Olivia Buckley International

The Sunday Business Post

Olivia Buckley International were delighted to be included in “Ireland’s Blossoming Tycoons” in the Sunday Business Post recently. You can read the full article below.

"FORMER KERRY ROSE OLIVIA BUCKLEY RUNS KILLARNEY EVENTS FIRM WITH A PORTFOLIO STRETCHING FROM THE US TO THE FAR EAST."

As the Kerry representative at the Rose of Tralee in 2002, Olivia Buckley found herself at the heart of a high-profile International Event and a key revenue generator on Ireland’s annual tourism calendar. The annual summer festival left a lasting impression, prompting Buckley to establish her own eponymous event company in Killarney five years ago. A UCC graduate, Buckley had studied economics and geography before completing courses with the Marketing Institute and the Irish Academy of Public Relations. She then worked for five years as an Event Operations Manager before striking out on her own.

“Taking part in the rose of Tralee, it was fascinating for me to see the marquees, catering, stage productions and all the other elements come to life” she said. “ I had worked on events in Ireland and overseas over the years and then in January 2013, I decided I wanted to move back to Kerry and to work for myself.”

Buckley offers corporate and private event and wedding event design and planning services to clients in Ireland and overseas. She targets the luxury end of the market primarily organising events in castles, historical sites and private islands. Corporate customers have included Californian company The Performance Group, and the Fota Island Collection and AbbVie in Ireland.

“We have worked with tech clients in Beijing and Hong Kong who want to give, say, their top-performing-sale staff an unusual reward,” said Buckley. “They’re bringing them to Ireland for an incentive experience.” That entails creating a complete experience over three, four or five days. “US Clients are often attracted to Irish history and heritage so location is important to them, be it an abbey or private island. They can’t get those settings in the states”. Buckley employs four people directly and works regularly with 12 freelance professionals. “When we’re working on an event on-site, the numbers employed can go up to a few hundred, between the production crew, lighting, sound and so on.” She said.