Cork accountancy firms acquired by AAB

Joe Foley and Mark O’Keeffe of Old Quarter Chartered Accountants, Colm Duggan, Head of Professional Services at AAB in Ireland, and Killian O’Brien of O’Brien Crowley Chartered Accountants.

Two Cork-based accountancy firms, Old Quarter Chartered Accountants and O’Brien Crowley Chartered Accountants, have been acquired by international professional services firm AAB. The acquisitions mark AAB’s seventh and eight investments in Ireland since January 2025. 

Founded in Ballincollig in 2022, Old Quarter Chartered Accountants employs 26 people at its offices in Cork and Kerry, including partners Mark O’Keefe, Joe Foley, and Diarmuid Kelleher. It provides audit, tax, business advisory, payroll, and company secretarial services.  "Our clients will continue to work with the same trusted team they know today," said Mr O'Keefe.

Meanwhile, O’Brien Crowley Chartered Accountants, also based in Ballincollig, led by partner Killian O’Brien, has worked in professional services for businesses across Ireland since 1985. The firm has employs 13 people and offers services including financial reporting, audit, tax, advisory and payroll. "Joining AAB will allow us to access the technological capabilities and expertise which comes with an international platform, providing opportunities for our clients and our people," said Mr O'Brien.

Both firms will relocate to AAB’s new 23,000 sq-ft office space at Barrack Square, Ballincollig and will in time rebrand as AAB. Following the completion of these two acquisitions AAB, which is backed by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, will employ almost 300 people in Ireland and more than 1,500 people internationally across 17 locations.

“Securing these two deals is a clear signal of our continued momentum in the Irish market. We’re building scale at pace, but importantly, we’re doing it in a way that strengthens the quality of our client relationships and the depth of our expertise," said AAB head of professional services in Ireland Colm Duggan.

AAB started in Scotland in 1990 as Anderson Anderson & Brown, and now has interests in Ireland, the UK, and the US.