Where research meets the roots in Mayo

Mayo's Mary Robinson Centre invites communities, researchers, farmers, artists, policymakers and changemakers from across Ireland and beyond to the Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference 2026, taking place on July 9 and 10 in Ballina.

Under the guiding theme 'Food and Care: A Meitheal for Our Time', this two-day conference offers a space where farmers, scientists, activists, artists, and community workers come together not as separate voices, but as equals ready to share, learn and act.

In the Ireland of old, a 'meitheal' meant neighbours working the land together, sharing labour, knowledge and care. The 2026 conference draws on that same spirit, asking a simple but powerful question: What might be possible if researchers, community groups, farmers, climate scientists, biodiversity experts, artists and carers worked side by side, listening to one another as equals?

This is not a conference of passive audiences. It is a gathering of participants. Every voice is needed!

“It is important to understand that we need more food sovereignty and diversity of produce in Ireland. I love the saying ‘You are never too young to lead or too old to learn,’ and I still have a lot to learn,” said Mary Robinson.

The main body of the conference will take place at St. Mary's Secondary School, Ballina. Designed to comply with Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) standards, the school is an exemplar of sustainability, generating its own power via solar panels.

Additional sessions and gatherings will be hosted at the Mary Robinson Centre in Ballina – Mary Robinson's family home, now a hub for climate justice, human rights, biodiversity conservation, and humanitarian awareness.

Both venues have autism-friendly status, in association with AsIAm, and are fully wheelchair accessible.

DIVERSE

Following a national call for sessions, the Mary Robinson Centre is preparing a diverse programme featuring community initiatives, researchers, and activists.

Too often, research remains locked in academic journals while community innovation goes unrecorded.

This conference seeks to bridge that divide. The ecologist and the farmer, the care worker and the policy researcher, the climate scientist and the community activist are all wanted in the same room – not one informing the other, but both learning together.

Throughout the two days, a vibrant farmers’ market will take place outside St. Mary's Secondary School, celebrating local growers, producers, and craftspeople. It offers delegates and visitors a chance to connect directly with the land and its people: to taste, to talk, and to experience the richness of the region.

Open to the general public, the market welcomes local community participation. In this way, Ballina becomes not simply a backdrop, but a participant. If you are an organic or sustainable farmer or food vendor and are interested in having a stall at the farmers’ market, visit the Mary Robinson Centre website for an application form and return completed applications to conference@maryrobinsoncentre.ie.

The Curlew Awards are a partnership between Atlantic Technology University (ATU), University of Galway and the Mary Robinson Centre, Ballina. They celebrate and recognise teaching and academic staff in ATU and the University of Galway who have shown outstanding dedication to education for sustainable development (ESD) through enriching their teaching, inspiring their students, and fostering a culture of interconnected global responsibility.

The awardees will each receive seed funding to support their future ESD practice and scholarship. On July 9, they will be presented with their award at the 2026 Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference.

ETHOS

Speakers and facilitators will be welcomed by three co-chairs, each embodying the conference's ethos of connection between research and community.

They are: Dr. Kevin Lynch (University of Galway), a climate scientist who has spent years bridging the gap between complex environmental data and the communities who need to use it, bringing rigorous academic insight and a deep commitment to making science accessible, useful and shared; Laura Dixon (Mayo County Council), who, as a climate action officer working on the frontline of local and regional climate action, represents the voice of place, of policy in practice, and of the community ethos of Ballina, her presence grounding the conference in the real work happening on Mayo's streets, farms and shorelines; and Dr. Karen Bacon (University of Galway), an expert in plant ecology and biodiversity whose research speaks directly of the land beneath our feet, bringing a careful, patient attention to the natural world and a belief that good science grows best in open conversation and with those who tend the soil.

The 2026 Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference is also honoured to welcome 11 keynote speakers. Each brings not only deep expertise but a lived commitment to the work of care, land and justice.

They are: Odile La Bolloch (Environmental Protection Agency); John Morrissey (University of Galway); Rupa Marya (Trinity College Dublin); Jack O'Donovan Trá (Fair Seas); Anna Davies (Trinity College Dublin); Sean McCabe (Bohemian Football Club); Fiona Doohan (University College Dublin); Matt Smith (Hometree); Grace Maher (Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association); Deirdre deBhailís (Dingle Hub); Alice Doyle (Irish Farmers' Association); and Molly Garvey (Nuffield Ireland).

Tickets for the conference are available online from the Mary Robinson Centre website.