Back Row – Kate O’Callaghan, Shane Doyle, Shane O’Brien and Rob Murray
Front Row – Ann Sheridan, Caitriona Ní Laoire and Gráinne Kehoe
Core Creative, the creative practice of Core, has made a number of key changes to its senior management team.
According to the agency, the appointments “mark a significant milestone for Core Creative, which this year celebrates five years of delivering results driven campaigns for some of Ireland’s biggest brands.”
Led by Caitriona Ní Laoire, managing director of Core Creative, the newly appointed senior management team brings together decades of top-tier agency experience across creative, operations and client leadership.
The new line-up sees Rob Murray and Shane O’Brien appointed as creative partners to “elevate creative standards and output across the agency.
Murray was previously creative director with Core and has extensive in creative storytelling and brand building. Since joining the agency, he has led some of Core’s key campaigns, including the launch of Sky Mobile in Ireland featuring Roy Keane, Sky’s sponsorship of the Irish Men’s and Women’s National Teams, and the award-winning Outbelieve campaign. Prior to joining Core, he held senior creative roles including creative director at BBDO Dublin and Rothco, as well as art director at Grey.
O’Brien is a multi-award-winning creative director, copywriter, and screenwriter, with an advertising career that includes roles such as executive creative director at BBDO in addition to various roles previously held at Rothco, including creative director at Rothco and creative director at its offshoot Guns or Knives. He is also has a creative background in TV and stage production with credits across RTÉ 2, BBC 3, Channel 4, as well as multiple feature films.
Meanwhile, Ann Sheridan has been appointed as head of creative operations with responsibility to “drive operational excellence across Core Creative, utilising smarter workflows, leveraging Core’s tools and technology, and ensuring greater consistency and efficiency – supporting the team in producing high-quality work for clients.”
Elsewhere, Kate O’Callaghan has been promoted to creative business partner, working closely with the senior team to “further build and strengthen the business”, while Gráinne Kehoe, has been appointed as head of client service and she will lead “the high standards of partnership and trust that Core Creative has become known for,” according to the agency.
Speaking on the announcement, Caitriona Ni Laoire, managing director, said,
“Over the past five years, we’ve shown that creativity can be a real commercial advantage when paired with strong standards and effectiveness. Now we’re building on that foundation. With Rob and Shane joining as Creative Partners, and Ann, Kate and Gráinne strengthening how we deliver and partner with clients, we’re raising our ambition for the work. The team shares an incredible spirit and a commitment to getting great ideas made. Our goal is clear: produce bolder, more distinctive creative that drives results and growth.”
Creative partners Shane O’Brien and Rob Murray said: “Stepping into the role of Creative Partners gives us the opportunity to focus even more deliberately on the fundamentals of great creative work. Strong ideas, high standards, proper craft and an environment where creativity is genuinely valued. Core already has a proven effectiveness mindset, backed by one of the strongest strategy teams in Ireland, and that creates the right conditions for ideas to go further. Our role is to build a culture where the work is rigorously thought through, beautifully made and genuinely brave. Working together again and doing so alongside Caitriona and such an experienced senior team, feels like the right place to do the best work of our careers.”
Since it was set up five years ago, Core Creative has built a strong reputation for effectiveness, most recently topping the leaderboard at the 2025 Effie Awards Ireland with nine awards (three Gold, three Silver and three Bronze), ranking as Ireland’s most effective agency and tenth most effective in Europe.
