Irish Co-operative Futures 2026
Description
Limited Places - Registration Essential
This important one-day conference focuses on how the co-operative movement can promote a more inclusive, sustainable, and democratic economy in Ireland.
As we await the passage of the long-anticipated Co-operative Societies Bill, and as Ireland hosts the European Presidency, co-operators believe this is a perfect moment to examine what the future trajectory for our movement looks like.
Through a series of engaging workshops, panel discussions, and dialogue with European co-operators and participants the event hopes to set out a road map that can help define what successful partnership between policymakers and co-operatives looks like. Ultimately, we hope to help propel the co-operative movement across the island of Ireland towards a bright future.
The conference takes place on Monday 2nd November 2026 at Bohemians Cooperative, Dublin 7, 11:30am - 7:30pm.
The conference focuses on three key areas.
1) Legislation: How can better legislation enable and support the growth of co-operatives?
2) Potential: What are the opportunities available for co-operatives to make important contributions towards improving people’s quality of life, sharing wealth and safeguarding Ireland’s ecological systems? And what challenges stand in their way?
3) Best Practice: What are the examples of pioneering co-operative action taking place in Ireland, north and south, right now? And what are the lessons that can be drawn from examples of partnership between co-operatives and governments in other European countries?
The centrepiece of the day shall be a keynote address from the President of Co-operatives Europe, Giuseppe Guerini. We are honoured to hear from a deeply knowledgeable and engaging speaker who will place our conference’s main themes within the current European context.
Over the course of the day there will be a focus on three key policy areas: housing, work, energy.
We are delighted to be hosting this event in Bohemian Co-operative’s event space in Phibsborough. The Bohemians Co-operative is one of the most exciting developments to take place within the Irish co-operative sector in recent years and it is taking an approach that seeks to establish a pluralistic co-operative ecology in the heart of Dublin city learning the lessons of community wealth building in the Basque Country, Ohio, Preston and West Ayrshire (https://bohemians.coop/home/).
The conference is itself a co-operative act between the University of Limerick, Co-operatives Europe, Co-operative Alternatives, Co-operative Housing Ireland, Society for Co-operative Studies and Co-operatives Ireland, with financial support provided by Research Ireland New Foundations and Co-operative Housing Ireland.
Agenda
- 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
Registration and Lunch
- 12:30 pm - 12:45 pm
Welcome and Introductions
- 12:45 pm - 1:15 pm
"Co-operation Between Co- operators: A Policy Briefing for Ireland"
Launch of a policy briefing by the authors, Tiziana O'Hara (Co-operative Alternatives) and Patrick Doyle (University of Limerick), who outline some policy aims based on research conducted during the International Year of Co-operatives, 2025.
- 1:15 pm - 2:00 pm
Policy Developments and Opportunities (North)
A panel discussion on policy developments and opportunities to support the growth and development of co-operatives in Northern Ireland, and shared learning from policy makers and researchers in the north. Host: Tiziana O'Hara (Co-operative Alternatives), Panel: Elaine Colgan, Official from NI's Department of the Economy; Seán Byers (Trademark), author of 'The Democratic Alternative: Unlocking the Potential of Northern Ireland's Co-operative Sector'.
- 2:00 pm - 2:15 pm
Break
- 2:15 pm - 3:00 pm
Policy Developments and Opportunities (South)
A panel discussion on policy developments and opportunities to support the growth and development of co-operatives, including the forthcoming Co-operative Societies Bill in development by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. Panel: John Shine, Jennifer McGrath and Caroline Kiernan from Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment.
- 3:15 pm - 4:00 pm
Co-operative Housing across Ireland and Europe
A panel discussion on the current landscape of co-operative housing across Ireland and Europe, and the opportunities to expand its growth and development in Ireland. Host: Eoin Carroll, (CHI) Panel: Rory Hearne TD, academic expert on housing policy; Self-Organised Architects (SOA); Ferdia Quinn (Dublin Student Housing Co-operative)
- 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm
Keynote: Giuseppe Guerini
A key note speech from Giuseppe Guerini, President of Co-operatives Europe. Introduced by Vivian Woodell
- 4:45 pm - 5:00 pm
Break
- 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
Expanding Employee Ownership through Worker Co-operatives
A panel discussion on the current landscape of worker co-operatives across Ireland and Europe, and the opportunities to expand the model through supporting new formations and enabling succession to employee ownership through co-operatives. Host: Sam Toland (Co-operatives Ireland), Panel: Aoife Smith (Great Care Co-op), Diana Dovgan (European Confederation of Industrial and Service Co-operatives), Alice McLarnon (Belfast Cleaning Company), and Eamonn McGuinness (Coop West)
- 5:45 pm - 6:00 pm
Break
- 6:00 pm - 6:45 pm
Energy Co-operatives driving a just energy transition
A panel discussion on the current community energy ecosystem across Ireland, and the opportunities to increase the impact that energy co-operatives can have in lead the transition to a more sustainable energy system. Host: Bridget Carroll (UCC/SCSI), Panel: Gregg Allen (Community Power) + Anne Ford (Drumlin Wind Energy Co-op) + Mark Luntley (RESCOOP)
- 6:45 pm - 7:00 pm
Break
- 7:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Community Wealth Building through Co-operative Development
An interview with a member of the team of Bohemian Co-operatives to discuss their vision for building a co-operative ecosystem in North Dublin, and developments since the launch of their strategy. Host: Patrick Doyle (University of Limerick), Interviewee: Seán McCabe
- 7:30 pm
Dinner - buffet
Lineup
Patrick Doyle
Dr Patrick Doyle is Lecturer in Irish Politics and Community Development at the University of Limerick (UL). His research covers the history of co-operation, and the relationship between capitalism and religion. Before joining UL, he was Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy at the University of Manchester. Patrick is an active co-operator and currently serves as Chair of the Society for Co-operative Studies Ireland. Patrick's first book, Civilising Rural Ireland: The Co-operative Movement, Development and the Nation-state, 1889-1939, examines the history of the co-operative movement and its role in Irish state-building. Other publications focused upon co-operation, Catholic Social Teaching, and the moral economy have appeared in History of European Ideas, Journal of Social History, and Irish Studies Review.
Tiziana O'Hara
Tiziana O'Hara is a founding member of Co-operative Alternatives. Since 2013, she has promoted a variety of co-operatives across sectors, from food and housing to energy and finance, ensuring that co-operatives are recognised as viable, values-driven models for inclusive economic development. Tiziana is a Co-operative Development Practitioner and a licensed Community Share Practitioner. She helped a substantial number of groups to develop co-op business models and raise finance through community share offers and loanstock offers. She also serves as a director on other co-ops, including Northern Ireland Community Energy (NICE), Drumlin Wind Energy Co-operative, and the Irish Society for Co-operative Studies, reflecting her deep commitment to co-operatives both North and South of Ireland. As Convenor of Community Energy NI, Tiziana plays a pivotal role in shaping the region's community energy landscape. She has helped convene a coalition of organisations to advocate for a strategic framework that supports local ownership, capacity building, and equitable access to clean energy.
Giuseppe Guerini
Giuseppe Guerini was elected as Cooperatives Europe President on 2 June 2025 for four years. He was previously the Sectoral Representative on the ICA Board for CICOPA from 2023. Giuseppe Guerini is an Italian social cooperator since 1998, working in several different cooperatives. He has been President of the social cooperative Ecosviluppo for 12 years. In June 2016 he was elected President of CECOP, the European Confederation of Cooperatives in Industries and Services and vice-president of CICOPA, the ICA sectoral organization of Cooperatives in Industry and Services. He is also a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and a member of the board of Cooperatives Europe. From 2010 to 2018, he has been president of Confcooperative – Federsolidarietà, the Italian Federation of social cooperatives, and since 2012 he is President of Confcooperative Bergamo. In his many years of experience, he has been the author of numerous articles on social policies, job placement of disadvantaged persons, social economy, and cooperation and a speaker at many conventions and conferences, both in Italy and abroad, on issues related to social economy, cooperatives, and social enterprises.
Diana Dovgan
Diana Dovgan is the Secretary General of CICOPA (International organization of cooperatives in industry and services) and CECOP (European confederation of cooperatives in industry and services) since 2018. She was previously the Policy Officer for both organizations for 10 years. From 2004 to 2008, she was a Policy Advisor for the Belgian minister in charge of Social Inclusion and Equal Opportunities. Diana Dovgan holds a Master’s Degree in Political Sciences from the Université Libre de Bruxelle
Eoin Carroll
Director of Corporate Services with Co-operative Housing Ireland, which includes responsibility for policy affairs. He is currently Chairperson of Housing Europe's Social Affairs Committee, which brings together housing providers from across Europe to inform policy on housing affordability, social inclusion and tenant participation, and is also on the Board of a not-for-profit that supports organisations to create high-quality, evidence-based services. Eoin holds an MSc in Social Policy, an MBS in Business and a Diploma in Corporate Governance.
Aoife Smith
The Great Care Co-op (GCC) directly addresses three deeply interlinked equality crises in Ireland today: the substandard quality of care services available to support an aging population, the low pay and precarious working conditions of a predominantly female workforce, and the systemic discrimination faced by migrant women working in care. Underpinned by extractive, profit-driven corporate models, Ireland’s home care system faces systemic challenges leaving it ill-equipped to respond to the future needs of the ageing population and workforce. Traditional care provision routinely relies on low wages, isolated workers, income insecurity, and poor working conditions. This environment drives recruitment and retention problems, burn-out, and directly threatens the stability, continuity, and dignity of care required by older people. Founded by a collective of migrant women care workers in partnership with the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), GCC was established as a direct, structural response to these failures. As Ireland’s first carer-owned worker cooperative, GCC offers an ethical, scalable, human-centered alternative that demonstrates great care requires great jobs, and how this is economically viable and good for community. In her presentation, Co-founder and CEO Aoife Smith will outline GCC’s journey in building a business model where worker democracy, racial and gender equality, and economic sustainability go hand in hand. Drawing inspiration from self-managed models like the Dutch Buurtzorg approach, GCC operates through autonomous, neighbourhood-based care teams. By offering above industry average wages and benefits and democratic workplace governance, GCC is addressing the root causes of workforce attrition and systemic marginalisation. This case study offers a practical, real-world model showing how worker ownership could be scaled to solve urgent social care crises, combat inequality, and build a resilient future of work.
Seán Byers
Author of 'The Democratic Alternative: Unlocking the Potential of Northern Ireland's Co-operative Sector' (2026), commissioned by the Department for the Economy.
Anne Ford
Anne has been a Director of Drumlin Co-op, a community renewable energy co-operative, since 2014, serving as Chair for much of that time. She leads Drumlin's education work through the BREESI programme and helped launch Community Energy Northern Ireland. A former Biology and Environmental Science educator, she now runs an organic farm within sight of a Drumlin turbine.
Éamonn McGuiness
Co-operative Trustee and Product Manager, Brightwork, formerly Founder and CEO.
Alice McLarnon
Alice joined Trademark in 2006 and has been involved in community development for over twenty-five years. She completed her degree in Professional Development at the University of Dundee in 2005, and was awarded a MEd in 2012 having undertaken a study on the reintegration of ex-political prisoners. Alice is an experienced cooperative development consultant and founding member of the Belfast Cleaning Society, Northern Ireland’s first cross-community worker-owned cooperative and winner of the inaugural Living Wage Award.
Gregg Allen
Business and Project Manager for Community Power, Irelands first Community Owned Renewable Energy Supply Company registered with the Commission of Energy Regulation (CER).
Mark Luntley
Mark has had a career in local government including as Finance Director at Oxford City Council and the Local Government Association where he represented English councils on financial issues. Mark chaired the Oxfordshire Credit Union for ten years, he chairs Westmill Wind Co-op and was a founding director of Westmill Solar Co-op. As a non-executive director at Energy4All, Mark represents member cooperatives and leads on international relations. In 2017 Mark was elected to the eight-person board of “REScoop” - which represents renewable energy cooperatives across Europe. He is a director of MECISE, which is a Belgian co-operative developing financing mechanisms for European community energy, and President of REScoop, which provides services for organisations who are working in community energy across Europe. Mark has previously been a non-executive director of: Community Energy England, Low Carbon Hub, Ethical Property Company and Soha Housing. He is also a fellow of the RSA.
Sean McCabe
Seán McCabe is the Head of Climate Justice and Sustainability at Bohemian Football Club (Bohemians FC) in Dublin Ireland, He works at the intersection of football, community development, and climate action focusing on how clubs can act as catalysts for Community Wealth Building (CWB) and broader social change.
Sam Toland
Secretary of Co-operatives Ireland, and former Society Secretary of Dublin Food Co-op.
Vivian Woodell
Mr Woodell is CEO of the Phone Co-op foundation for Co-operative Innovation that he co-founded in 1998. He seats in the Board the Midcounties Co-operative, as well as several other cooperative organisations such as Student co-operative Homes. Mr Woodell became member of the Cooperatives Europe Board in 2021, and as re-nominated for election by Co-operatives Ireland in 2025.
Bridget Carroll
Dr. Bridget Carroll (PhD, MSc) is a lecturer in the Department of Food Business and Development and senior researcher with the Centre for Co-operative Studies, UCC. Bridget’s research interests include co-operative development, legislation and regulation and governance. She is a member of the Horizon Europe DICES research team. Bridget is programme director of both the Diploma in Corporate Direction (Food Business) and the Certificate in Co-operative Governance and Professional Development (both aimed at leadership development in agricultural co-operatives). She is Chairperson of the Society for Co-operative Studies in Ireland.
FAQs
- Where is the Bohemian Co-operatives Space?
Bohemians Co-operative Space is on the mezzanine level of the Phibsborough Shopping Centre, Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7.
From Dublin City Centre
Luas: Take the Green Line towards Broombridge from any city-centre stop (Trinity, Westmoreland, O'Connell GPO, Marlborough or Parnell). Get off at Phibsborough, about 10 minutes from O'Connell Street. Leave the stop onto the North Circular Road and walk east for about 5 minutes to Doyle's Corner.
Bus: Routes E1, E2, 23 and 24 run from the city centre to Phibsborough Road and Doyle's Corner.
On foot: About 25 minutes from O'Connell Bridge. Go via Parnell Square and Dorset Street, or via Bolton Street and Constitution Hill onto Phibsborough Road.
From Connolly Station
Luas: Take the Red Line to Abbey Street. Walk 2 minutes to Marlborough and take the Green Line towards Broombridge. Get off at Phibsborough. The trip takes about 25 minutes.
Taxi: About 10 minutes, depending on traffic.
From Heuston Station
Luas: Take the Red Line towards The Point or Connolly and get off at Abbey Street. Walk 2 minutes to Marlborough and take the Green Line towards Broombridge. Get off at Phibsborough. The trip takes about 30 minutes.
Taxi: About 10 to 15 minutes.
On foot: About 30 minutes. Cross the Liffey, then go up Blackhall Place and Manor Street to the North Circular Road, and turn right to Doyle's Corner.
From Dublin Airport
Bus: Route 24 runs directly from the airport to Phibsborough, stopping at Doyle's Corner. It takes about 40 to 50 minutes and runs roughly every 20 minutes during the day.
Taxi or car: About 20 to 30 minutes, depending on traffic. Take the M1 south, then the M50 westbound, and exit at Junction 5 (Finglas / N2). From there, follow the directions under M50 (North).
By car from the M50 (North)
Exit at Junction 5 onto the N2 / Finglas Road towards the city centre. Pass Glasnevin Cemetery and go over Cross Guns Bridge onto Phibsborough Road. The centre is on your right at Doyle's Corner. Allow about 10 to 15 minutes from the M50.
By car from the M50 (West)
Exit at Junction 6 (Blanchardstown / N3) and follow the N3 towards the city centre onto the Navan Road. At Cabra Cross, continue onto Cabra Road and then onto the North Circular Road eastbound. The centre is at Doyle's Corner. Allow about 15 to 20 minutes from the M50.
By car from the M50 (South)
Head north (clockwise) on the M50 and exit at Junction 6 (Blanchardstown / N3). Then follow the M50 (West) directions above. Note: the barrier-free M50 toll between Junctions 6 and 7 applies, and you pay online by 8pm the next day.
Parking
The shopping centre has a car park, and there is on-street pay parking nearby. The centre is being redeveloped. Public transport is recommended.
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