A New Genesis at The Public House

The Public House, one of Ireland’s most awarded creative agencies, is bolstering its leadership team with a series of key new appointments.

The independent creative agency works with a diverse portfolio of ambitious clients including Dunnes Stores, FBD Insurance, EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum, 48, Cadbury and Barnardos. 

A new leadership team of partners is taking over the day-to-day running of the agency, with founder Colin Hart & former MD Caitriona Campbell moving into company director roles.

New managing director Kerrie Sweeney comes from TBWA, where she was global client leader. With over 20 years of experience, she has led international brands such as Audi, BMW, Samsung, Heineken, Jameson, White Claw, Glanbia, as well as campaigns for beloved local brands such as Ballygowan, Kerry Foods, eir and The Irish Examiner.

New executive creative director Rob Maguire is one of Ireland’s highest internationally recognised creatives, with a Grand Prix at Cannes and Eurobest, as well as multiple gongs at The One Show, D&AD, Epica, Clios, and, of course, ICAD. In his time at previous agencies Droga5 and Chemistry, he’s worked on brands such as Tesco, Denny, Warner Music, AIB, Kerry Foods, Heineken, and BMW.

Head of strategy Sarah Walsh has led the strategy department at The Public House for the last five years, and now is stepping up to a leadership role. Sarah led the agency to Ireland’s only back to back Effie gold wins, and has experience on brands such as Cadbury, FBD Insurance, Vhi and Virgin Media.

Having already strengthened their strategic offering with the hire of highly experienced & multi-award winning strategy director Brónagh O’Donovan, the new leadership team have hit the ground running. Their ambition is to lead the agency to even wider successes, while maintaining and building upon its anti-formula approach to building attention grabbing brands: ‘Boring Doesn’t Sell’.

Kerrie Sweeney, managing director commented, “The creative agency landscape in Ireland needs a reboot, and we believe it starts with us. This is an exciting time for The Public House as we join the leadership team, united by a shared goal of bringing bold, maverick thinking to the masses. Leading the charge, I am particularly eager to reinforce our 'Boring Doesn't Sell' philosophy through the interesting work we create for our fantastic clients. Together, we play a key role in shaping the future of the creative industry in Ireland.”

Catríóna Campbell, executive director, noted, “We’re thrilled to strengthen our leadership team with three of the biggest talents in the industry today. Every growing organisation needs leadership and we’re so excited to really empower Sarah, Rob and Kerrie to lead from the front. We also know that the best leaders are never satisfied with ‘good enough’ and that that dissatisfaction will continue to fuel ambitious big thinking for clients that genuinely know that ‘Boring Doesn’t Sell’”.  

Speaking about the news, Sarah Walsh, head of strategy said, “The past five years at The Public House have been anything but boring, and this new chapter may be the most exciting one yet. I'm buzzing to be leading the charge with Kerrie and Rob and with what I believe to be the best agency team in town.”

Rob Maguire, executive creative director, added, “There’s definitely something in the air with Irish advertising right now, and this agency is built on the idea of BEING exciting - so I couldn’t think of a better place to be.”