People

Ciara Ahern is an expert in stakeholder engagement and strategic communications with a particular emphasis on developing and implementing communications strategies to manage reputation risk and achieve desired policy outcomes.  
 
Through a career spanning politics, law enforcement and corporate affairs, Ciara has extensive experience in navigating sensitive stakeholder relationships, responding to complex media queries, crisis and issues management, and providing extensive briefings on high-stake matters. 
 
Ciara was most recently Deputy Press Officer for Ireland’s National Police and Security Service, An Garda Siochana. She lead a team to implement an integrated strategy through media relations and across digital channels with a focus on building and maintaining public trust through effective communications. She was previously the organisation’s first ever lead on public affairs and brings a decade of political campaigning experience as an advisor in Irish Parliament and Press Officer to one of Ireland’s main political parties.  
 
She understands the value of consistency, and clear, authentic messaging having been a speechwriter to several elected representatives, high-profile senior management and C-Suite executives.   
 
She holds a bachelor’s degree in History, Politics and International Relations from University College Dublin, a master’s degree in Public Affairs and Political Communications, a higher diploma in Human Rights Law and Policing from the University of Limerick, and an industry certificate in Strategic Communications from the Public Relations Institute of Ireland.