Several clients of the failed Doherty advertising group have moved their advertising accounts to other agencies, while other accounts have gone out to public tender.

The Cyprus Tourist Board has moved to AFA O'Mera Advertising, while several other clients are believed to have moved to Javelin, Euro RSG and Rubican. Several health board accounts, previously held by Doherty, are also out to tender. An account for advertising by the Director of Consumer Affairs will also have to go to tender.

The High Court has appointed Mr Jim Stafford as liquidator of Doherty Advertising Ltd which financially collapsed earlier this year.

Mr Brian Kennedy, counsel for Independent Newspaper Marketing Ltd, told the High Court this week that his client was owed €642,761 for advertising in its publications and Doherty Advertising was no longer able to pay its debts.

Mr Vincent Crowley, a director of Independent Newspapers Marketing, told the court Doherty Advertising also owed €481,904 to RTÉ; €253,097 to the Irish Times and €76,869 to Today FM.

He said that in a letter to creditors Doherty Advertising managing director Mr Mark Beggs had stated the company had no alternative but to cease trading.

He had led a group of investors which had taken over the company in March 2001 for €5.9 million at the height of the "Celtic Tiger". Mr Beggs had stated that all attempts to raise funding to rescue the company had failed.

Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan appointed Mr Jim Stafford, of Stafford Chartered Accountants, as liquidator and directed that Mr Beggs make a full statement of the company's affairs within the next three weeks.

The matter will come before the court again on October 20th.