Drury Communications made profit of €76,000 in 2021

Public relations agency returned to Irish ownership after management buyout in 2020

Drury chief executive Anne-Marie Curran owns the public relations agency alongside Billy Murphy, Sinead Birt and Paddy Hughes.
Drury chief executive Anne-Marie Curran owns the public relations agency alongside Billy Murphy, Sinead Birt and Paddy Hughes.

Irish public relations agency Drury made a profit of about €76,000 last year, its latest accounts show, down 11.7 per cent on the previous 12 months.

The profit boosted shareholders’ funds to almost €1.25 million, according to abridged financial statements for Drury Communications Limited filed to the Companies Office.

Drury is led by chief executive Anne-Marie Curran and chairman Billy Murphy.

The company, founded in 1989, was acquired by Ms Curran, Mr Murphy, finance director Sinead Birt and executive director Paddy Hughes in a management buyout from Omnicom Group in August 2020.

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Omnicom, one of the world’s largest advertising groups, had owned Drury since 2000 and it later became part of Omnicom’s Porter Novelli network before returning to Irish ownership.

The agency is active in public affairs and regulatory matters as well as campaigning and financial communications, with clients including CRH, Three Ireland, Amazon Web Services, ESB Group, Flutter Entertainment, Ulster Bank and Enterprise Ireland.

Contracts won this year include Lego, Mars Ireland and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland.

Drury employed an average of 25 people in 2021, down from 31 in 2020, while its five directors – Ms Curran, Mr Murphy, Ms Birt, Mr Hughes and non-executive director Aidan Walsh – shared remuneration of just above €1.2 million last year.

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery

Laura Slattery is an Irish Times journalist writing about media, advertising and other business topics