Cian's cabinet skills put to the test

Mullingar student Cian Mulligan is one of eight young apprentices students to have made it to the all-Ireland final of the National Skills Competition in Cabinet Making, at DIT starting on September 10.Donal Keys, chairman of the DIT National Skills Organising Committee, said: "National Skills 2010 will test apprentices from all over Ireland. We have everyone from cabinet makers from Letterfrack to aircraft engineers for Ryanair in Dublin; the variety and depth of skills is huge."This week they will receive two and half days of intensive testing, which will ensure only the best competitors can win the title of national champion in their trade and go on to represent Ireland."Cian was educated at Mullingar Community College and is currently a student on the BSc Furniture Design and Manufacture Degree Course in GMIT, Letterfrack, County Galway.The college is in Connemara and is a dedicated woodworking college, producing the finest designers and makers of bespoke furniture and woodwork teachers in the country.A student from the college has won the cabinet making section of the competition for the last six years.Cian is going into third year, and after Christmas, as part of his course, will be going on work placement with one of the top designers and makers of bespoke furniture in Ireland, Klimmek and Henderson Furniture (www.klimmek-henderson.com), whose portfolio includes work for AIB, Ulster Bank and numerous others."I am fortunate to have come from a family with a strong tradition of fine woodworking," says Cian. "My grandfather is Frank Mulligan, whose work on shopfronts can still be seen throughout Mullingar."www.dit.ie/news/archive2011/nationalskills/