Education Buildings Ireland 2026

Comfort Break & Move to Final Session

11-Nov-2026

16:00 – 16:15

Afternoon Break & Exhibition Visit

11-Nov-2026

14:00 – 15:00

Conference Session Break & Exhibition Visit

11-Nov-2026

12:00 – 13:00

Morning Break & Exhibition Visit

11-Nov-2026

10:30 – 11:00

Registration & Exhibition Visit

11-Nov-2026

09:00 – 10:00

Sofa session B - Enhancing Teaching and Learning with the Built Environment

11-Nov-2026

13:15 – 14:00

Better buildings don’t just house learning — they shape it - We tend to view buildings as simple enclosures, but in education the environment acts as an unseen educator. When space is intentionally de ...

Gavin Fox, Head of Business Development - CPAC Modular Limited

The Proven Power of Digital Project Delivery

11-Nov-2026

15:00 – 16:00

This session will showcase the proven power of digital project delivery. Exploring how Scotland’s public sector is addressing the challenges faced by clients and building operators in managing estates ...

Adrian Farrelly, Assistant Principal Officer - Department of Education and Youth

Alen O'Farrell, Head of the Digital Strategy & Projects Section - Department of Education and Youth

Greg Byrne, Digital Project Solutions Business Partner - BAM

Jim Dunne, Founder & Managing Director - iAcoustics

Opening Keynote

11-Nov-2026

10:00 – 10:30

Hubert Loftus, Assistant Secretary - Department of Education and Youth

Michael Moynihan, Minister - Department of Education and Youth

Phenomenology and Human-Centred Design

11-Nov-2026

13:00 – 14:00

Phenomenology explores how people experience and interpret the world through lived experience. This session examines how high-quality, inclusive design and meaningful end-user engagement can shape sch ...

Eoin Horgan, Senior Architect - Department of Education and Youth

Lauren Casement, Principal Architect and Head of Education Architectural Advisory - Department of Finance Northern Ireland

Ronan McCann, Director - MGNÉ Architects

Michael Horan, Architect and Principal - Axo Architects

John Gorman, Principal - Rosses Community School

Future Proofing and Adaptability

11-Nov-2026

13:00 – 14:00

This session shares research from Programme Innovate on how schools can be designed to stay adaptable, efficient, and resilient in the face of changing enrolment, limited sites, evolving pedagogy, and ...

Cillian Murphy, Senior Structural Engineer - Department of Education and Youth

Donal O'Donohue, Director - Coady Architects

Carolyn Barenbrug, Director, Education and Health Lead Ireland - Turner & Townsend Limited

Ronan Stokes, Director - PUNCH Consulting Engineers

Tomás Moore, Chartered Senior Building Services Engineer - Department of Education

Stephen Finch, Director - Semple and McKillop

Sofa session E

11-Nov-2026

14:15 – 14:45

Sofa Session A

11-Nov-2026

11:15 – 12:00

Reimagining the Hard Yard: Designing Schoolgrounds for Inclusive, Healthy, and Climate-Resilient Schools Well-designed play friendly schoolgrounds are essential yet persistently neglected infrastructu ...

Gavin Arnold - Department of Education and Youth

Michelle Bergin, Researcher, lecturer and occupational therapist - University College Cork

Sofa Session D

11-Nov-2026

12:15 – 13:00

Designing A Campus for All

11-Nov-2026

11:00 – 12:00

This session focuses on inclusive campus design and planning. It will explore how a multi school campus can be designed to maximise integration opportunities between mainstream and special schools. In ...

Karen Hawkshaw, Senior Architect - Planning and Building Unit of the Department of Education and Youth

Andrew Nevin, Director, Architect - Allies and Morrison

Padraic Flood, Project Director - KSN Project Management

Vivienne Wynne, Principal - Libermann Spiritan School, Templeogue

Ciarán Dowling, Principal - Templeogue College

Dirk Schleihs, Director - Center for Special Education

Climate in Action

11-Nov-2026

13:00 – 14:00

This session will embody policy, carbon, estate inventory management and student-led responses to climate change developing practical, creative solutions focused on sustainability and environmentally ...

John Dolan, Head - Climate Action Unit in the Department of Education and Youth,

Paul O'Sullivan, Senior Architect - An Roinn Oideachais | Department of Education

Gavin Arnold - Department of Education and Youth

Stephen Brophy, Head of Public Sector and Enterprise Energy Efficiency - Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment

Joan Prendeville, Senior Staff Officer - Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board

Innovative Campus designs delivering the next generation of Educational Environments

11-Nov-2026

15:00 – 16:00

The panel will present examples of how projects are becoming more complex and demanding, requiring designs to be more innovative in their approach in delivery and design. The core to this success, is ...

Stefan Matthews, Technical Manager - Department of Education and Youth

Jeana Gearty, Director, Architect - O'Donnell and Tuomey

Angela Withey, Capital Delivery Manager - City of Cardiff Council

Building Capacity and Community

11-Nov-2026

15:00 – 16:00

Twenty new special schools have been established nationally in the past five years. Seventeen of these schools are under the patronage of the Local Education and Training Boards (ETBs). These new scho ...

Emily Power, Architect - Department of Education and Youth

John Kearney, Chief Executive Officer - The National Council for Special Education (NCSE)

David O'brien, Senior Associate & Architect - Corgan

Éilis Dowling, Assistant Principal Officer - Department of Education and Youth

Tracy Carroll, Inclusive learning Advocate - INCLUSION IRELAND

Sofa Session C - Climate Energy and Estate Performance

11-Nov-2026

15:15 – 16:00

Planning for Net Zero at Portfolio Scale: Practical Insights for Education Estates Achieving net zero across a diverse education estate requires a consistent, data driven strategy. Drawing on programm ...

Gavin Arnold - Department of Education and Youth

Peter Creaney, Sustainability Team Leader, Ireland - AECOM

Kallum Desai - AECOM

Scott Dickson, design director - AtkinsRéalis

Alex Vafeiadi, Associate Architect

Brian O'Hara, Specification Manager - Architectural & Metal Systems

Managing school capacity within schools and across the school estate

11-Nov-2026

11:00 – 12:00

This session will outline how the Department of Education and Youth’s Forward Planning Unit identifies capacity and forecasts demand from across school planning areas, share insights from experienced ...

Cathal McDonagh, Principal Officer - Department of Education and Youth’s Planning and Building Unit

Murty Hanly, Principal Officer - Department of Education and Youth

Séamus ó Ceallacháin, Forward Planning Officer - Association of Patrons and Trustees of Catholic Schools

Margaret Brennan, Senior Architect - Planning and Building Unit of the Department of Education and Youth

Challenges and potential when delivering school buildings

11-Nov-2026

11:00 – 12:00

This session explores the potential that Modern Methods of Construction brings to the educational building sector, highlighting some of the recent success in delivering modular buildings. Low embodied ...

Mick McDonnell, Senior Architect - Department of Education and Youth

Martin Searson, Head of Modern Methods of Construction - NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland)

Kevin Dolan, Head of Design - Vision Build

Pat Nestor, Head of Building Control - Dublin City Council

Education Buildings Ireland 2026

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