
He had already begun playing senior football for Vale Recreation and had broken his arm in a Priaulx League match three weeks before his last training stint at Bournemouth.
[18] After twice being invited to Exeter City to play in trial games, Black was frustrated to receive a letter stating the club would only take on local players.
[28] Black was also forced to change lodgings under inauspicious circumstances for a second time, when the hosts – a lesbian couple in their fifties – pummelled youth team player Carl Stanford.
[31] When Morecambe faced Ipswich Town in the third round of the 2000–01 FA Cup in January, Black's exotic moniker provided the national media with a useful angle for editorial coverage of the event.
[33] Black made a total of 34 league appearances in the 2000–01 Football Conference season, as Morecambe finished in 19th place and narrowly escaped relegation.
"[34] In April 2003 Black scored twice in a 3–2 win at Farnborough Town after entering play as a substitute, securing Morecambe's place in the promotion play-offs.
[36] In November 2005, Black garnered national media attention in becoming Paul Gascoigne's first signing as manager of Conference North club Kettering Town.
[37] The move involved a £10,000 transfer fee and made Black one of two full-time professional players at the club, on a two-and-a-half-year contract with an annual salary of £20,000.
[41] Black immediately negotiated a contract with Barrow, at £60-a-week less than his basic Lancaster City deal, but the difference was more than made up by a lump sum signing-on fee to be paid in three instalments.
[42] He started his Barrow career in good form; scoring three goals in his first six games and playing in his favoured central role alongside loanee Tom Pope.
[43] A red card in an FA Trophy defeat at Worcester City, for elbowing Dennis Pearce, led to a three match ban which derailed Black's progress.
"[13] Frozen out by his manager and with his enthusiasm for the English non-League scene abating, he went on holidays during the season to Guernsey, Rome and Prague with girlfriend Becky.
[13] He also stepped-up his social activities, including fondly remembered team nights out in Leeds and Barrow-in-Furness, while considering a fresh challenge in his football career.
He was also baffled by the actions of Jávea's English manager Kenny Brown who proffered the contract offer without watching Black play or train.
"[52] Black quit Bamber Bridge in February 2009, to join Australian club Sunshine George Cross of the Victorian Premier League.
[53] When his appearances became sporadic, Black moved on to nearby Morwell Pegasus who played at the lower level Victorian State League Division 2.
Injuries caused further disruption to Black's season, before he accepted an offer to join Rossendale United, also of the Northern Premier League First Division North but at the bottom of the table, in March 2010.
[57] After receiving clearance from the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Black scored three goals in his first two games but was then sent-off in Vale's Guernsey FA Cup semi-final defeat.
[59] After scoring eight goals in 32 appearances as Guernsey FC secured a league and cup double, manager Tony Vance told the BBC that Black's contribution to the team was "phenomenal".
[62] In September 2012, delighted Black received an invitation to play in Zico's annual charity match, which features all-time great footballers from past and present.
[64] Although Guernsey came back from 3–0 down to win 4–3 in extra time, the thoughts of manager Vance were with his injured player: "It's a nasty break unfortunately, I feel devastated for the lad, he's such a cracking guy and so pivotal to us.
[69] One of Black's teammates at the Morecambe academy was Matt Spence, whose father Derek had been a professional in the Football League and played for Northern Ireland.
[70] But after scoring in all three trial games he played, he was "a bit gutted" to only be named on standby for upcoming UEFA European Under-18 Championship matches with Sweden and the Milk Cup.
[72] In meeting up with the squad Black was surprised to encounter his friend from Guernsey Chris Tardif, who had been called up on the strength of a British passport despite having no connection with Ireland.
He watched from the substitutes' bench as Northern Ireland lost 1–0 to Spain in their first match, as Tony Capaldi scored a late own goal in Almansa.
Despite a shortage of fit strikers, coach Phil Corbet did not give Black a favourable response and named the 2003 Island Games squad without him.
Recalling that transfer rumours had once linked him with Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, he admitted that although he played very well in spells he had more bad games than top professional players, who have almost none.
"[91] His mentor from Morecambe, Jim Harvey, believed that Black thrived on the attention brought by his name: "It would be a handicap for some kids to live with, but Ryan loves it.