Communications Unit

Welcome to our new staff spotlight section which highlights the many services delivered by Cork City Council on a daily basis. 

In this edition of our staff spotlight, you'll get to know one of the members of our Communications Unit, Colin O'Brien. 

Tell us about your job?

My job covers a whole host of areas. It involves communicating with the public, dealing with media queries, creating & publishing social media content, creating and publishing campaigns to increase the public awareness, internal communications and crisis communications. It also includes providing communication supports for big events like Corkmas, St. Patrick’s Day Parade and national events like European Maritime Day and the UK Ireland summit with Keir Starmer and the Taoiseach.

How did you end up working as part of the Communications Unit for Cork City Council?

I ended up working within the communications unit just over 2 and a half years ago, I started off my professional career by joining Republic of Work as an intern as part of my college placement for my Marketing degree. After a few months as an intern, I got promoted to Marketing Executive and stayed within that role for around 2 years. I saw a role pop up within the City Council and decided to throw my hat into the mix and luckily got selected and haven’t looked back since.

What does a typical day involve?

No day is the same within the communications unit, but a usual day would be monitoring mentions of the City Council on news coverage or through social media and dealing with media queries. It also includes drafting up press releases to let the public know about new initiatives or announcements, creating social media content to keep the public informed and some days may involve dealing with severe weather alerts. Other days you could be meeting various departments to plan for a communications plan on new initiatives or announcements, with no days being the same it creates a constant sense excitement about turning up for work.

What is your favourite part of your job?

The favourite part of my job is that you actually get to see the real-world impact of the work you’re doing – not just numbers on a screen. You can work around the city and see people benefitting from the work that’s being done.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don't worry about having everything figured out, because you never will. The best thing you can do is make progress, no matter how slow. Moving in the right direction is more important than arriving.