Curriculum Vitae – Cormac Leonard

Name: Cormac Leonard

Address: Drogheda, Co Louth

E-Mail: cormac.leonard@protonmail.com

Nationality: Irish

SKILLS

  • I am fluent in Irish Sign Language (ISL) and English, and am a trained and accredited ISL / English interpreter. I have basic British Sign Language (BSL), Irish, French and some Spanish.

  • I have worked in educational (all levels from Diploma / Degree to Masters / PhD level), medical, conference, television / stage, legal and workplace interpreting.

  • I have gained a wide range of research and information collation / processing / presentation skills through a variety of different positions and environments.

  • I have plentiful experience of project and general administration.

  • I possess extensive computer literacy, skills and knowledge through both career and personal use over many years.

  • I am adaptable and quick to learn.

  • I possess varied people skills, work well in teams, and can work reliably on my own initiative.

THIRD LEVEL EDUCATION

CAREER EXPERIENCE

  • Sign Language Interpreter (Freelance) July 2005 – date

Worked through Irish Sign Link / SLIS / Bridge interpreting agencies as well as freelance

Description:
Facilitated communication between ISL (Irish Sign Language) users / clients and hearing clients in a variety of settings – educational, one-on-one meetings, staff meetings, training courses, public meetings etc. I work through two interpreting agencies. I am an Active Member of Irish professional interpreter body CISLI (Council of Irish Sign Language Interpreters) and follow the 2011 CISLI Code of Ethics. I have been accredited R1 level through the 2006 Irish Sign Link accreditation process. I have been based in Cork City since August of 2009.

Hainault House, The Square, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Description:
Researched  and compiled a Service Pack for State funded interpreting service SLIS. This package consisted of Terms and Conditions, Health and
Safety Policy, a Code of Professional Conduct, and many other aspects of relations between interpreter, client and agency. I also functioned as a point of information for receptionist staff and management in relation to interpreting, best practise, ethics and professionalism etc. I piloted a booking service in ISL using the networking software ooVoo and was also available for face-to-face contact with Deaf visitors to the SLIS office.

40 Lower Drumcondra Road, Dublin 9

Position: Coordinator, Interpreting Placement Module Oct 2007 – May 2008; Oct 2008 – June 2009

Description:

Planned, lectured and co-ordinated the practical work placement aspect of the Diploma in ISL / English Interpreting. Aspects covered include ethical dilemmas, health and safety, and reflective practice. The role also included liaising with interpreters individually, interpreting agencies and Deaf-related organisations to ensure smooth delivery of placement experience for students, mentors, clients and agencies alike.

Position: Researcher, Signs of Ireland Project August 2005 – April 2007

Description:
Part-time researcher on Irish Sign Language corpus project, aiming to transcribe body of 40 video clips of Irish Sign Language along
detailed and agreed parameters, for the purposes of linguistic analysis of ISL. As well as transcription, I have also been a technical administrator on the project, converting clips to digital file formats, preparation and implementation of parameters of ELAN transcription software, and preparation of DVD resources from the data.

30 Blessington Street, Dublin 7

Position: Information Officer / Administrator / Consultant, May 2002 – June 2004

Duties:
Responsible for the Society’s information base. General running of operations within the Society, liasing between Board of Directors and staff / Society members, preparation of funding proposals. I was responsible for several successful funding applications to various Government departments in this period, which have resulted in major new projects being established within the Society. Preparation of funding proposals, composition and proof-reading of official documents, etc. Some communication support work, both face-to-face and via telephone, working between Irish Sign Language (ISL) and English.

Mind the Gap Films, 22A Fortescue Lane, Rathmines, Dublin 6

 

Position: Researcher Sept 2000–Feb 2001, Aug 2001–Feb 2002

Duties:
Generation of and developing programme item ideas for ‘Hands On’, RTE’s programme for the Deaf community as well as organisation of studio discussions, interviews, information-style pieces, etc. Programme items vary from light entertainment-style pieces of interest to Deaf people, to news items relating to Deaf issues and audience debates discussing Deaf politics and culture.

OTHER INFORMATION

Interests / Hobbies:

  • My interests include reading, music, politics and current affairs, deaf culture / sign language, the Internet, astronomy and genealogy. I love to travel, and spent the summer of 1996 working in the United States.

  • I am keen to learn new languages such as Spanish, German, Japanese and British Sign Language.

Achievements:

References available upon request

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