A warm welcome to all delegates who have travelled to Killarney for our Biennial Conference 2026. We have an action packed schedule ahead of us over the next three days.

This afternoon, Conference will open with a performance by multi-instrumentalist musician Liam O'Connor.

Fórsa President Martin Walsh will give an address to start proceedings. We will then begin the important business of union democracy, debating motions on pensions and climate.

General secretary Kevin Callinan will present an update on the A Better Deal campaign, outlining what has been achieved so far and what the future holds.

The opening session will wrap up with the Distinguished Service Awards, celebrating members who have shown exceptional commitment to our union.

All conference documents are available on the conference website hub, which you can access here. 

Conference will reconvene early tomorrow morning at 8.45am with a packed schedule for the day. An Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD is due to address the conference at 9am, after which general secretary Kevin Callinan will respond. The Presidential election ballot boxes open at 10am. Recent union research on remote and flexible work will be presented to delegates, followed by a panel discussion.

The timetable is here.

We have five fringe events organised for lunch breaks on Thursday and Friday. All fringe events take place in the Brehon hotel, just across the car park. Read about them here.

On Thursday, you can choose from talks on the work being done to build our membership Fórsa or hear from Justice for Colombia on their work in furthering peace and social justice under challenging circumstances.

There will be some very special sessions on Friday. Fórsa member and activist Donna Schwarz will share her experience as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, while Fórsa Youth will be presenting on the ins-and-outs of the housing crisis. You can also hear about the spread of the Asian Hornet with Fórsa activist and member of the Irish Beekeepers' Association Colette O’Connell.

Lunch will be provided at all fringe events.

Drop by the stalls in the Exhibitor's Hall. From union stands to partner organisations, therapy dogs and a photo booth, there's something for everyone!

This year, for the first time at conference, we have set aside a quiet room for neurodivergent people taking part in Conference. 

Conference can be loud and chaotic at times, and the quiet room will give overstimulated people the space needed to readjust and re-centre.

National secretary Catherine Keogh said: “As a union we value the contributions of our neurodivergent members. We’re making the quiet room available so we can support neurodivergent members to participate to their fullest and be the best versions of themselves over the course of conference.”

While the quiet room is not exclusive to neurodivergent people, anyone wishing to use the room is asked to respect the intended purpose of the quiet room.

The quiet room can be found along the hallway between the hotel lobby and hotel shop. It will be open from 11am on Thursday.