IT Staff Spotlight: Ray Looney

22 Sep 2026

Meet Ray Looney, an AV IT Analyst in IT Services. In this spotlight, Ray shares details of his career to date, shares what working in UCC is really like and tells us a bit about life beyond campus.

Can you tell us about your background before joining IT Services? I started my student life in UCC in 2017, studying Sociology and Psychology. I quickly became involved in campus life, serving as Secretary and later Outreach Officer for the LGBTQ* Society, now Bród.

My interest in technology came largely from watching my dad repair computers and helping with his work in the tech sector. Although I was adamant as a teenager that I would not follow in his footsteps, I seem to have done exactly that, much to his amusement.

While my academic background may seem an unusual route into IT, the research, analytical and communication skills it developed have proven invaluable in my day-to-day work.

When did you start working in UCC and tell us a little about your job. I started working in the Student IT team in 2019. During the period of online teaching, I supported staff through the Teaching with Technology Teams channel and Canvas course before joining the audio-visual team in 2022.

Since then, I have played a key role in delivering online and hybrid events across the University, including Governing Authority meetings and the President's Town Hall, helping to ensure these events run smoothly for both in-person and remote audiences. I can often be found darting about in the background of events like these and many others ensuring everything runs as smoothly as possible.

I also contribute to the management and development of teaching and meeting technologies across campus, including overseeing a team of student staff who help maintain classroom technology across UCC's main and satellite locations.

In the height of exam season, I am often based in the Boole Basement, supporting lecturers to ensure MCQ marking reports are processed and available for exam boards on time. It is a service I take great pride in and one that I have worked to streamline over the past three years, helping to make the process smoother for our teaching colleagues.

What do you like about working in UCC and IT Services? I honestly love everything about UCC, and a lot of that has to do with the people who I share the campus with. Whether it’s our general services colleagues or my own team and department, I get to see and interact with much of our UCC community, and all make me very happy to be here. My time with IT Services has been a joy. Both as a student and now as a full-time member of staff, I have always felt welcomed and at home in our department. There isn’t a week that I don’t learn something from those I work alongside and it remains a highlight to collaborate across so many aspects of the university to provide the best service to our teaching and learning community. 

Outside of UCC, how do you like to spend your time? Outside of work I still spend too much time looking at screens both by playing videogames and watching the worst horror movies I can find. I do also continue to do some work in my studied field while consulting with research groups that focus on mental health and LGBTQ+ supports. This is something that I truly love and lets me scratch the academic itch I get as a natural researcher.

When I finally step away from my beloved screens, it’s usually to spend time in the kitchen, negotiating with my sourdough starter and oven. Baking has been part of my life since childhood and is still one of my favourite ways to switch off. There’s nothing better than a fresh bake after a long day. It also gives me a great excuse to make the trip home to Kerry, where it all started, to see my parents and, most importantly, Oliver, my three-legged cat, who I miss enormously while living in Cork.