National Conference 2026
1st and 2nd October - Cork
This year’s conference will showcase how Local Development Companies contribute to stronger communities, a more inclusive society and a sustainable future. It will also provide an opportunity to consider how this established partnership model can continue to support effective policy delivery in an increasingly complex and changing environment through engagement with some thought provoking contributors.
Please email info@ldcn.ie for more information.
Our Speakers
Join us for an inspiring two-day programme featuring keynote addresses, expert panels, and in-depth discussions with An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, John Lonergan, FELISPEAKS, Niamh Hourigan, Anna Davies, Pete Lunn, Gerard Deane, Barra Roantree, Niamh Moore-Cherry, Leon Diop, Liam Herrick, Conleth Burns, Nessan Vaughan, John Sweeney, Karen Keaveney, Ruth Hegarty and more! Noelle O Connell will host as MC.
Explore the outline agenda and speaker bios below. The full agenda will be confirmed shortly.
Please note: photography and videography will take place during the event. If you prefer not to be included, please let the organisers know on the day.
Thursday Speakers
Noelle O Connell - MC
Noelle O Connell is a Taoiseach-appointed Member of Council of NESC, whose current work programme is centred on social cohesion, and has spent her career at the interface of Irish civil society, community organisations and the European institutions. She brings first-hand fluency in the partnership model that sits at the heart of Ireland’s local development approach. As CEO of European Movement Ireland for over 14 years, and elected a Vice President of European Movement International, Noelle has engaged directly with EU policy at both national and institutional level across Europe. An expert in EU affairs, public policy and international expansion, Noelle is a trusted advisor to businesses, NGOs and government bodies.
John Sweeney
Emeritus Professor John Sweeney has been a member of the Geography Department at Maynooth University since 1978. He has been involved in a number of international research projects and has led a number of national funded research projects examining various aspects of climate change in Ireland. Professor Sweeney contributed to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He is also a regular contributor to print and broadcast media on matters related to climate change science and policy.
Pete Lunn
Professor Pete Lunn is the founder and head of the Behavioural Research Unit (BRU) at the ESRI. The BRU has pioneered the use of behavioural experiments for addressing policy problems in Ireland. His primary area of study is how people make decisions, especially those that affect environmental, health and financial outcomes. Pete and his team at the BRU have recently published multiple research studies on public perceptions, understanding and engagement with climate action.
Niamh Hourigan
Professor Niamh Hourigan is Vice President of Academic Affairs at Mary Immaculate College Limerick. A sociologist, she is the author of a number of landmark studies on social change in Ireland. She works with a wide range of social justice organisations in Ireland including Threshold, Barnardos and the Simon Community. She is a regular contributor to the Irish media on matters of sociological interest.
Nessan Vaughan
Nessan worked over 30 years in the public service at the National Manpower Service, Department of Labour and FÁS. In the latter part of his career, he held a senior national policy position with responsibility for policy relating to the dual-stranded National Employment Service (i.e. FÁS and the Local Employment Services. Nessan left the public service to work exclusively in the Community & Voluntary sector, as a Volunteer. He has chaired several organisations in the sector and is currently Chair of Dublin Northwest Partnership and of The Employment Project (TEN).
He is currently National Vice President of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) where he is also Chair of SVP’s National Social Justice Committee, of the Vincentian Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL)
Research Centre Committee and the National Governance Committee.
Nessan also serves as a Trustee on the Boards of Peter McVerry Trust (where he also chairs their Governance Committee); Archways; SAOL Project; Crosscare; St Andrew’s Resource Centre and ATD Ireland. He is a social justice and human rights advocate.
Barra Roantree
Barra is an Assistant Professor and Programme Director of the MSc in Economic Policy at Trinity College Dublin. His research focuses on the design of the tax and welfare system, and the evolution and distribution of living standards in Ireland.
He previously worked as an economist at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Dublin and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in London.
He was a member of the Irish Government’s 2021-22 Commission on Taxation and Welfare.
Anna Davies
Anna Davies is Professor of Geography, Environment and Society at Trinity College Dublin where she directs the Environmental Governance Research Group and is on the steering committee for the Trinity Centre for Future Cities. Anna Chairs the Royal Irish Academy Future Earth Ireland expert group. In addition, Anna advises the Irish Government in her roles as an independent member of the National Economic and Social Council and as a member of the National Climate Change Council.
John Lonergan
John Lonergan is a native of Bansha, Co. Tipperary. He served in the Irish Prison Service for over 42 years. He was Governor of Mountjoy Prison for over 22 years and Governor of the top security prison at Portlaoise for almost 4 years. He retired in June 2010 and later that year his autobiography “The Governor” was published. In 2013 he wrote a book on parenting, ‘Parenting – raising your child in Ireland today’, with all royalties going to Barnardos. Nowadays he delivers talks on a wide range of subjects to communities, voluntary groups, workers and students. He is an active supporter of many charitable organisations. He is currently the Tipperary Ambassador for Active Ageing.
Kabin Crew
The Kabin Studio are a not-for-profit vibrant music and creative hub, repurposed from a metal container in Knocknaheeny in the Northside of Cork City. Established by GMCBeats in 2012 with the support of Music Generation Cork City, The Kabin has grown out of a love for hip hop, songwriting, performance and creative expression.
The Kabin Crew are a crew of songwriters, rappers, musicians, creatives, volunteers and participants of all ages who believe in the power of making music and being creative.
Their collaboration with Lisdoonvarna Crew on the song “The Spark” brought them international fame with the YouTube video reaching 9.7m views.
Friday Speakers
An Taoiseach - Micheál Martin
We are honoured that An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin will give the closing address on Friday.
Karen Keaveney
Associate Professor Karen Keaveney is Head of Rural Development in the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin. She is a Human Geographer and a qualified Regional and Urban Planner with research interests in community-led local development, rural governance and co-design for evidence-based policy. She was previously a Lecturer in Rural Spatial Planning in Queen’s University Belfast. She is Programme Director of the MSc (Agr) in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in UCD. Karen was a member of the European Commission Rural Pact Coordination Group (2023-26), and is currently the Chair of the National Decarbonising Zone Advisory Group (DCEE). She is a member of the Royal Irish Academy Geography and Geosciences Committee, and a former President of the Geographical Society of Ireland.
Niamh Moore-Cherry
Professor Niamh Moore-Cherry is the Dean of Social Sciences and College Principal for the UCD College of Social Sciences and Law. Niamh’s research explores how urban and regional policy is developed, implemented and its impact on communities at different scales. She serves as an independent member of Ireland’s National Economic and Social Council and has previously advised the OECD, and a number of government departments, regional assemblies and local authorities on Urban Governance, Place-Based Policy, Sustainable Communities and the National Wellbeing Framework.
Ruth Hegarty
Ruth Hegarty is director of Food Policy Ireland, researching, advocating, and taking action towards healthy, sustainable and fair food systems. She has spent over 20 years advocating for short food supply chains, resilient local food economies, healthy food environments and food education and is currently campaigning for better school meals, public food procurement reform, and community food hubs as key levers to achieve these. Ruth is a co-coordinator of the Feeding Ourselves, a Community of Practice for food sovereignty, and a board member of Talamh Beo. Previously she was Secretary-General of Euro-toques Ireland for 10 years. She holds a masters in Food Policy and a masters in European Policy and lectures in food policy. She is also an experienced facilitator and MC, and is a regular media commentator on food policy issues.
Conleth Burns
Conleth Burns is an Associate Director at More in Common, where he leads research and public engagement across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Since joining More in Common in 2021, he has worked with political, business and civic leaders on issues including identity, community relations and social cohesion. More in Common has been a learning partner for the Community Connection Project working with Community Link Workers across the country since the start of this year. Originally from County Antrim, he has a background in community development and campaigning and holds a law degree from the University of Oxford.
FELISPEAKS
FELISPEAKS is a Nigerian-Irish visionary artist celebrated for their profound exploration of identity, social justice, and personal growth through poetry, performance and theatre. As well as being featured in the Irish Leaving Cert Curriculum for their poems “For Our Mothers” and “Rainbow Blood”, their compelling work transcends borders, leaving an indelible mark on international literature.
Liam Herrick
Liam Herrick was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in November 2024, having previously served as a member of the Commission between 2013 and 2016. He has worked in the area of human rights in Ireland for over 25 years, including as the Executive Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT). He has also worked for the Irish Human Rights Commission as its first Senior Policy and Legislation Review Officer, and for the Law Reform Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs. Between 2014 and 2016, Liam worked as Advisor to President Michael D. Higgins. He was also a member of the Minister for Justice’s Strategic Review Group on Penal Policy.
Gerard Deane
Gerard Deane is the Director of Holywell Trust, a leading community relations and development organisation in the North West of Northern Ireland. Gerard works to create positive and lasting change in the North West by empowering people to help themselves and their communities. Under Gerard’s leadership Holywell Trust has been leading on an independent exploration of the constitutional future of these islands through the Future Relationship Conversations and Forward Thinking projects. Gerard is also a Director of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland and a member of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust Northern Ireland Committee. Gerard has worked in leadership roles within the community and voluntary sector for more than 30 years.
Leon Diop
Leon Diop is an award-winning author, founder, and broadcaster. He is the Founder and CEO of Black and Irish CLG, host of the Black and Irish podcast with RTÉ, and Head of EDI at Arts Council Ireland. His books include the An Post Irish Book Award-winning Black & Irish and memoir Mixed Up. An Obama Foundation Europe Leaders Programme alumnus, Leon works across storytelling, culture, and equity — helping people and organisations find their voice and their place.
| Time | Session |
| 11:00am | Registration |
| 12:00pm | Conference Opening |
| 12-5pm | Keynotes and panels – details to be announced soon. See speakers scheduled for Thursday above. |
| 7:00pm | Kabin Crew Performance |
| 7:30pm | Gala Dinner |
| After dinner | John Lonergan, ex-Governor of Mountjoy will give after-dinner address. |
| Time | Session |
| 9:00am | Registration |
| 9:30am – 5pm | Keynotes and panels – details to be announced soon. See speakers scheduled for Friday above. |