PRII National Conference 2026

Madeline Boughton, MPRII

Assistant Professor and Programme Chair of the MSc in Public Relations and Strategic Communications, DCU

Madeline Boughton is Assistant Professor and Programme Chair of the MSc in Public Relations and Strategic Communications in DCU. She teaches on public relations, government communications and communications management and is currently completing a Doctorate by Publication. Madeline has over thirty years’ experience working in senior management in the arts and international cultural relations in Ireland and abroad, including roles with Culture Ireland, the British Council, Project Arts Centre, the Abbey Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival, Ireland 2016 and the Creative Ireland Programme.  As an independent arts and communications consultant, Madeline has worked with a range of arts and cultural organisations and local government bodies including the Arts Council, Irish Writers Centre, Irish Architecture Foundation, Limerick City and County Council, the Hugh Lane Gallery and Luail, Ireland’s new national dance company.  
 

Stuart Bruce Chart.PR, FPRCA, FCIPR FAMEC

Co-CEO, Purposeful Relations

Stuart Bruce, The PR Futurist, is known as an international innovator in public relations, communications and corporate affairs. He works globally advising in-house communications leaders and PR agencies on AI adoption, AI as a stakeholder (GEO/AEO), social licence for AI and the measurement and evaluation of communications and reputation.

 

He’s on the Executive Committee of the Davos World Communication Forum Association and the PRCA PR and Communications Board where he leads its AI working group. His company has advised clients such as the OECD, Google, Nestlé, Rolls-Royce, Sanofi, Sage, NICE, Network Rail, National Grid, SEA-LNG, European Commission and the Ukrainian government.

Nicola Cooke, MPRII

Telecommunications Director, IBEC

Nicola, a Director at Ibec, has over 20 years of experience in media and communications. She has a background in journalism and corporate roles, specializing in public and corporate affairs, strategic, internal, and crisis communications.

She previously worked as a journalist for the Business Post, Irish Examiner, and Evening Echo/Herald. In 2014, she moved to corporate communications, serving as Media & PR Manager at Bus Éireann, Head of Communications at National Broadband Ireland (NBI), and later as Corporate Account Director at Murray Consultants.

James Dunny, FPRII

Founder and CEO , Reput8ion Dynamics

James Dunny FPRII is a senior strategic communications adviser with over three decades' experience working at the highest levels of Irish and international business. He is the Founder and CEO of Reput8ion Dynamics, where he advises boards, CEOs and leadership teams on reputation management, stakeholder engagement, crisis and issues management and organisational change — increasingly at the intersection of communications strategy and artificial intelligence. James previously served as External Communications Director for Kerry Group and was Head of Crisis Management for EMEA at FleishmanHillard, advising global organisations on complex reputational challenges. A Fellow of the PRII, PRII Award winner, mentor and committed advocate for ethical practice, James is widely respected for his judgement, discretion and leadership, and for his ongoing contribution to strengthening communications as a strategic leadership function in Ireland and internationally. He is a keen advocate for the responsible adoption of AI in professional communications practice.

Robert Farrell

Public Relations Institute of Ireland

Robert is the Head of Training And Development with the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. He is on a mission to develop the next generation of leaders for the Digital and AI age. He has over a decade of experience in designing, delivering, and managing education and training programs, both domestically and internationally. Robert has worked with universities and corporates including UCD, TUD, Griffith College, Fáilte Ireland, Innopharma, the Education & Training Boards, Citibank, Hubspot, Amplexor, BT and Almarai. Additionally, he is a non-executive director with the Compliance Institute.

Edel Fitzgerald

Partner, Reputation Inc

Edel Fitzgerald is a Partner at Reputation Inc, Ireland’s leading stakeholder intelligence and advisory company. Founded in 2002, Reputation Inc has spent more than two decades helping organisations understand the stakeholders who shape trust, reputation and long-term success.

 

Edel advises clients across a broad range of reputation, stakeholder engagement and corporate communications challenges, with particular expertise in the highly regulated pharmaceutical, medtech and healthcare sectors. She also leads major reputation intelligence projects across a wide range of industries, helping organisations navigate complexity, manage risk and make stronger strategic decisions.

 

Having worked in EU public affairs in Brussels and in food marketing in Amsterdam, Edel brings a strong international perspective and a deep understanding of stakeholder engagement across markets. She has led a number of international advocacy and communications campaigns and has extensive experience supporting trade associations and representative bodies.

 

Before joining Reputation Inc, Edel held roles with a range of organisations including MedTech Europe, the European Cancer Organisation, Bord Bia and the German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce. She holds a BA in European Studies from the University of Limerick and an MA in European Integration and Public Policy from Queen’s University Belfast.

Sonia Harris Pope, MPRII

Founder & MD, Harris PR

Sonia established Harris PR in 2009, following a decade in agency PR and three years as a journalist with the Sunday Independent.  Her vision is to provide a truly people centric service, delivering standout creative work that moves the dial, while acting as an extension of client teams.
While taking an active role in client work, alongside running the business, Sonia is responsible for strategic counsel, creative oversight and KPI delivery.  She has advised multinationals, start-ups, NFPs, and more over the course of her career and is deeply committed to advancing the PR industry by investing in talent and building an agency culture rooted in fairness and inclusivity.

Sonia is committed to advancing DEI in the PR Industry, and recently commissioned research and prepared the first benchmark report and toolkit for employers on the state of DEI in PR Ireland.  An active member of the PRII, and co-founder of the DEI PR Bursary now in its third year, Sonia has recently joined the board of the PRCA, and is committed to driving more inclusive hiring and workplace practices throughout the industry.

Teri Kelly

Founder & CEO, Total Reputation

Teri Kelly is the Founder and CEO of Total Reputation, a strategic communications and technology business that helps organisations protect and enhance their reputations through evidence-based audits, advisory and crisis preparedness.

A former Director of Representation and Member Services at the Law Society, she has more than 25 years’ experience in communications, brand, and marketing across the legal, finance, technology, and energy sectors.

Teri holds a master’s in political science and is a graduate of the Institute of Directors’ Chartered Director Programme. Teri is a member of the National Council of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland and a Board Member of the Ireland Alberta Trade Association and Active Disability Ireland. She regularly advises boards and leadership teams on reputation risk, communications governance, and stakeholder strategy.

Dan Lambert

Chief Commercial Officer, Bohemian Football Club

Dan Lambert is Chief Commercial Officer at Bohemian Football Club, where he has played a central role in shaping the club’s strategic and commercial direction. Over the course of his tenure, he has held a number of senior positions including COO, Commercial and Marketing Director. He has led the development of a five-year strategic plan for the club, while also overseeing key initiatives such as securing the long-term preservation of Dalymount Park and delivering innovative commercial and marketing strategies.

Beyond his work at club level, Dan previously served on the Board of Directors of the Union of European Clubs. Since 2019, he has also managed the internationally acclaimed music group Kneecap. Earlier in his career, Dan worked as a Political Advisor to Ireland at the United Nations and he is also the founder of Bang Bang Dublin.

Finian Murphy

Public Researcher & Communication Strategist, Core

Finian began his career interning at PR agency Carr Communications and has since worked across creative, media research and communication planning on a wide range of client projects. 

Along the way he has had the opportunity to collaborate with organisations including Three Mobile, Heineken, Diageo, the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), First Music Contact and Other Voices, and to speak at conferences such as SXSW and the Web Summit. He was also part of the team that contributed strategic communications to the Yes Equality campaign in 2015.

 

In recent years, much of Finian's focus has been on public sentiment and cultural insight - most notably through Core's Mindset series, which tracks the attitudes and values shaping Irish society. This work has extended into the public sphere, including being commissioned to contribute research to the Future of Media Commission, an independent review examining how people engage with information and the future of Irish media. More recently, he has been involved in Core's research into artificial intelligence, exploring how Irish people understand and respond to its growing presence in everyday life.

 

Finian is also part of a coalition examining the harms of digital technology, and has a particular interest in the role of trust in public discourse.

Alongside his research work, Finian writes a monthly column for The Journal and contributes regularly to a range of media outlets

Ciarán O’Connor

Senior Analyst, Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD)

Ciarán O’Connor is a Senior Analyst at ISD, working in the Research and Policy unit. Ciarán leads ISD's work in Ireland, where he has co-authored reports and investigations into extremism, disinformation and hate. He was a lead coordinator and researcher on Uisce Faoi Thalamh, the country’s first landscape study of the online ecosystem where mis- and disinformation and conspiracy theories thrive in Ireland. He has represented ISD on multiple parliamentary committees and appears regularly in Irish and international media.

Adebola Olomo

CEO, Zent AI Labs

Adebola Olomo is an AI and marketing strategist working at the intersection of technology, communication, and business transformation, helping organisations navigate the opportunities and challenges of the digital age.

She is the CEO of Zent AI Labs, an artificial intelligence infrastructure and training company that helps organisations build the foundations required to adopt and scale AI responsibly.

Adebola is also the founder of Deefrent Media Agency, a marketing and communications consultancy she has led for over a decade, advising organisations on digital transformation, storytelling, and brand strategy.

She serves as a Director within the global leadership of Women in AI, where she contributes to initiatives advancing responsible innovation, inclusion, and the future of work in an AI-driven world.

Adebola is the author of Marketing with AI and Marketing Across Borders, and regularly guest lectures on artificial intelligence and international marketing to postgraduate students. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Marketing.

Muiriosa Ryan

Social Media and Digital Marketing Manager, HSE

Muiriosa Ryan is the Social Media and Digital Marketing Manager in the HSE. She leads all HSE social media services, including the day-to-day health service updates and contact services, and all planned social media health service and information campaigns. Her work focuses on delivering clear, accurate public health information across platforms, managing campaigns, and responding to public queries in real time. She personally led and designed the social media campaign on HPV vaccine from 2016 onward, through all the phases of the response to the misinformation campaign, and the recovery of the uptake from 50% back to over 80%. The learning from that work was been hugely helpful in guiding the HSE’s approach to the record breaking COVID-19 vaccine uptake rate in Ireland. She has a key role in shaping the HSE’s online presence, particularly during major health initiatives and public information campaigns, ensuring messaging is accessible, timely, and aligned with national health priorities.

Neil Sands

Founder, Halo

Neil Sands is a technology entrepreneur, AI strategist, and former Salesforce executive working at the intersection of artificial intelligence, risk, and digital systems. He is the founder and CEO of Halō, a predictive AI platform transforming how risk is priced, monitored, and managed across insurance and regulated industries.

He previously founded Salesforce Ignite in Silicon Valley, where he spent a decade leading innovation and product development programs for organisations including Disney, Ticketmaster, and the NHS, and has worked with partners such as Forbes, Deloitte, Guy Carpenter, and Markel to build next-generation data and intelligence platforms.

Through his commercial work in Halō, Neil is leading the development of Unmask, an AI platform focused on digital accountability and de-anonymizing harmful actors online. This work is informed by his landmark legal case against the operators of Tattle Life, now a high-profile example of how anonymous platforms can industrialise and monetise online harm. His work explores how AI, law, and system design can be combined to restore accountability in digital environments, and is currently being utilised by legal and law enforcement bodies at the federal level in the United States and beyond.

Neil is previously a 4th generation officer of the Irish Defence Forces, and graduated from NUI Maynooth with a degree in mathematics and statistics, and an MBA from UCD's Smurfit School of Business.

Amy Seigenthaler Pierce, MPRII

Managing Partner, U.S. and Ireland, FINN Partners Communications

Amy is managing partner for FINN Partners U.S. and Ireland, bringing extensive experience in national and international strategic communications, crisis management, public affairs and diplomacy to the firm's clients. She advises organizations across multiple verticals, from health to professions services to the arts. In addition to her duties at Finn, Amy represents Ireland as Honorary Consul to the state of Tennessee, forging deeper economic and cultural ties between the two communities. 

Prior to her career in communications, Amy worked in the U.S. diplomatic corps as Special Aide to U.S. Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith at the American Embassy in Dublin during the Irish peace process. She began her career as a journalist at regional newspapers in the Boston area. 

Amy serves on the Boards of Music City, Inc., the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. Foundation; US-Ireland Alliance; and American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. She also is the Ireland country representative to Sister Cities International. 
 
Amy holds a B.A. in English and minor in American Studies from Boston College and studied at the University of Kent, Canterbury, England.
 

Mike Sheridan

Journalist, filmmaker and broadcaster

Mike started his career as a film critic and journalist, before going on to edit Ireland’s leading entertainment and news websites (Entertainment.ie, Joe.ie, Buzz.ie). In 2012, Mike featured in the ultramarathon documentary Challenge 126. In 2013, Mike trained with acclaimed MMA coach Owen Roddy for three months before taking part in his first MMA fight. The journey was documented in the film Barbaric Gentlemen, featuring appearances by Conor McGregor and Dana White. Mike launched The Delve, a podcast interview series, in 2018, featuring guests ranging from Keanu Reeves and Bill Burr to Jordan Peterson, John Bolton, and Amanda Knox, amassing 12 million views across three seasons. Amplified is Sheridan’s directorial debut.

Naomi Staff

Managing Director, Core Research

Naomi is MD of Core Research, part of Ireland’s largest marketing communications company. She helps organisations make smarter decisions by deeply understanding people - what they think, feel and do.

 

With over 17 years’ experience, including roles at Kantar and Millward Brown, Naomi has worked across a wide range of sectors including health, financial services, FMCG and telecommunications. She partners with leading organisations in Ireland and internationally on challenges at the intersection of communications, behaviour change and public understanding.

 

Her work focuses on uncovering the human insight behind the data, combining qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand not just what people do, but why they do it, and how that insight drives action and deliver meaningful, real-world outcomes. She has a particular interest in public sentiment, social research, stakeholder perspectives and the role of trust in shaping effective communication.

 

Since 2019, Naomi has led the research behind the Credit Union Consumer Sentiment Index, helping organisations stay ahead of shifts in public thinking, decision-making and behaviour.

She holds a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Consumer Psychology and is a board member of AIMRO. She has previously held officer roles with the Marketing Society of Ireland.