The Communications Clinic is an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
communications company on Adelaide Road in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, set up by former employees of
Carr Communications. The company's work involves public relations, interview and media coaching.
History
The company was set up by Terry Prone and
Tom Savage. Many other staff from Carr joined the business, including Hilary Kenny, Anton Savage and Gerard Kenny.
Tom Savage is also Chairman of the
RTÉ Authority, having had an extensive career in public relations and media previously.
Terry Prone is currently the chairperson of the company.
In 2010, the company aimed to have over twenty employees.
Clients
The Clinic's portfolio includes the
Gaelic Players Association,
over fifteen "major corporate clients",
and
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil à ...
. In 2011 they worked with
presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pre ...
candidate
Gay Mitchell
Gabriel Alexander Mitchell (born 30 December 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister of State for European Affairs from 1994 to 1997 and Lord Mayor of Dublin from 1992 to 1993. He served as a Member of the European ...
and worked with
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...
Enda Kenny
Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition from ...
for his State of Nation Address.
Controversy
In November 2011, The Communications Clinic was the subject of substantial media attention following the suicide of a former employee, Kate Fitzgerald. This came following an article printed in ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'', under the pseudonym "Grace Ringwood", printed on 9 September 2011 where she detailed her struggle with depression and work. It later emerged, in an article written by Peter Murtagh, that by this stage she had already committed suicide.
Following the revelation that Kate Fitzgerald was an employee of the Clinic, the paper redacted the online version of her article. Editor
Kevin O'Sullivan apologised to the Communications Clinic, stating "the original piece were not factual. It is clear that their publication was significantly damaging to the staff and management of her employer, the Communications Clinic". Following these events, Fitzgerald's parents said they felt "deeply hurt" by the paper's actions and a media debate ensued.
The parents of Kate Fitzgerald brought a complaint to the ombudsman regarding the Irish Times article. The ombudsman upheld the complaint.
References
{{reflist, 2
External links
Communications Clinic home page
Companies of the Republic of Ireland
Public relations companies
Training companies of Europe