[JUDGING] Central Bank of Ireland
Section: Rising Star Award
Organisation Name: Central Bank of Ireland
Rising Star Questions
Organisation Name
Central Bank of Ireland
Name Of Rising Star
Shonagh Darroch
Structure Of The Team And Their Roles
Shonagh Darroch is a Video Production & Graphic Design Intern within the Digital Engagement team, part of the Engagement & Communications division at Central Bank of Ireland.
The 11-person Digital Engagement team has responsibility for content, website and digital channel management, social media and digital marketing, translation, and brand and design.
A recent graduate from IADT, Shonagh joined the Central Bank on a year+ long internship in late 2025. Her responsibilities include creating and producing visual assets across multiple formats, video content production (shooting and editing), photography, and graphic design. Her role encompasses the full creative lifecycle – from concept and research through to post-production, asset management and logistics coordination. Much of Shonagh’s work can be seen on the Central Bank’s social media channels, particularly Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/centralbankofireland/
How Are Your Measuring Success Reach Links Traffic Etc
Shonagh has demonstrated exceptional creativity and technical proficiency across diverse projects.
She produced high-quality video content for a prestigious joint venture with the ECB, supporting an Art Exhibition showcasing Irish art from the Central Bank's collection.
She independently conceived, researched, and designed the "Explore your Archives" Instagram carousel series, conducting extensive archival research while working with Archives colleagues to identify compelling pieces and execute a thorough design process that significantly enhanced audience engagement. The series captured a piece of Irish history and nostalgia as evidenced by the comments on the posts such as:
“Wow really interesting. It's sad so many people in history get forgotten”
“Love this. Must take a look at the archive.”
Additionally, she has created popular unboxing videos for coin sets and led numerous video production projects – managing shooting, logistics, and post-production to deliver outputs of a very high standard.
Give Three Examples Of Recent Updates Or Initiatives That Have Worked Well Link To Them And Give Some Metrics On Them
For the collaboration with the ECB, Shonagh filmed the artwork being packaged at the Central Bank’s offices, and our ECB counterparts filmed the art being delivered to Frankfurt, unwrapped and prepared for the exhibition. Shonagh stitched the clips from each organisation into a very cohesive piece of video tailored for an Instagram audience, while creating animation to show the artwork travelling from Dublin to Frankfurt. The ECB then published the final video on their Instagram channel as a collaborative post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbDJMowKRLw/
The video reached approximately 25,500 accounts. The post also garnered 342 Likes, 39 Shares, and 21 Saves, and served as a unique sneak peek of a very unique exhibition.
As part of “Explore your Archives” week, Shonagh worked with Archives colleagues to independently create a series of carousel posts on particular themes (https://www.instagram.com/p/DRrZtxLjSdl/). Her design work and creative input ensured the series was very well-received on Instagram, with 161 Likes across the fours posts and very positive comments.
A strong team player, Shonagh has played a key role with brand & design colleagues in filming and editing videos with senior leaders at the Central Bank, including this recent example with Governor Gabriel Makhlouf, which formed part of our #EUCoinChallenge: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dbp4xEYD3vE/
Why Are You Deserving Of Team Of The Year
Shonagh’s creative work has been critical to the success of the Central Bank’s social media channels over the past year, helping to drive a 55% increase in Instagram followers in that time. Her work has also contributed to the Central Bank surpassing 100,000 followers on LinkedIn over the past year – a significant milestone for the organisation.
While part of a talented creative team, Shonagh has shown that she can work collaboratively or independently as required, can balance multiple priorities, and can bring an exceptional level of creativity to any project she undertakes.
In what has been the first year of her career, Shonagh has seen her work featured on the ECB’s Instagram channel (which has over 200,000 followers), and pivoted seamlessly between image-based social media content and well-produced videos with the Central Bank’s senior leadership team and other colleagues.
Shonagh has independently conceived and executed complex projects requiring research, design thinking, and technical execution. Her work directly supports the Central Bank's mission to engage with the public and communicate effectively about our work. She brings enthusiasm, professionalism, & a genuine joy to collaboration that elevates team morale and output quality. Her rapid skill development & ability to manage multiple projects & stakeholders mark her out as an exceptional emerging & rising talent.