An Cosantóir November / December 2023 www.military.ie/magazine
12 |
T
he Press
Office had a
busy year in
2023, with many
impactful posts
and interesting
projects. The office
also underwent
a change in
leadership, with a
new Press Officer
Comdt Conor
Hurley taking over
the reins from
Comdt Gemma
Fagan in August.
There was a media visit to several of our overseas missions,
Michael O'Toole with the Star and Mirror visited the troops
serving with UNIFIL in South Lebanon in June, and Conor
Gallagher of the Irish Times visited the sailors on Operation
Irini in the Mediterranean.
In this year's Social Media Awards the Defence Forces team
took home gold in both Facebook and Instagram for a State
Organisation and silver in Twitter for a State Organisation and
Social media strategy for a State Organisation.
The team is constantly up skilling with Capt Kenny attending
both Basic and Advanced NATO PfP Media Communication
courses in Switzerland, and Lt Clancy attending a NATO
Strategic Communication course in Greece.
Equally, three new students were enrolled in DCU's MA in
Political Communications to further equip the team with the
skills to best communicate the organisations messages.
The Press Office is already looking forward to 2024 but here
are a few of the top posts and headlines.
PRESS OFFICE 2023
BY LT EOIN CLANCY
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY COMDT CONOR HURLEY
Press office staff
Mick O' Toole with the DFPO
