Liam Birkett's career began in office management, Carton Brothers, wholesale grocers, then extended into sales and marketing. He was involved in the launch of Mace and VG group trading in Ireland. His experience extended into wholesale, retail, cash & carry, direct marketing and consultancy on a national and international basis. He then worked in the cosmetic industry and later moved into O'Kennedy Brindley Advertising as an account executive.

With colleagues from the advertising agency, he founded Bernardini, Birkett & Gardner Ltd, a design/marketing consultancy which, for more than 20 years was responsible for corporate identities and many marketing initiatives for Stokes, Kennedy Crowley, Waterford Foods, Monaghan Co-op, Smurfit/K Club, GAA branding as well as graphic and packaging projects for high profile clients. He also, as special projects, undertook major international marketing assignments for high profile clients, Irish Biscuits, and PARC to name but two.

One such commission was for O'Darby Irish Cream liqueur, leading to being appointed marketing, and then managing, director of the company. He launched the product on 17 world markets overseeing its development and ultimate sale to the Bacardi Corporation. He has marketed in half the states of the United States and also worked for the Peoples Republic of China advising them there on how to develop products for the West and market them over here.


Liam Birkett had his own design and Marketing consultancy for 25 years.He has been responsible for a wide variety of name creations, product development, copy platform and advertising concepts; then branding and marketing such goods and services internationally. Being an inventor who has experienced the patenting process first hand and sold the inventions, he is acknowledged as working in familiar territory by those he advises. For the past 7 years he was been an intellectual property consultant with the biggest IP firm on the island.


During this period he has been constantly on radio, TV and in newspapers and magazines north and south of the border and England, where he is sought out as a pundit on such matters. He has been repeatedly asked back to speak to university classes, business groups and professional bodies both national and international.

His unique skill is to see matters from a marketing and sales perspective and utilise IP as a marketing tool and impart it appropriately to his audience whatever its composition. With the expertise founded in his earlier business he can demonstrate how this can be fully exploited creating on-the-spot examples. This he is able to do in an easy-to-comprehend manner. He can show how dangers can be avoided, businesses can be improved, find new angles for old business, dream up new lines, utilising IP for market advantage. Moreover, he can demonstrate how all this can be utilised to obtain publicity for the resulting business, product or service. Again, these claims are based on results he himself has achieved without a media spend.

One of the reasons he is asked back to address groups and advise companies so often, is that his is not a legal dissertation on IP. His practical approach shows how it can be used as a sales and marketing tool. In so doing he shows how to exploit areas of intellectual property that, to date, have been under utilised (or not used at all) to provide a competitive edge to those involved.

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