Member Townhall on Irish EU Presidency Priorities for 2026
Member Townhall on Irish EU Presidency Priorities for 2026
Ireland will hold the Presidency of the EU from July to December 2026. Join us at our special member townhall on 24 September to have your say on what the key priorities should be for Ireland’s EU Presidency.
We’ll hear from some key sector voices, including Connections Arts Centre, the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), the European Movement Ireland (EMI) and Aontas, about what their priorities will be for the EU Presidency. We then want you to share your ideas about the priorities you’d like to see included and how the Irish Presidency of the EU can bring communities together.
This is a free event for our members but registration is essential.
- You can book places for yourself and/or colleagues by clicking the button below.
- This event will take place on Zoom.
- Closed Captions can be enabled by participants.
- Please email matthew@wheel.ie if you have any special requirements.
Meet Your Facilitator
Guillaume Jacquinot is the Campaign and Advocacy Manager for The Wheel. He has worked in the disability sector since 2012, with various organisations at both national and international levels. He was elected Secretary General of Inclusion Europe, a European organisation representing people with intellectual disabilities and their families at the EU level. He holds a Master's in Human Rights and completed an LLM in International Comparative Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway.
Meet Your Speakers
Lorna Hayes is an experienced researcher and advocate with 20 years experience working with leading international human rights and development organisations including Trócaire, Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders, and is now Deputy CEO, leading on policy and engagement programmes, within European Movement Ireland.
During her career she has successfully designed and led research and campaigning strategies and presented her research findings to a range of audiences. She has managed country programmes in complex contexts such as Central America, Colombia and Myanmar and worked closely with civil society networks in all world regions
Miriam Spollen is the Founder and CEO of Connections Arts Centre, an award-winning social enterprise in Dublin, Ireland, that provides accessible community arts and education programmes for adults with disabilities. An alumna of the National College of Art and Design and Trinity College Dublin, she holds a BA in Design and a Postgraduate Diploma in Cultural Entrepreneurship. Miriam began her career in the fashion industry before transitioning to community arts and education.
In 2021, she established Connections Arts Centre to help individuals with disabilities overcome societal barriers, promote inclusion, and reduce isolation. Under her leadership, the organisation has launched impactful initiatives such as Creative TY Connections, Connecting Artists, and Accessible Communication Training (ACT), each fostering creativity, confidence, and social participation. Her work reflects a strong commitment to co-production and inclusion, and the Centre’s programmes are now recognised as models of good practice aligned with national disability and education strategies.
Conor Thompson leads the Advocacy Team at AONTAS, the National Adult Learning Organisation. He works with the Advocacy Team to identify issues in the sector facing learners, staff, and providers. AONTAS uses their evidence base to work with key stakeholders to improve conditions in adult education, the quality of adult learning, and the learner experience. Conor is also a qualified Further Education teacher and has a background in adult education, working as an English Language and Adult Literacy tutor.
Ronan Kennedy is Senior Policy Officer for the Democratic Freedoms initiative. He previously worked in a number of policy and advocacy roles in Early Childhood Ireland, the Oireachtas and the Institute for British-Irish Studies.
He holds an MSc from University College Dublin on the topic of Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict Resolution and his research on democratic inclusion has been published in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations.
Jean-Marie Cullen is the International Affairs Manager at the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), where she leads on international youth and youth work policy, youth engagement and strategic partnerships.
She is on the European Steering Group for EU Youth Dialogue (EUYD) and plays a leading role in the National Working Group on EUYD, where she coordinates the Young Voices programme—engaging young people and youth workers across Ireland in shaping youth policy and amplifying their voices through the EU’s largest youth participatory platform.
Jean-Marie served on the European Commission’s Expert Group on Digitalisation and Youth, and is a board member of Léargas, Ireland’s National Agency for the European Solidarity Corps (ESC) and Erasmus+.
