Public Relations in Ireland

OVERVIEW

According to the Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland), located in Dublin, public relations is defined as “a planned, sustained and evaluated process, which by means of two-way communications techniques, seeks to build mutually beneficial relationships between an organisation and its public.”[1] Public relations is one of the fastest moving and growing industries in Ireland.[2] According to a 2019 article published by the Irish Times, over 2,800 professionals work in the public relations industry, and over two-thirds of those professionals received a pay raise over the 2018-2019 year.[3] Public relations in Ireland, as in many other countries, has evolved dramatically in the past few decades. According to a longitudinal study conducted first in 1993 and then in 2003 of Ireland’s top 300 companies, PR has shifted to encompass more managerial roles in that decade.[4]

According to PayScale, an organization that studies and tracks the salaries for various jobs, a PR Director on average is paid 66,500 euros, which comes to about 78,769.18 USD, as depicted in the figure. PayScale also continues to address some of the main functions of a PR Director. They include functions such as image management and protection, press releases, media management, and organizing events and fundraisers. [5]

The Public Relations Consultants Association describes the function of a PR agency is to “influence, inspire and create change in today’s dynamic society. By embracing new technologies and pushing creative boundaries, PR agencies help protect, enhance and build the reputations of their clients through every communications means possible.” 

PRCA continues to describe day-to-day life as a PR professionals. “As PR executives tend to work across multiple client accounts, day-to-day activities can range from brainstorming campaign ideas, writing and pitching stories to media targets, analysing media coverage reports, travelling to meet an existing client or presenting to a potential new one, and much more. PR agencies tend to adopt a ‘brand guardian’ role, constantly monitoring the media for news and developments that might affect or interest their clients.” Some of the functions that PRCA Ireland includes anticipating public opinions, counselling management on possible consequences of actions, researching, conducting and analyzing programs of action, planning efforts to influence public policy, and managing resources. [6]

Much of the public relations buzz in Ireland right now centers around COVID-19, work-life balance, the arts, re-opening for events and other entities, and public affairs and lobbying.[7]

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING PR IN THE UNITED STATES TO PR IN IRELAND 

Public relations in Ireland and in the United States has a lot of overlap. According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), public relations is defined as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” PRSA goes on to describe some of the functions of PR, including anticipating public opinion, counseling management, protecting the reputation of an organization, researching, conducting, and evaluating programs of action on a continual basis, implementing efforts to influence public policy, managing resources, and creating content.[8] Some of the top issues and buzz surrounding the public relations community in the United States centers around COVID-19, emotionally supporting teams, crisis management, women in business, leading with ethics, and managing reputation in a time of ‘cancel-culture’.[9]

As seen above, many of the functions of PR as described by PRSA overlap almost completely with the functions put forth by PRCA Ireland. They were clearly influenced by each other and share many of the same mindsets. The most prominent being the main function of reputation management. While PRCA Ireland places more of an emphasis on this than PRSA, both organizations hold this function to be of the utmost importance. Other functions include the general process of researching, implementing, and evaluating action plans, or, in other words, RPIE campaigns. Both organizations and both countries seem to share the commonality of the PR campaign. 

However, they are not without their differences. Public relations organizations in the United States have a heavy emphasis placed on the relationship building side of public relations, while Irish PR organizations have a heavier emphasis placed on reputation management. Another gap I noticed was in PRCA’s description of the PR agency. It was stated that “PR agencies help protect, enhance and build the reputations of their clients through every communications means possible.”[10] PR organizations in the US are much less likely to use unequivocal language such as that, and word things in much softer language. 


Yet another difference is in the buzz that is generated in the PR community at the moment. While both countries have a large amount of information circulating about COVID-19, the United States has more focused on social issues, such as women in business and ‘cancel-culture’, presumably due to the social unrest that the US has faced in the past few months. 

UNDERSTANDING OF PR

Many definitions of public relations have been put forth in this paper and in others, however I have previously argued for PR to be defined as the science fused art of building meaningful relationships between an organization and the public through generating goodwill, strategically and creatively maintaining organizational goals, and managing ethical transparency and communication in order to achieve the betterment of all parties involved and to positively influence the world. 

This definition fits well within the Irish context as well as for the US. However, it may be argued to add more about the duty for the PR professional to protect the reputation of the organization. Public Relations will continue to evolve. As the world continues to globalize, PR must as well. PR will not evolve in favor of one county’s description, it will evolve to encompass many different definitions, creating a globalized definition of PR that will benefit everyone involved. 

RESOURCES

A Career in Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland).

About Public Relations. (2012). In Public Relations Society of America.

Average Public Relations (PR) Director Salary in Ireland. (n.d.). In PayScale.

Introduction to Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland).

News . (n.d.). In Public Relations Institute of Ireland.

O’Dwyer, M. (2014, August). The evolving role of public relations in Ireland. European Journal of Marketing, 39(7/8).

PR-Say: The Voice of Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Society of America.

Slattery, L. (2019, July 25). More than 2,800 people work in Irish public relations business. The Irish Times.

[1] Introduction to Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland).

[2] A Career in Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland).

[3] Slattery, L. (2019, July 25). More than 2,800 people work in Irish public relations business. The Irish Times.

[4] O’Dwyer, M. (2014, August). The evolving role of public relations in Ireland. European Journal of Marketing, 39(7/8).

[5] Average Public Relations (PR) Director Salary in Ireland. (n.d.). In PayScale.

[6] Introduction to Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland).

[7] News . (n.d.). In Public Relations Institute of Ireland.

[8] About Public Relations. (2012). In Public Relations Society of America.

[9] PR-Say: The Voice of Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Society of America.

[10]  Introduction to Public Relations. (n.d.). In Public Relations Consultants Association (Ireland).