Stephanie Brady
Head of Operations
Stephanie was the first employee of the Communications Clinic. She was appointed Head of Operations. And she took charge. Of pretty much everything. She is one of the most cheerful, helpful, hard-working people any of us know (she also swears like a soldier, but rarely to clients).
Stephanie started her career with American Express in Dublin, working in Card Services and Finance. From there she moved to Aveska Funding in Cork as office manager. When American Express set up a new Foreign Exchange branch in Dublin, they asked Stephanie to come back to join the set up operation. She agreed. The arrival of the euro, however, soon curtailed the need for expanded Foreign Exchange services and Stephanie decided the future was elsewhere.
She joined Carr Communications and was soon given responsibility for managing the Managing Director, then Terry Prone. When Terry retired as MD, Stephanie took charge of the new Managing Director, Dermot McCrum, while continuing to work with Terry. When Anton Savage became General Manager of that company, Stephanie decided she owned him as well.
In the Communications Clinic her remit is managing nearly every aspect of how we do what we do (while still owning Terry and Anton).
Breda Fox
Consultant
B.Comm, NUIG 1982. FCA, Institute of Chartered Accountants 1985. Msc. in Management Practice, TCD 2004
Breda Fox is a chartered accountant who has developed her expertise in entrepreneurial, multi-national and semistate environments over the last fifteen years. She has worked in finance, general management and customer care at senior level including Board level during that time.
Her experience includes The Point, Dublin where successful cost control programmes were implemented and the business restored to profitability. Following that, she worked with the multinational manufacturing company - Transitions Optical - as Finance Director with full responsibility for the finance function from pricing to compliance. During that time, she was Supply Chain Director with responsibility for product supply and customer service for the European region. During this time she halved inventory levels owned by Transitions with no impact on service levels for customers.
Breda was appointed non-executive director to An Post for a five-year term in 1992 becoming one of the youngest people to serve on a semistate Board at that time. She is currently a board member of Gaelstorm.
Breda established her own consultancy business in 2006 utilising her financial and general management experience to develop links with businesses requiring these skills. During 2007 she developed her skills base to include training and has worked as a trainer in communication, presentation, interviewing and media skills. She also works with the League of Credit Unions training in compliance and money laundering and with Skillnets training entrepreneurs on the financial aspects of successfully growing their businesses.
Not only has Breda got the longest set of letters after her name, she also has one of the longest work journeys – travelling regularly from her base in Galway to start the day with our clients in Dublin. Diligent, steadfast and takes no prisoners when it comes to giving you advice and counsel – that’s one of the reasons clients keep coming back to her.
Taunya Grogan
Marketing Consultant
BA, MPRII, MMII
Taunya Grogan has over 16 years experience in the marketing sector, with detailed knowledge and experience of all the elements of successful marketing campaigns including sales promotion, advertising, direct marketing, PR, community relations programmes and event management.
Having worked both in agencies and in the corporate sector, she has a unique perspective of both sides of the marketing requirement working with huge success with varying budgets from the very small up to the multi million euro accounts.
She is currently contracted to The Communications Clinic as a Marketing Consultant working on a number of PR projects.
Previous companies she has worked for include:
Head of Marketing with M&P Sales & Marketing (2002-’06) (formerly Swedish Match) responsible for over 35 brands and specifically handling well-known brands such as Lemsip, Disprin, Wilkinson Sword, Twinings, Maguire & Paterson and Rennie.
Dimension Marketing (1996-2002) (part of the McConnell Group) as Account Director responsible for major blue chip accounts including Eircom, Texaco, 11811, C&C and Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
In addition, she has also worked in a marketing capacity for Carr Communications, KPMG, Rotunda Hospital and Corporate Image Ltd.
Taunya is simply the business when it comes to the execution and implementation of client projects, and market research. She does not give up until every last detail has been pinned down and dealt with and presents you with a detailed task list of everything that has been completed – within deadline. That’s a hallmark of how she and everyone in the Communications Clinic approaches their work.
Ruth Hickey
Senior Consultant
Ruth Hickey joined the Communications Clinic in March 2008.
It was almost four years to the day after Terry Prone convinced her to put her clarinet down.
She had been a musician with the RTE concert orchestra, until Terry met her and offered her a job.
She started in Public Relations with all the qualifications to make her a superb clarinettist. And rapidly developed into one of the finest consultants in the industry.
She has managed accounts including KPMG, the Road Safety Authority and InterTradeIreland. She has managed hundreds of events for clients including bringing Eli Lilly’s Global Leadership Development Programme to Ireland for the first time.
She has also project managed numerous complex projects including the re-write and design process of the Rules of the Road for the Road Safety Authority. She managed the stakeholder consultation process for the Road Safety Authority's Road Safety Strategy 2007-2011, engaging key stakeholders to participate in closed workshop sessions over two days in Croke Park Conference Centre.
And it was in her work with the RSA that she earned the nickname that we think sums her up nicely. At one event, the RSA chairman Gay Byrne thanked her for her work, and christened her Ruthless.
He meant it in a positive way. So do we.
We’re still looking for her ‘off’ button. With Ruth, you ask her to do something, light the blue touch-paper and retire to a safe distance.
If you hire Ruth, you get delivery. Astonishing delivery.
Gerard Kenny
Senior Consultant
Gerard Kenny joined the Communications Clinic in March 2008. It meant doing his second job interview. His first was done twenty years ago. Few people have a twenty-year career based on only two interviews. Even fewer have a twenty-year career based on two interviews with the same employer. Terry Prone hired Gerard in 1988. And she hired him again in 2008. And her primary reasons were the same: Ger is one of the smartest and most likeable people you could meet. But the 2008 interview was different. This time she was hiring one of the most experienced Public Relations consultants in the country.
He has worked for dozens of organisations including The Medical Council, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Irish Pre-school Playgroups Association, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin Port, the National Museum of Ireland and the Department of Health. He has provided ongoing strategic consultancy in media relations and in the preparation of press stories and feature articles for clients including KPMG, The Point Theatre, Irish Autism Alliance, Point Village, and the Companies Registration Office.
He also spent two years ghost-writing weekly opinion pieces for a national broadsheet, as well as preparing numerous speeches for business leaders, politicians and senior executives.
If you hire Ger you get the same thing we do: an invaluable resource masquerading as the most laid-back man on the planet.
Hilary Kenny
Head Of Training Clinic
B. Comm., H. Dip (Adult and Community education), Advanced Diploma (Child Protection), M. Sc. in Education Management.
Hilary joined the Communications Clinic as Director of the Training Clinic from Carr Communications where she had been head of that company’s training division.
She has been a trainer for over thirty years. She has trained and provided consultancy in every communications-related area, including media, presentation, facilitation, writing, speech writing and interview training and preparation.
As you can see from the top of this page, Hilary is creaking at the knees from the weight of her various qualifications. Her specialism and interest in Adult, Child and Community Education led to becoming Barnardos Team Leader of the combined Tallaght Community Development and Family Services Projects, Chief Executive of IPPA, the Early Childhood Organisation, Chair of a sub-group of the National Childcare Coordinating Committee and a member of the Board of Children’s Rights Alliance. Not all at once, obviously.
Hilary is defined by her capacity to make an astonishing emotional commitment to her clients. And her clients do very well because Hilary is not just a bundle of qualifications; she is someone who works here because it lets her make a difference to people at crucial times; when they’re facing a tough interview, when they’re going for a job, when they’re standing up to make a pitch.
If you hire Hilary, you’ll find someone who cares as much about your success as you do.
Eoghan McDermott
Head Of Careers Clinic.
BA Economics & Politics (Hons)
Eoghan joined the Communications Clinic as Director of the Careers Clinic in March, following a number of years as a Senior Consultant with Carr Communications. He provides training and consultancy in Job Interview Preparation, Recruitment, Communications Skills, Presentation Skills, Speech Writing, Media Skills, Customer Relationship Management and Sales training.
He has a degree in Economics and Politics from University College Dublin. He specialised in European Economics, Industrial and Trade Economics, Political Communications and Law.
Eoghan has provided consultancy and training to organisations as varied as Cement Roadstone Holdings, AIB, Dublin City Council, Roche Pharmaceuticals, the Environmental Protection Agency and the GAA. He is also communications and media advisor to a number of Ireland’s top sportspeople.
He contributes to a number of publications and radio programmes and is the Career Clinic for the Sunday Tribune.
In other words, Eoghan has a posh degree and has worked with lots of impressive people. Several other people have posh degrees and work with impressive people.
What sets Eoghan apart is dedication. Dedication first to his understanding of communications; his colleagues believe he was born holding a notebook, because he reads, listens and notes everything that relates to why people do what they do and say what they say. But more important than that is his dedication to the people he serves; if you hire Eoghan, you get the absolute undivided attention and dedication of one of the most insightful people you’ll ever meet.
Enda McNulty
Senior Consultant
Enda McNulty has an academic record that is second to none; with a Degree in Psychology from Queens University Belfast and a Masters in Sports Science attained in the University of Ulster. He is the epitome of lifelong learning and invests an inordinate amount of time studying all aspects of physical and mental fitness; most recently he spent 5 weeks in Japan.
Enda has been actively involved in sport for twenty years. He has a unique skill set, in that he has played and coached Gaelic Games at all levels. In 2002, he won an All-Ireland medal playing for Armagh. Enda was employed for four years as a coaching director at one of the largest G.A.A clubs in the country; Ballyboden Saint Enda’s G.A.A club.
In 2005 Enda began working in performance excellence in business and sport, inspiring and motivating many different teams, individuals and organisations. He now advises and works with some of Ireland’s top sporting and business teams. He provides a unique fresh thinking, which has given impetus to the Irish sporting and business community.
Enda has been enlisted to work closely with a number of Ireland’s athletes who competed in the Beijing Olympics in August 2008. Enda has a diverse portfolio of experience in that he advises professional sportsmen and women in soccer, basketball, golf, rugby, tennis and gaelic games.
Three years ago he set up a company - Motiv8 - to offer a range of services that help unleash hidden potential within individuals, teams and organisations. His record of success to date has been phenomenal. He was recently named as the number one inspiration to Ian McIver, the only Irish man to climb seven mountains in the world within record time, despite having no climbing experience.
We can’t really add to that. Anyone who can help a guy climb seven mountains in a row doesn’t need any further promotion by us. Except to suggest he might get a cameo role alongside Julie Andrews in the remake of The Sound of Music.
Daragh O’Shaughnessy
Director
Daragh O'Shaughnessy is a tax partner with KSi Faulkner Orr and has many years experience in advising both corporate and personal clients on a variety of taxation issues. He has lectured on taxation matters for the Certified Public Accountants Institute as well as contributing to articles in the legal and accounting journals and commentary on personal finance for Today FM. Daragh is a member of the Advisory Board for notschool.net
Terry Prone
Head of Crisis Clinic
Terry has no degree. In anything. She sees this as a weakness, so we try to highlight it wherever possible. Like here…
Terry was on TV at fifteen, had her own radio programme by nineteen, was an editor of a magazine by twenty one, wrote her first book by twenty five. That book led on to twenty-five others, several of the novels becoming best-sellers reprinted in five languages and one of which was awarded the RTE Francis McManus Award for short-story writing. Several of the non-fiction works became required reading on third–level communications courses (even though she doesn’t have a degree. Didn’t want to miss the chance to mention that again.)
She was a script-writer for the Gay Byrne Hour, has written numerous TV and radio plays and has written more than 8,000 major speeches for political and business clients.
She was a Director of Carr Communications before she was thirty and succeeded Bunny Carr as Managing Director, expanding the company and building its reputation and profile.
She’s also been an editor within one of Ireland’s national newspapers as well as editing magazines for the Creation Group and The Institute of Public Administration. Terry has written for every national paper, is a columnist with the Irish Examiner and a regular commentator for The Sunday Tribune. She has also appeared on nearly every current affairs programme in the nation, (and several in the USA) and is a regular on Today with Pat Kenny.
She was seconded to the Department of Environment as the Chief Communications Advisor to the Minister, and has advised nearly every Taoiseach since Jack Lynch. Her services have been retained by all of the major parties in the Dail. (Thankfully none of them asked for third-level qualifications…)
Terry has served on the Boards of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin Zoo, Magill Magazine and The Arts Council. She was on the first Board of the Independent Radio and Television Commission (later the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland).
She is a founder Director of the Communications Clinic and is a key part of the development of its training and public relations services. Something she’s got quite a lot of experience in, given that she has trained in eleven countries, provided consultancy to hundreds of the top companies in the country, designed training programmes in every aspect of communications and was one of the first people to develop Media Training in Ireland.
If you hire Terry, you get Terry. Not a pitch-and-switch. Like most of us in the Communications Clinic, she is here because she loves what she does. (Plus who else would hire her with no degree?)
Anton Savage
Managing Director
While studying for a degree in English Literature in Trinity, Anton began working in radio as a researcher for Radio Ireland's Daybreak show. Within months he was directing the programme.
From there he moved to Carr Communications' Training Department, where he provided consultancy to organisations as diverse as the Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) and Aer Rianta.
Anton's expertise in broadcast communication has led him to train and consult with numerous senior radio presenters and producers, and to prepare senior print journalists and editors for broadcast from newspapers including The Irish Times,The Irish Independent, The Sunday Business Post, The Sunday Tribune, The Irish Examiner, The Star and the Evening Herald. He now specialises in Media and Presenter training and public communications consultancy.
In that role, Anton is the strategic consultant retained by a number of Ireland's leading politicians, media figures and business people.
In case he gets notions about himself as the MD, staff regularly make sure that he cleans the kitchen, makes coffee for them, checks that the office garden is tidy, writes proposals for clients and newspaper features, and comes in at weekends to see if everything is shipshape for Monday morning.
Tom Savage
Chairman
BA, BD, Dip. Soc. Stud. (QUB)
Tom Savage, our Chairman was appointed Chairman of the RTE Authority on the 23rd of February 2009. We’re chuffed. We thought we’d post his full fancy CV for a few days. (We’re also much more respectful to him in here….)
Directly after graduation from Queens University Belfast, Tom Savage became the first ever Director of Social Welfare in the Archdiocese of Armagh in 1968-1972. Appointed to the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) in 1968 by Cardinal William Conway, he was, at the time, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Middletown Training School for girls in County Armagh and served on committees of the Department of Home Affairs in Stormont.
During the Troubles, he was the priest sent by Cardinal Conway to welcome the British troops – then seen as peacekeepers – into the province.
In 1972 he was seconded to the Catholic Communications Institute at the request of Bunny Carr, Director of the Catholic Communications Centre in Booterstown, Dublin, where he became a lecturer. During those years, he was a regular presenter of the End the Day religious programme on UTV and of Outlook on RTE TV.
Tom Savage lectured in the Sociology of Media and Central and Local Government in the School of Journalism in Rathmines and was a third level external examiner for the then VECs in Athlone and Carlow. He was the first Health Promotion Officer of the then HEB.
He served as night news editor in RTE Radio for many years and also worked in the news features department. He presented RTE’s It Says in the Papers. He was the co presenter of a TV Magazine programme on RTE and also presented the Eyewitness to History and For Better or For Worse television series. He was the first producer of Morning Ireland.
Tom Savage edited several publications, including the IPA's Public Affairs and the IMO's Irish Medical News, where he was the first editor, setting up the new publication.
Tom Savage has developed training programmes in Listening, Negotiation and Recruitment Interviewing, which result in radical, measurable improvement in performance. He has delivered consultancy and management training in Britain, the US, Canada, Greece, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. He was Communications Advisor to Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
He created and delivered communications training programmes for development NGOs including Gorta, Trocaire and Concern, as well as filming a number of video programmes on location in Africa. Tom Savage was one of the leading trainers in the implementation of Performance Management Development Systems in the Irish civil and public service. He carried out a major programme of performance management/training in all sections of UTV while providing training for many of UTV’s front-of-house presenters. His textbook on negotiations, How to Get What you Want, was published in Ireland and several overseas countries.
He has been a lifelong member of the Cooley Kickham GAA club, has played senior football for the county and won an all Ireland junior medal in 1961. He also was a member of the first Queens University GAA team to the Sigerson cup.
Ailish Smith
Consultant
BA Communication Studies, Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations and Event Management.
Ailish joined the Communications Clinic as a Consultant in March 2008.
Ailish left Dublin City University with an honours degree in Communication Studies. She specialized in radio production and produced several radio pieces including a 40 minute documentary. Then she dove straight into more education by signing up for a diploma in public relations and event management at the Fitzwilliam Institute. When the Communications Clinic started, she was one of the first staff to be hired. She was one of the first for a few reasons; she writes beautifully, she makes every client’s problem her problem and she works incessantly.
Ailish has worked with the Road Safety Authority (RSA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ahead, Respond, Irish Autism Action and the Point Village. She was part of the drafting and editing of the Road Safety Strategy 2007-2012. She’s organised launches drafted innumerable press releases and dealt with countless media outlets.
Hire Ailish and you get someone who cares about what she does, cares about her clients and is a pleasure to deal with.