Interviews

Name: Diarmaid Mac Mathúna
TCD Qualifications: B.A. Mod Physics (1999), M.Sc. Physics (2002)
About: Diarmaid is a Physics graduate who is passionate about science, creative video, the Irish language, but most of all his family. He met his wife Aoife in Trinity, the year they were both awarded Foundation Scholarships. Diarmaid is now Head of Client Services at Agtel.

What made you decided to study physics in Trinity?
I really only decided to study physics at Trinity when I went along to an open day and Professor Denis Weaire swept into the lecture theatre, looked around quickly and then calmly sprayed shaving foam all over the overhead projector. When he turned the projector on he proudly showed us the structure of the foam up on the big screen, and said that that’s what his research was all about: bubbles. That sounded like a fun way to spend your days to me so I put Trinity down as first choice on my CAO form.

What was your first job after College and what do you do now?
My first job after college was with the television and video company Agtel & Independent Pictures - and I’m still there fourteen years later. I started out on a work experience placement after doing a short television production course. Then after a few years as a TV programme researcher I was given the opportunity to make the move from the television side of the business to the video agency side. I’m head of client services there now, and I work with a great team to make creative, high impact videos for brands, businesses and organisations in Ireland and across Europe.

How do you combine your interest in science with creative arts?
I’ve always been lucky that a lot of our projects have been related to science in some way. Our clients include the European Space Agency and the Institute of Physics which are directly related to science and which have been great to work with. Recently, data visualisation and animated infographics have really taken off and we’re doing a lot of interactive digital projects for clients in different sectors. The skills I picked up as a physicist when it comes to spotting the patterns in data are really useful when you’re trying to help clients tell the stories behind the numbers.

What has been your proudest moment professionally?
My happiest moment at work was one morning a few years ago when a courier package arrived on my desk from the European Space Agency. Inside was a video tape that had come all the way from the International Space Station - it had footage on it of an astronaut doing experiments that we’d scripted for an educational video. It still had the velcro on it to stop it floating off in space!

Named Sunday Independent’s Top 30 Business Tweeter. Why is social media such an important tool for business?
Social media is an important tool for business simply because so many people are spending so much time on different social platforms. From Facebook to Snapchat, businesses and organisations need to be in the same places as their target audiences and consumers. Video is one of the best ways of getting the attention of people on social media and we’re specialising these days in creating “social videos” that work really well across different platforms.

You and your wife Aoife were both scholars in Trinity? Tell us about how you met.
This is a bit embarrassing because, yes, Aoife and I met when we were both awarded Foundation Scholarships in the same year. So I suppose you could say that the main thing I got out of the scholarship exams was a wife! We were friends for years before I eventually plucked up the courage to ask her out - and now we have three children!

You are both keen on the Irish language. Why is Irish language so important to you?
I guess I always took the Irish language for granted because I was raised through Irish. It was only when we had children and we were picking a school for them that it really clicked that it was an important part of what we wanted to share with them.

What are your goals or aspirations for 2016?
Professionally, the big thing that I’m focussing on this year is creating 360 degree immersive videos that people can watch on virtual reality headsets. That sounds a little bit like science fiction, and when I started physics in Trinity this kind of technology wasn’t around. But this year it’s finally something you can buy off the shelf which is creating great opportunities for new types of visual storytelling. At a personal level, I’m going to try to keep my work-life balance centered as much as possible. I’ve even done the same work-life balance course twice - needless to say they were a bit surprised to see me show up the second time!