Brightwater is one of the Top 5, and best Recruitment Consultancies in Ireland. The brand is universally known and respected, and this is down to the incredibly hard working, loyal, smart and extraordinary staff who work at Brightwater.
Libby Kelly is Managing Director of Brightwater, bringing over 25 years of leadership experience in the recruitment industry. Throughout her career, she has built and led high-performing teams, developed strong client partnerships and driven growth across multiple professional sectors. Libby has extensive experience in scaling recruitment businesses, delivering strategic talent solutions and navigating evolving workforce needs in a competitive market. Known for her collaborative leadership style and deep market insight, she is passionate about creating opportunities for clients, candidates and colleagues alike. As Managing Director, Libby is focused on strengthening Brightwater’s market position and supporting the continued growth of the business.
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Jean is Director of Brightwater’s Professional Services division. She joined Brightwater in 2003, was appointed to the Board in December 2020. Whilst overseeing the Group's activities as a whole, her particular remit covers a broad range of disciplines including accountancy, taxation, banking, fund services, legal, compliance & risk and insurance. With over twenty years’ recruitment experience, Jean personally specialises in the recruitment of senior accountancy & finance professionals on a temporary & contract basis. Her knowledge of the professional services market is unrivalled, and she has an instinctual grasp of the challenges her clients face on a daily basis.
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Appointed to the Board in 2025, Aoife serves as Director of Operations and HR for Brightwater Group. Having joined Brightwater in 2000, she is the company’s longest-serving staff member. She oversees the Group’s day-to-day operations, including the Corporate Support Services team covering HR, Compliance, IT, Marketing, and Finance. Aoife coordinates all operational procedures, while continuously reviewing systems and driving projects to enhance service delivery and commercials. Her passion for the recruitment industry has also led her to join the ERF Skillnet committee, addressing training needs within the sector, and she serves on the ERF Board Committee.
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Estelle is the Chief Development Officer of Brightwater Executive and a Director of the Brightwater Group. She leads the Executive branch, focusing on senior management level assignments across VP, Director and C-Suite levels. Estelle joined Brightwater in 2003, initially on the insurance division before transferring to the financial services desk. She works with a variety of clients such as multinationals and private equity backed portfolio businesses. She is an expert in the financial services, banking, treasury, funds, insurance and aviation leasing sectors and has an innate understanding of her clients’ requirements as well as the sensitivities of recruiting business leaders.
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Eimear Walsh is Managing Partner of Alternatives, part of the Brightwater Group, and brings almost 19 years’ experience in recruitment specialising in marketing and communications. She holds a BA from UCD and a Masters in Management from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. Eimear leads the strategic direction and growth of Alternatives, partnering with organisations across Ireland to appoint senior marketing and communications talent. Over the course of her career, Eimear has worked with national and international organisations across sectors including Financial Services, Technology, Legal and Professional Services. She is passionate about leadership, market insight and helping organisations build high-performing teams through exceptional talent
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Mark is Commercial Director in Brightwater’s Dublin’s office. He joined Brightwater in 2003 and has over 20 years’ recruitment experience. In 2011 Mark was promoted to Commercial Director and has oversight of Brightwater's Legal and Financial Services division. He personally specialises in recruiting for legal professionals, working with a broad variety of clients from law firms to large multinationals placing legal and company secretarial professionals on a permanent, temporary and contract basis at all levels from newly qualified up to senior legal counsel/partner level.
Mark is a Fellow of the ERF and holds a BSc in Marketing from DIT Mountjoy
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Cathal is a Commercial Director with Brightwater overseeing the engineering and supply chain recruitment divisions for the Dublin branch. Having joined Brightwater in 2010 initially as team leader of the engineering & construction team, he was appointed Commercial Director in December 2020. With nearly 20 years’ experience recruiting for the technical sector, Cathal personally specialises in recruiting for senior level engineering professionals across engineering, construction and operations. He has a successful track record in large volume public sector recruitment assignments and works with a range of private and public sector clients both in Ireland and overseas.
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Clinton joined Brightwater in 2021 as Commercial Director within the Professional Services division. He specialises in tax and professional services recruitment from Partner or Head of Tax to Associate and Seniors, partnering with leading professional services firms, SMEs and multinationals across the island of Ireland. He has an extensive knowledge of accountancy and taxation and understands the complexities and culture of his clients. He has an unrivalled network of contacts which makes him the ideal recruitment partner to employers and jobseekers alike.
Prior to joining Brightwater, Clinton gained over 15 years’ recruitment experience in Ireland and across Australasia.
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Leonie is Commercial Director with responsibility for Brightwater’s Human Resources recruitment practice. Having joined the Brightwater Group in 2016, she has successfully led teams across Tech, HR and Marketing recruitment, working with both national and international clients. With an account management background, Leonie applies a client-focused approach, ensuring business needs are fully understood and the right talent delivered. She is passionate about building lasting partnerships and aligning top HR professionals with organisations where they thrive. Dedicated to best-in-class service, Leonie believes career success stems from continuous learning, industry awareness, and cultivating strong professional networks.
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Darragh joined Brightwater in 2025 as Commercial Director, leading the Funds & Asset Management desk. He brings over seven years of recruitment experience, specialising in the Funds & Asset Management sector - including Fund Administration, Custody, Investment Management, and the wider Financial Services space. Prior to his recruitment career, Darragh worked as a Fund Accounting Manager across several leading financial institutions, giving him valuable industry insight and a deep understanding of client and candidate needs. Since transitioning into recruitment in 2018, he has built a strong reputation for delivering top-tier service, offering expert advice at every stage of the recruitment process.
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Stephen has recently joined Brightwater Financial Services Accountancy Division as an Associate Director. With over 10 years of recruitment expertise, he specialises in connecting top talent with insurers, banks, and asset managers. From leading risk and compliance hires to building finance and operations teams, Stephen provides strategic insights and tailored solutions for senior roles in highly competitive markets.
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Robert is a CIPD and NRF qualified Talent Acquisition Specialist with over 15 years recruitment experience in both public and private sector recruitment. He currently specializes in the recruitment of tax and consulting professionals and possesses strong experience placing both early years and experienced hires in competitive markets.
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Kevin is the Head of Contracts at Brightwater Recruitment. He brings with him 6+ years of experience within the IT Tech Contracting market in Ireland. Throughout his career Kevin has supported Candidates and Clients alike across the whole IT Tech landscape, with a particular area of strength being focused on IT Projects and Change.
Kevin’s extensive Market knowledge has allowed him to build a strong reputation for delivering a top-tier service to Candidates and Clients. He is always on hand to offer expert advice at every stage of the recruitment process.
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Vanessa joined Brightwater in 2024 as Financial Controller. She is a Certified ACCA Accountant with over 20 years post qualification experience and holds FCCA (Fellowship of the Association). Vanessa has extensive accounting and management experience, gained across a variety of sectors including Hospitality, Retail and Law.
Derek is a Senior Principal Consultant within Brightwater’s IT Contracts division. He joined Brightwater in August 2010 and has over 22 years’ experience in recruitment and key account management within the recruitment industry. Derek focuses on the IT contracts sector primarily recruiting across software development, system analysis, IT project management, network support, data warehousing, business intelligence and cyber security. He account manages a number of key clients where he has built long term mutually beneficial partnerships offering on-going recruitment services, market information and salary benchmarking.
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Conal joined Brightwater in October 2016 initially working in the sales and insurance divisions before transferring to the Accountancy division. He now focuses on the accountancy sector where he specialises in the placement of part-qualified and qualified accountancy professionals across industry. He has a proven track record of matching the right person with companies, taking into account their skillset, market knowledge and cultural fit.
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Joining Brightwater in 2015, Dara is the Recruitment Operations & Compliance Manager, playing a key role in supporting the smooth running and governance of the group. Working with consultants, management, and support teams, Dara enhances recruitment systems, marketing initiatives, manages compliance, and improves procedures while helping deliver cross-functional projects and tools that strengthen operations and quality. Dedicated to operational excellence and best practice, Dara is committed to ensuring Brightwater continues to operate with efficiency, integrity, and a focus on continuous improvement.
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Majella has nearly 20 years’ recruitment industry experience in Ireland and Australasia, primarily with the HR and Business Support areas where she worked with a broad range of international and indigenous companies. She joined Brightwater’s Business Services division in 2022 where she personally focuses on the placement of Sales & Customer Service professionals across the Irish marketplace in interim, contract and permanent roles at all levels.
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Louise has been a part of Brightwater’s internal finance team since 2003. Working on various areas of finance including payroll and credit control ,she was promoted to Assistant Manager of Finance in 2018. Louise then focused on credit control and in 2022 was appointed Manager - Credit Control where she is now responsible for all credit control aspects for the Group.
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In recruitment since 2013, Sarah joined Brightwater in 2016. In January 2024, she was appointed Senior Principal Consultant within Brightwater’s award winning technology division. She now focuses on the recruitment of IT professionals from graduate up to senior level on a permanent basis on behalf of clients ranging from SMEs to large multinationals. Her area of speciality is software development and engineering.
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Suzanne joined Brightwater's internal finance team in 2006 and is responsible for the staff payroll (including contractors), VAT returns and PAYE filings. She is a qualified IPASS Payroll Technician and a qualified Accounting Technician.
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Promoted to Senior Principal in 2026, Paula joined Brightwater's Business Services division in 2022 as a Consultant where she focuses on the recruitment of office administration and business support professionals on a permanent and contract basis. She is particularly talented in recruiting for volume projects. She has a background in grocery retail where she honed her skills in business development and client relationships.
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Aleixo is a tech-focused recruiter with over 5 years’ experience helping businesses find and hire top talent. He specialises in building Engineering and Software Development teams, bringing a people-first, data-informed approach to every search. Known for creating standout candidate experiences and driving inclusive hiring practices, Aleixo is passionate about delivering long-term impact through smart, strategic recruitment.
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Jasper joined Brightwater's Engineering division in 2026, bringing over 7 years' recruitment and account management experience within the engineering and manufacturing sector. He has built a strong track record of placing candidates from entry level to senior management positions across a plethora of industries within the Irish market. Having conducted successful searches for niche, highly specialised roles as well as volume hiring drives he possesses the toolkit to successfully guide candidates and clients through a smooth hiring process. He is particularly experienced with installation, commissioning, field service, and maintenance engineering vacancies and possesses a high degree of market knowledge built on his experience and enthusiasm for the area.
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