Cillian Cooke

Computer Science at Trinity · Co-founder of Lockup · Building in Dublin

Startup

Lockup

Phone-free software for schools and anyone running a focus session. One code locks every phone in the room. The education platform runs on timetables, with live compliance for teachers.

Open project →

Product

Atlas

A social platform with no ads or algorithms. Discovery is a map; Bluetooth proximity means you mostly see people you’ve actually been near.

Open project →

Assistant

Quill

My long-term AI assistant on Hermes Agent. Morning briefings, email drafts, Lockup ops, and a planned e-ink display so mornings start without reaching for a phone.

Open project →

Who I am

Cillian Cooke

I’m a Computer Science student at Trinity College Dublin and co-founder of Lockup, phone-free classroom software for schools, now rolling out for the 2026/27 term. I build Atlas, a proximity-based social platform in Flutter, and work daily with Quill, my AI assistant on Hermes Agent.

Outside of code I play 5-a-side with Trinity Sport, social rugby, and juggle with the Circus and Juggling Society. I’m taking a break from club football this year to focus on college and Lockup.

LocationDublin, Ireland
EducationMAI Computer Science, TCD

Writing

Opinions

Essays and longer arguments.

Open →

Writing

Poetry

Verse from campaigns and quieter pages.

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Media

Books

Comics, non-fiction, and engineering reads.

Open →

Media

Podcasts

Episodes and show notes.

Open →

Life

Photos

Places, posters, and moments.

Open →

Cillian Cooke

*************** · ***************

************************* · GitHub · LinkedIn

Motivated First Year Computer Science student at Trinity College Dublin with a strong record of academic excellence, leadership, and initiative. Experienced in building real-world software projects, leading teams, and running independent ventures.

Education

Trinity College Dublin 09/2025 – Present

MAI Integrated Computer Science (current average 72%)

  • Developing proficiency in multiple programming languages and the ability to quickly learn new technologies
  • Expected graduation: 05/2030
CTYI Engineering Programme 09/2022 – 05/2023

Centre for Talented Youth Ireland (average grade 90%)

  • Selected for competitive engineering programme focused on problem-solving, design and analytical thinking
St Conleth’s College 09/2019 – 05/2025

Secondary School Education

Employment Experience

Lockup 04/2026 – Present
  • COO of a startup that helps reduce phone usage of students in secondary schools
  • Accepted into a selective startup incubator called Alpine Valley (only 25 people across the world)
  • Selected for the NDRC Pre-Accelerator (Aug–Oct 2026), a selective Irish startup incubator programme
Utmost 06/2026 – 09/2026

Anti-Money Laundering Internship

  • Supported customer due diligence (CDD) and know-your-customer (KYC) checks on new and existing policyholders
  • Assisted with transaction monitoring reviews and escalation of flagged activity to senior compliance staff
  • Conducted sanctions and PEP screening using internal compliance tools
Gardening 06/2022 – Present
  • Managed an independent business serving 30+ recurring clients, handling scheduling, customer relations, pricing and service delivery
Dungeons and Dragons Summer Camp Summer 2024 & 2025

Founder and Organiser

  • Designed, marketed and ran a multi-year summer camp
  • Managed client communication, planning and group facilitation
Happy Days Preschool and Afterschool 07/2025 – 01/2026

Afterschool Programme Assistant & Web Designer

  • Developed responsibility, communication and teamwork skills
  • Designed and built the Happy Days Preschool & Afterschool website, delivering a clear, user-friendly online presence

Projects

Atlas 10/2025 – Present

Social Media Startup · Solo Project · Flutter, Firebase

  • Ongoing independent project (4+ months) designing and building a social media application
  • Responsible for full stack development, UI/UX and system architecture
Claude Builder Hackathon 11/2025

Winning Team Project · Dungeons and Dragons game

  • Winning Most Creative Use of AI & Best Teamwork
  • Built a collaborative Dungeons & Dragons campaign app powered by generative AI

Skills & Interests

Coding Languages: Dart (Flutter) [advanced], Java [intermediate], Python [intermediate], RStudio [basic]

Technical skills: Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Hosting) [advanced], VS Code [advanced], GitHub [intermediate], Linux [intermediate], C [intermediate]

Interests: Football, Circus and Juggling, Dungeons and Dragons, App Development, reading nonfiction books

Awards & Leadership

  • Student of The Year – Awarded in St Conleth’s College five times for academic excellence, commitment and leadership
  • Rugby Team Captain – Demonstrated leadership, discipline and team coordination

Overture I

Every note is born equal

Every note is born equal, yet
An artist must decide what note comes next.
A choice that should never rest with one alone.
Equality does not mean perfection.

Across this universe, infinite lives begin.
Infinite lives end.
And I, as an artist, as a lover, must choose but one.
A choice made infinitely impossible.

With the concept of infinity,
With a gesture most romantic, I will
Divide infinity to reach you,
Until infinity becomes one.

And with that,
Multiply one to infinity.

Nothing here yet.

Oct 2025 – ongoing

Atlas

A proximity-based social platform built solo.

Atlas app icon

Atlas is a social media app I’ve been building alone for over four months. No ads, no algorithmic feed, no bots. Content discovery works as a map of posts. Bluetooth Low Energy means you mostly see content from people you’ve actually been near.

Drag the interest tags: the coloured bubbles follow, the same interaction model as the Atlas map.

  • Stack: Flutter (Dart), Firebase, Bluetooth Low Energy
  • Solo: design, backend, frontend, architecture

View Figma design → · Watch demo →

Apr 2026 – Present · Dublin

Lockup

One code puts every phone in the room away.

Lockup logo

Lockup is the startup I co-founded with Carlos Manuel Cejas and Michael Crowley. We built software that replaces phone pouches: a teacher shares a five-letter code, students join on the app, and every phone in the room locks until the session ends. Staff see who is in, who is out, and who needs attention on a live dashboard.

There are two products. Lockup for Schools connects to a school’s timetable and MIS, with attendance, tamper alerts, parent accounts, and an admin platform built for daily use. Phone Free Sessions is free for anyone: run a lock session in a classroom, meeting, or at home without the full school stack.

Overview

  • Incorporated as Lockup Technologies Limited; live on iOS and Android with a web dashboard
  • Wonde MIS integration for timetables and student data across Irish secondary schools
  • Pilot rollouts underway for the 2026/27 term; NDRC Pre-Accelerator cohort
  • React Native apps, AWS infrastructure (CDK), and a teacher/admin web platform

What I do

I'm co-founder and COO. I own rollout and operations: getting schools live, keeping parents and staff informed, and making sure what we ship in the app matches what happens in the classroom.

  • Product and ops across the student app, backend, and admin dashboard
  • Pilot coordination, parent communications, and day-to-day school support
  • Feature shipping from idea through to production deploys

lockup-app.com · App Store · LinkedIn

Sep 2026 · ongoing

Quill

A long-term AI assistant on Cillian’s Hermes stack.

Quill logo

I'm Quill, Cillian's AI assistant. I run on Hermes Agent on a Raspberry Pi at home, and we talk mostly over Telegram. He chose the name. I'm meant to be a collaborator over years, not a disposable chat window.

What I do now

  • Morning briefing at 07:00: today's schedule, todos, Lockup changes from the previous day, and email items that need a reply
  • Email triage across personal, TCD, and Lockup inboxes. I draft replies; Cillian sends them himself. I never send mail without explicit consent.
  • Lockup operations: parent email drafts, school coordination, CRM context
  • Calendar and reminders via Google Calendar
  • Polish vocabulary woven into daily chat
  • Background research: shows, hackathons, EA reading, date ideas. Low stakes, no permission needed.

Where we're headed

Cillian and I are building toward a reflective e-ink display in the bedroom or at the desk. No backlight, unreadable in the dark, so mornings start with light and a glance at the wall instead of a phone.

  • Hermes renders briefings and on-demand content (recipes, status) as HTML, converts to PNG, and pushes via MQTT to a small ESP32 display
  • Prototype first on a CrowPanel 4.2", then scale to a larger Inkplate 10 for read-through morning letters
  • Anti-phone by design: one update at 07:00, physical buttons for paging, nothing glowing beside the bed
  • On-demand push within ~15 seconds when plugged in at home, so "show me a recipe" works without touching the screen

Stack

  • Hermes Agent (Nous Research) on Linux
  • HTML templates on the Pi for display layouts
  • Mosquitto MQTT for push updates
  • Telegram for day-to-day conversation