📍 A little background about me, starting with where I am today.
I am a storyteller focused on creating meaningful visibility of brands through media mentions, press releases, blog articles, LinkedIn posts and articles, and always with newsworthiness in mind.
“Public relations is a strategic asset for any business. When people clearly understand who you are and what you stand for, they form a confident mental picture of your company — and that clarity makes them far more inclined to trust you and buy from you.”
Paris France
Growing up in an island nation, I knew from an early age I wanted to explore new places and cultures and learn about life further afield. I was lucky to get a job straight after college with IBM Europe in La Defence Paris where I spent more than three years. Working and living with French people gave me the gift of having to learn the language properly.
Accra West Africa
Later on, and newly married, I moved to Accra in West Africa and was accepted by the Canadian High Commission as its consular officer with a mandate to protect Canadians, and Australians, in distress. Away from consular, Immigration tasked me with verbally interpreting from French to English in interview booths – oddly, I was the only member of staff that spoke French and it’s why I was hired.
I was honoured by Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs with a Consular Award of Excellence in recognition of outstanding consular service in missions abroad. The award took into consideration cases of crisis response, service to Canadians and exceptional professionalism. Mr John Schram was the High Commission’s Ambassador and he kindly delivered the news in person to me in my office in Accra.
I was also glad to have known John Schram’s wife, Alena, because aside from being the wife of a senior diplomat, she was a very special human being. See a personal letter from Nelson Mandela to two Canadians who helped fight apartheid
Simultaneously, while working with CHC I registered an arts & crafts export business and spent many weekends travelling to meet with skilled crafts workers in the Ashanti region – where the famous kente cloth comes from – buying from the artisans directly.
Back in Ireland
….. from Ghana, I found myself working in the NGO sector and loved it. This sector is like no other – you can be doing live media interviews one minute on national channels, to hanging in the background with props during photo-shoots, to driving to the middle of nowhere for a cheque presentation. During this time, I studied for a Public Relations diploma for two years at night with the Fitzwilliam Institute, to support what I’d been doing in practice for many years.
CIPR: I became a member of Chartered Institute of Public Relations in 2006.
Marbella Spain
In the 00s I founded a golf business targeting the high-end golfer in the South of Spain. Weather, top class golf courses, and coming from a golfing family helped my decision when looking for a new work environment.
It seemed that every nationality had its own social club and so I founded the Irish Club Marbella. Members came from Ireland, England, Scotland, South America, Scandinavia and Germany and we met every month to play golf and eat out. Something unusual happened in 2010: a volcano in Iceland caused European airspace to close for eight days causing widespread disruption and panic, with all flights cancelled. As President of the Irish Club Marbella, I found myself assuming the role of de facto communications lead and primary point of contact for Irish tourists in the region. Justin Harman was the Irish Ambassador to Spain based in Madrid.
Marbella, 9 de mayo 2014: Marbella Town Hall organised an award ceremony for European citizens promoting tourism in the city. Mayor Angeles Munoz Uriol presented the awards and I was honoured to be a recipient of one “in recognition of the work she carries out in support of the ideals of the European Union” María Ángeles Muñoz Uriol.
Portsmouth England
I founded Sloyan Public Relations in 2015 after moving to England in 2014 to be near to family. I have been very happy working as a PR professional in an industry that plays a crucial role in our work and personal lives – technology.
What people say: Feedback from some lovely people.
During the strange covid years, I joined a mostly-American twitter group, a welcome interlude in the week to alleviating feelings of isolation. Preparing the questions for one of our chats, I discovered I am an introvert.
Nearing the end of 2025
….. I realise that whatever sector I work in there will be tech. Things have evolved so much since I went to my first AI summit in Tobacco Dock London in 2021. A topic not on my mind four years ago was generative AI. In the intervening years, generative AI tools have rapidly shifted how consumers search for information, as well as having to format content to garner attention online.
With attention spans shrinking, the importance of human communication and connection feels so essential to me: speaking to one-another, listening and learning, sharing our thoughts and insights to understand others’ perspectives.
💙 “Stay curious. Stay brave. Stay inspired.” – Brené Brown
