PRII National Conference 2025

Simon Baugh

Chief Executive, UK Government Communication Service

Simon Baugh is the official senior-most communications adviser for the UK Government and leads a profession of more than 6,000 communicators. He has advised Government Ministers in the most high-pressure situations, including COBR emergency planning meetings. He led the country's official communications during the COVID-19 pandemic, the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the war in Ukraine. He is also known as a communications innovator and educator. As well as creating the Government's first GenAI tool, he created the 'New Media Unit', which responds to a changed media landscape to reach citizens directly with highly-targeted digital content to increase trust. He has also introduced new standards for communications evaluation, ethical innovation and combating disinformation, and he created GCS Advance, the UK's most comprehensive in-house learning and development offer for communications professionals, which operates from Apprentice to Masters levels.

Orlaith Blaney

Executive Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs, Uisce Eireann

Orlaith Blaney is Executive Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at the state water utility, Uisce Eireann. Her Executive leadership role is to inspire trust and confidence in the brand, formerly known as Irish Water. She leads an integrated team of strategic communications professionals across Corporate Affairs, Stakeholder Engagement, Internal Communications, Project Communications, Brand, Marketing, and Digital, which is fully aligned to the Uisce Éireann Corporate Strategy and to the Water Services Strategic Plan and Water Services Policy Statements.  Orlaith was formerly CEO of McCann Dublin, an integrated communications agency and at 32, she was appointed Managing Director, and was the youngest and first female to lead an international network agency in Ireland. A committed industry leader, Orlaith served on the Board of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland  (IAPI) and was its second female President. She is a fellow of IAPI and a fellow of the Marketing Institute of Ireland (MII). She is a Non-Executive Director on the Board of St Vincent's Healthcare Group (SVHG), and she previously held Non-Executive Board positions at both Guaranteed Irish and UNICEF. An advocate for female leadership, she is a member of the prestigious International Women's Forum (IWF). 

Deirbhile  Brennan, MPRII

Account Manager, Wilson Hartnell

Deirbhile Brennan is an Account Manager on the Health and Wellness team at Wilson Hartnell. She began her career in public relations across technology and corporate communications before moving into healthcare, an area she is particularly passionate about. In her current role, she works with clients and colleagues on national health campaigns, focusing on media relations, stakeholder engagement, and content development.

She and her partner, Fiona Peppard, recently won the Irish Cannes Young Lions competition in the PR category and went on to represent Ireland at the global PR Young Lions in Cannes, where their campaign was shortlisted and placed 4th worldwide.

 

Claire Hyland

Head of Insights & Strategy, THINKHOUSE

As Head of Insights & Strategy at THINKHOUSE, Claire leads The Youth Lab – the agency’s future-focused insights division that helps C-suite leaders drive organisational transformation through the lens of the next generation. With 20+ years’ experience across the UK, US, and Ireland, she blends cultural insight with creative strategy to unlock growth for ambitious global brands, including Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia, Keelings, AIB, CIE, Musgrave, Pernod Ricard, and Heineken. At THINKHOUSE – a B Corp and one of the world’s leading independent agencies renowned for bold, culturally-led work – she champions insight-driven ideas that are both impactful and sustainable.

Chloe Kavanagh, MPRII

Client Manager , Springboard Communications

Chloe Kavanagh, MPRII, is Client Manager with Springboard Communications and was named the PRCA Rising Star in 2025. Since joining the agency in 2023, she has worked with clients across sectors to create and implement their communications strategies, specialising in digital and content creation. She also launched The Digital Edit, a weekly LinkedIn newsletter designed to demystify digital trends. A passionate advocate for innovation and knowledge-sharing, she represented Springboard on an international stage at the Worldcom Public Relations Group Young Professionals Meeting in Budapest earlier this year. With experience across both agency and in-house roles, Chloe also holds a First-Class Honours MA in Public Relations with New Media from MTU.

Susannah Kerr, MPRII

Senior Consultant, Reputation Inc.

Susannah Kerr is a Senior Consultant at Reputation Inc., where she leads strategic communications and media campaigns across sectors, including professional services, healthcare, retail, and financial services. She holds a Master’s in Public Relations from TU Dublin and an Honours degree from Trinity College Dublin.

Susannah was recently named PRII Up & Coming Pro of the Year at the 2025 Communication Impact Awards and featured in DMG Media’s PR 40 Under 40 list. Beyond her client work, Susannah supports high-profile athletes’ personal reputation programmes and acts as PRO for the Leinster Rugby Metropolitan (METRO) region.

Andrew McLindon

Director of Communications, An Garda Síochána

Andrew McLindon has been Director of Communications, An Garda Síochána, for 12 years. As Director of Communications, Andrew is a strategic communications advisor to the Garda Commissioner and oversees media relations, internal communications, campaigns, public information, and public affairs. 

He was previously the Head of Communications and Marketing at Bus Éireann and Account Director at WHPR. 

He has an MA in Political Communication and an MSc in Marketing.

Shane O’Donoghue

Communications Lead, TikTok UK & Ireland

Shane O’Donoghue is a strategic communications leader with 20 years’ experience shaping narratives for some of the world’s most influential brands. At TikTok, he co-leads the UK & Ireland communications team, driving campaigns that position the platform at the heart of business, culture, and community. He has spearheaded TikTok’s B2B communications strategy across key verticals, including travel, sport, fashion, finance, and commerce, delivering hundreds of positive media placements in outlets such as The New York Times, FT, BBC, and The Guardian.

Shane has led the communications for major cultural and live-event campaigns for TikTok — from the Paris 2024 Olympics partnership to the Edinburgh TV Festival and SXSW London—working with creators, brands, and global partners to amplify TikTok’s cultural and commercial impact. Trusted by senior leaders, he provides counsel on complex issues ranging from regulation to brand safety, working to ensure TikTok is a safe and trusted platform for all users.

Before TikTok, Shane held senior agency roles with Bell Pottinger and Nelson Bostock, advising clients like Google, YouTube and BT and has worked in-house with Aviva and Vodafone, building a reputation as a trusted adviser in high-stakes environments. A passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in the communications space, he mentors underrepresented communications professionals looking to progress their careers in the industry.

Stephen O’Leary

Founder, Olytico

Stephen O’Leary is the founder of Olytico, Ireland’s leading social media analysis company. Olytico’s research and analysis have been featured by leading Irish and international media outlets, including RTÉ, The Irish Times, the BBC, and The Washington Post, reflecting its broad client base both in Ireland and abroad.

Stephen sits on the Commercial Advisory Group at Munster Rugby, the Communications Committee of the GAA, and is Past President of Dublin Chamber.

Stephen is a Fellow of Griffith College Dublin, where he lectured in Online Journalism.

Fiona  Peppard, MPRII

Account Director, Wilson Hartnell

Fiona Peppard, MPRII, is a PR professional with over 7 years’ experience, specialising in healthcare communications in her role as an Account Director at Wilson Hartnell. She provides support to a wide range of clients in the area of strategic counsel, content creation, stakeholder engagement, event management, public affairs, social strategy, issues/crisis management and media relations.

In 2025, she represented Ireland in the Young Cannes Lions competition in the PR Category. As one of seven teams that travelled to Cannes with IAPI, she placed 4^th in the global competition alongside her teammate from Wilson Hartnell.

A graduate of Dublin City University (DCU) with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies, she also holds the Diploma in Public Relations and Certificate in Account Management from the Public Relations Institute of Ireland (PRII). She was a mentor in the 2022 and 2024 Undergraduate Mentorship Programmes in DCU and has given guest lectures to students of both the PRII and DCU through the Alumni Office in recent years.

Paul Reid

Non Executive Director and Strategic Business Advisor

Paul Reid (formerly CEO of the HSE) will discuss the Challenges of a Cyber Attack during COVID.

Paul is an experienced board chairman and non-executive director. He is currently the board chairman of An Coimisiún Pleanála – the Irish National Planning Authority and Ashdale Care, a sector leader in the provision of specialist residential care services for children and young people.

He was previously a Non-Executive Director of Uisce Éireann, the Irish national water authority and between 2023 and 2024, Paul was the Independent Chairperson of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs. Before this, he held CEO and senior executive roles in the private, not-for-profit, central government, local government and health sectors. 

Paul was CEO of the Irish Health Service, HSE, from 2019 to 2023. During his term, Paul led the organisation through a major cyber-attack in May 2021. At the height of COVID, the attack, described as "sophisticated and serious" by Reid, forced the HSE to shut down its IT systems to contain the damage and protect patient data. He described the attack as having a "devastating impact" and potentially compromising all HSE data.