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Barden’s Recently Qualified Accountants Team (most of who are qualified accountants, just like you) are here to help you make your very best first step as a qualified accountant.
Below you’ll find out more about each of the team. Drop a quick email to one of our team and they’ll take it from there…
Aideen Murphy ACA CTA | Partner | Expert in Tax, Treasury & Practice Careers | Barden Munster
Aideen Murphy is a Partner within the accounting and tax talent advisory and recruitment practice in Munster, leading the Tax, Treasury and Practice area of the business,
She trained through a Big 4 firm, qualifying as an accountant, and further went on to study tax, in which she qualified in in 2012. Aideen spent a number of years, post qualification, working in both practice and industry before moving to recruitment in 2015
Aideen is a subject matter expert in tax, treasury and accounting careers, is an active member of the Women in Tax committee and regularly contributes to publications on the tax profession. Aideen advises leadership teams within Accounting Firms along with CFOs and tax leadership teams in Munster on attracting and retaining world class teams.
Contact Aideen at aideen.murphy@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Aoibhín Byrne | Business Lead | Expert Recruiter in Tax, Treasury & Practice | Barden Leinster
Aoibhín Byrne is a Business Lead at Barden, and an expert in tax, treasury and practice careers.
A proud Cork/Dublin woman she joined in October 2019. Aoibhín studied commerce with French in University College Cork (UCC). Before joining Barden she worked in KPMG.
Aoibhín is based in the Dublin office and works as part of the recently qualified team. In particular she works on recently qualified tax, audit, advisory and treasury careers. Her role involves bridging the gap between the clients and the candidate’s needs and ultimately matching the right person to the right role.
Contact Aoibhín at aoibhin.byrne@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Bernie Duffy ACA | Senior Associate | Expert in Recently Qualified Accounting Careers | Barden Leinster
Bernie Duffy ACA is an Senior Associate at Barden, and an expert in recently qualified accounting careers.
Bernie is a qualified Chartered Accountant having completed her training with the ICT Assurance and Audit teams in EY. Before this she completed a BA in Accounting & Finance in Dublin City University (DCU) followed by a Master’s Degree in Accounting, also in DCU.
Bernie is based in the Dublin office and works directly with the recently qualified team to support recently qualified accounting professionals in Leinster.
Contact Bernie at bernie.duffy@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Brian O’Connor ACA | Team Lead | Expert in Recently Qualified Accounting Careers | Barden Leinster
Brian O’Connor ACA is a Team Lead at Barden, and an expert in recently qualified accounting careers.
Brian qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2017, completing his training with Deloitte. He is a graduate of UCD and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Commerce and a Master’s Degree in Accounting.
Following his training in Deloitte he spent some time travelling and working in Australia gaining experience within industry, working in financial accounting roles with Vocus Group Limited, Toll Group and Independent Cement & Lime Group.
Contact Brian at brian.oconnor@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Ed Heffernan | Managing Partner | Barden Ireland
Ed Heffernan is Managing Partner of Barden Ireland. In 2014 he founded Barden, with Elaine Brady. He has worked for many years in recruitment both locally and internationally, within the accounting and tax space.
Ed has worked with 1000s of accountants nationally on career moves and is a regular contributor to industry publications, including Accountancy Ireland & Accountancy Plus.
A UCC grad Ed holds a number of qualifications in personnel management, human resources and later completed an MBA with Trinity College Dublin.
Contact Ed at ed.heffernan@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Elaine Brady | Managing Partner | Barden Leinster
Elaine holds a Bachelor of Business Studies from Trinity College Dublin, and since graduation has worked nationally and internationally with some of the world’s leading recruitment companies. Throughout her career Elaine has specialised in accounting and tax recruitment and is an expert in qualified accounting careers across practice and industry.
In 2014 Elaine founded Barden recruitment, with Ed Heffernan and since then has grown organically into a thriving team of recruitment experts in Dublin and Cork. Barden was founded by people passionate about recruitment and its impact on people’s lives. We are a partner led expert recruitment firms consumed with supporting professionals on their chosen career journey. Our expertise covers accounting & tax, financial services, IT and legal recruitment.
Contact Elaine at elaine.brady@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Jonathan Olden | Managing Partner | Barden Munster
Jonathan Olden is Managing Partner of Barden Cork. He began his career in the legal sector, spending the first 6 years with one of Cork’s largest legal firms. During his time there he qualified as a solicitor and gained excellent and practical in-house experience advising and representing a range of clients.
In 2010 Jonathan moved to the recruitment sector specialising in finance recruitment. Since then he has recruited in Cork and Dublin, within the legal, accounting and finance space.
In 2017, together with Ed Heffernan and Elaine Brady, he established Barden Cork. He now leads a team of 8 recruitment experts covering accounting & tax, financial services, IT and legal recruitment.
Contact Jonathan at jonathan.olden@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Marissa Maher | Associate Director | Expert Recruiter in Accounting & Supply Chain Careers | Barden Ireland
Marissa Maher is an Associate Director with Barden. She is part of our team in Cork, and is an expert in recently qualified accounting careers and recruitment in particular supporting those in the accounting and finance market who are seeking new roles in Cork.
Marissa Maher joined Barden in December 2017. Marissa is both QFA and CIPD qualified, since 2010. With this, and her experience working within financial services, she has a unique insight into finance, accounting and professional service markets.
Contact Marissa at marissa.maher@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Niall O’Keeffe ACA | Senior Associate | Expert in Recently Qualified Accounting Careers | Barden Leinster
Niall O’Keeffe ACA is an Senior Associate at Barden, and an expert in recently qualified accounting careers.
Niall works directly with the team to continue to support recently qualified accounting professionals. He successfully qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2021 having completed his training contract with the Audit team in Deloitte Ireland. Prior to this Niall completed an accounting degree and masters in University College Cork.
Niall works directly with the recently qualified team in Dublin to support recently qualified accounting professionals in Leinster.
Contact Niall at niall.okeeffe@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Orla Crowley | Associate | Expert in Recently Qualified Accounting Careers | Barden Munster
Orla Crowley is an Associate with Barden’s office in Cork and is an expert in recently qualified accounting careers.
After completing a Bachelor of Business Studies degree in University of Limerick Orla went on to undertake and successfully complete a training contract with PwC in Cork, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2022.
Orla is part of the recently qualified team in Cork and supports recently qualified accounting professionals in Munster.
Contact Orla at orla.crowley@barden.ie, or via LinkedIn.
Sarah Barry ACA | Partner | International Appointment | Barden
Sarah Barry ACA is a Partner with Barden’s international practice. She is an expert in international careers and specialises in the recruitment of accounting, finance and legal professionals across the world.
She is a graduate of University College Cork, holding a BA in Economics and Computer Science, and an MBS in Business Studies. Sarah then went on to complete her Chartered Accountants Ireland qualification working with KPMG.
Contact Sarah at sarah.barry@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Siobhan Sexton ACA | Business Lead | Expert in Recently Qualified Accounting, Tax & Practice Careers | Barden Munster
Originally from Cork, Siobhán trained in KPMG Cork in the Tax Department and she is ACA qualified since 2017.
Siobhán also worked as part of the Management Consulting team in KPMG Dublin during her training contract. She worked predominantly on pharmaceutical, IT and construction clients.
This experience gives her a unique insight into the finance, accounting and professional service markets.
Following the completion of her training contract with KPMG, Siobhán joined Barden Dublin in March 2017 as part of the Recently Qualified Accountants team.
In 2018 she took a sabbatical to travel to and work in Canada. During her time in Canada Siobhán worked with both Michael Page and Robert Walters Recruitment. On returning to Ireland, Siobhán relocated to her hometown of Cork and now works with our Recently Qualified Accountants team in Barden Cork.
Contact Siobhán at siobhan.sexton@barden.ie or via LinkedIn.
Get in Touch With Us
Barden is where recently qualified accountants go before they start looking for a job.
When you meet Barden you will be meeting Ireland’s most experienced financial recruitment team, many of whom are themselves accounting and tax qualified.
Your future is too important to leave to chance. Take control, get informed and plan your professional future with Barden. Drop us an email at hello@barden.ie and we’ll get in touch to arrange a time and date that suits you to start planning your professional future.