My name is Ronan Kennedy and this is Cúilín.

Cúilín is grounded in over a decade of my work working in and around Irish politics, policy, and civil society, both inside the system and with organisations trying to navigate it.

I’ve worked as a political advisor in Leinster House, led policy and advocacy in national organisations, and spent the last number of years working closely with NGOs across Ireland.

A big part of that work has been helping teams understand how the political system actually operates in practice, and how they can engage with it in a way that’s effective, realistic, and aligned with their goals.

What I’ve learned is that a lot of organisations feel locked out of the political process, not because they lack insight or credibility, but because the system itself can feel opaque, technical, and difficult to read from the outside.

Cúilín is about changing that.

I work directly with organisations to break things down: how decisions get made, who matters (and when), how the Oireachtas really works, and where the pressure points are in any given moment. From there, we focus on what you can actually do with that understanding, whether that’s shaping policy asks, planning for a budget cycle, preparing for an election, or strengthening your day-to-day political engagement.

My background spans parliamentary politics, legislative advocacy, coalition-building, and national policy campaigns, from advising a party leader in government formation talks, to coordinating civil society input into EU rule of law processes, to leading Oireachtas engagement strategies and pre-budget advocacy programmes.

This isn’t about theory or generic advice that doesn’t work for NGOs.

It’s practical, experience-based support, grounded in how the system really works, and tailored to the realities your organisation is operating in.

The aim is simple: to help you engage with politics in a way that feels clearer, more confident, and more effective.

Lets have a chat!