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civic · Tuesday 22 September 2026 · 9:30am 
All-Island Food Networks Gathering 2026
At Midlands Park Hotel · Jessop Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois
At Midlands Park Hotel · Jessop Street, Portlaoise, Co. Laois
The Midlands Park Hotel hosts the All-Island Food Networks Gathering on Tuesday, 22 September 2026, bringing together coordinators, committee and board representatives, food and drink producers, hospitality providers and food experience operators from across Ireland’s regional food networks. It runs as a half-day conference rather than a trade show with stalls, aimed at the people who run and support these networks rather than the general public.
The gathering is built around connecting the people behind Ireland’s food networks, allowing coordinators and committee members from different regions to compare notes with each other and with individual producers, hospitality providers and food experience operators who are part of those networks. Expect a conference format: presentations, panel discussion and structured networking time rather than tastings or a public market, since the stated purpose is coordination and knowledge-sharing across the sector rather than direct sales. It runs from 9:30am to 1:30pm, a half-day session that leaves the afternoon free, which fits a working gathering aimed at people travelling in from around the country for the day. Portlaoise sits on both the M7 motorway and two intercity rail lines, the Dublin to Cork route and the Dublin to Limerick route, which makes it an easy midpoint for a gathering pulling attendees from food networks around the country rather than a venue chosen for its own food scene.
The Midlands Park Hotel is on Jessop Street in Portlaoise town centre, close to Portlaoise train station on the Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Limerick lines. The hotel has its own car park, with further public parking available nearby.
Portlaoise’s central location and motorway and rail links are a large part of why events drawing attendees from across Ireland are held here. There is more to see in Portlaoise and across Co. Laois.
Heading to Midlands Park Hotel in Portlaoise? Laois has plenty more to see. Read the Portlaoise area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.