Conference 2026 – 7th July
Thank you to all of our members who attended the 2026 Conference and AGM on 7 July at the Shearwater Hotel! We had a wonderful time catching up with members, discussing the year in review, and talking about our work.
A special thank you to Keynote Speaker Hannah Brown, who delivered the Joan Bradley Keynote Address. Hannah is a Historian of Disability and Medicine, and talked about her research into lived experiences of polio survivors in Northern Ireland.
Emma Miller also joined us via Zoom, speaking on the legacy of her great uncle, Jeff Hall, who died from polio at the young age, of 29. Since his passing in 1959, Jeff’s family has campaigned for polio vaccination and awareness.
John Dolan also gave an evocative speech before presenting the Jim Costello Polio Hero Award to the Justice for Polio Campaign Group: Susan Dowling, Anne Shanahan, and Anne Burns. We were delighted to recognise the dedication of these three exceptional members for their work in advocating for polio survivors and helping to bring about the successful settlement of the mediation process with Rehab/PFI.
Our Board also spoke on the PFI/Rehab/Justice Campaign, welcoming an enthusiastic Q&A on the settlement’s impact for the near and long-term future of our organisation.
Special thanks to all our stand holders for the day: The Heritage Centre at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Donal Murtagh Mobility, The Recliner Showroom, and APOS Ltd. We were delighted to have them speak to attendees about their work and services.
We are especially grateful to everyone who volunteered their time to help run this event in some way. In particular, thanks to those who volunteered on the fundraising table and also to the external volunteers, who came along to support us, namely Rachel, Iwona, Anne and Mercy. Year after year, the help of our volunteers is crucial.
With the Conference behind us, we look forward to reviewing evaluations and assessing what has worked and what we could revise for the future. As always, your views are welcome. Contact the office on 01 8898920.