Taoiseach attends Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference in Kildare
The Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference was held in Maynooth, Kildare
Fianna Fáil held its much anticipated 2026 National Youth Conference at the Glenroyal Hotel in Maynooth on November 6th and 7thThe Glenroyal Hotel in Maynooth played host to the 2026 Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference last Friday and Saturday the 6th and 7th of November.
The county Kildare town was selected as the host venue for the 2026 conference after a successful bid to host the event was submitted by the Kildare North branch of Ógra Fianna Fáil. Ógra Fianna Fáil is the youth wing of the Fianna Fáil party and has branches in constituencies and third-level institutions across the island of Ireland.
The National Youth Conference is the most important event in the Ógra Fianna Fáil calendar.
During the two-day event Ógra delegates from across the country gathered in Maynooth to vote on policy and organisational motions, take part in panel discussions with elected representatives and voted to elect a new 12 person Central Officer Board (COB), who are responsible for the management and administration of Ógra Fianna Fáil on a national level.
The work of the COB is overseen by the President of Ógra Fianna Fáil, and conference delegates voted to re-elect John Crowley of Kerry to that position for a second term.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended the conference on Saturday November 7 and spoke to delegates about his experience joining Ógra Fianna Fáil as a young history student studying at University College Cork.
The Taoiseach also took part in a panel discussion with delegates on Young People in Ireland: Electoral Participation and Political Priorities, which was chaired by Kildare North TD Naoise Ó Cearúil.
A number of other invited guests spoke to delegates over the course of the weekend including fellow Kildare North TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless, Minister for Public Expenditure and Fianna Fáil Deputy Leader Jack Chambers, Minister of State for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice Catherine Ardagh, Tipperary North TD Ryan O’Meara, Senator Fiona O’Loughlin, Senator Alison Comyn, Senator Shane Curley, former Tánaiste Mary Coughlan and Professor of Politics at DCU Eoin O’Malley.
Maynooth Councillor Donna Phelan was also in attendance at the conference to warmly welcome delegates to the local area, and Midlands-North-West MEP Barry Cowen hosted a social event on Friday night which was themed around Ireland’s EU Presidency and youth issues.
The Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference takes place approximately every 18 months and changes provincial location every time it is held. Kildare last hosted a National Youth Conference in 2014 when the event was held at the Westgrove Hotel in Clane.
Speaking on their success in bringing the 2026 National Youth Conference to Maynooth, Chairperson of Kildare North Ógra Fianna Fáil Cian Domican said: “We are absolutely delighted to have had the opportunity to bring the Fianna Fáil National Youth Conference back to Kildare last weekend. Kildare is so important not just to Ógra but to the wider Fianna Fáil organisation too.
“Our party is the largest on Kildare County Council, we have an active branch of Ógra at Maynooth University and the county is home to many young people who are starting to build their lives here and who wish to engage in a progressive and republican politics that only Fianna Fáil can offer.
“We would also like to give a special thank you to the staff of the Glenroyal Hotel who were instrumental in making the conference the great success it was.”