Name of Applicant:

Cormac O'Cuinn

Date of birth:

10/03/2011

Email address:

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Home tower:

St Patrick's Cathedral Dublin

County:

Dublin

Consent given:

Parent/Guardian name:

Eric O'Cuinn

Parent/Guardian email address:

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Application:

I am a member of the St Patrick's Society of Bell Ringers, I am a member of the Irish association of Change Ringers, and I am an overseas member of the Lancashire association of change ringers. I am the 45cwt tenor ringer at the cathedral for two services every Sunday, and although I have completed a number of quarter peals ringing on the inside, but my most recent was Plain Bob Caters on the back bells and I was asked to tenor for the band. I also represented the cathedral in the prestigious Lindoff cup competition team that our band won in 2025. It was a privilege to ring with and against some very seasoned Irish Ringers. I assisted in 2025 with A week of heritage talks and demonstrations on the value of bells and bell ringing in both St Patrick’s Cathedral Dublin and St Saviours Arklow. I also assist with training young ringers once a month in Northern Ireland at their monthly association practice.

As one of the few young ringers in Ireland I, with my dad make regular trips to predominantly to the Lancashire region to ring with other ringers of different levels to increase my skill levels but also build bridges for the future of bell ringing. I made a 60 second short movie screened at an Irish film called bells building bridges https://youtu.be/joQ6RLKi9Sc?si=8azv8VFDpSfOc290 The purpose was to promote something that inspires you in a 60 second window.

I also made a documentary on my bell ringing journey called the ultimate ring https://youtu.be/mXg-UmKoqyU?si=xVqL8Qzkm04Zd3jc that won an award at the Drogheda film festival. This formed part of my president’s award (Gaisce) that I was awarded in November 2025 for my contribution to bell ringing and it is the first time that a president’s award was presented for bell ringing.

My social media has brought some new ringers to my tower in Dublin. On a Sunday morning before Service ring, I help enthuse new potential ringers by teaching them the basics of bellringing. Some of these young people have special needs but feel confident enough to turn up on their allocated Sunday to learn. It started as a trial run last year, but I am booked for next few months every Sunday before morning service. I am supervised by the former ringing master at the Cathedral.

I attended the NWRC at Borwick Hall last August on the 6 to 8 program. The program not only helped me upskill my ringing, but it also helped my understanding of the value networking and how I can as a young ringer add value to the future of bell ringing through proactive interactions with other ringers, and by supporting as many events as is possible. If I am successful with the award, I want to attend another training program that allows me to upskill and to add value to my ambitions of teaching bell ringing to others, and to give me the opportunity to ring with ringers my own age.