The 2025 Educate Together Principals’ Conference, held at the beautiful Galway Bay Hotel, brought together 72 school leaders from across Ireland for two days of collaboration, innovation, and courageous conversations. Under the theme “Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces: Daring to Lead in an Educate Together School”, the conference provided a dynamic forum for principals to explore leadership in equality-based education, share best practices, and strengthen professional networks.
The energy was palpable from the very beginning, with attendees engaging in thought-provoking discussions, hands-on workshops, warm chats and meaningful connections. Here’s a look back at the highlights from both days.
Day One: Building Brave Spaces & Relational Leadership
The first day set a powerful tone, focusing on creating inclusive school cultures and navigating challenging conversations. Key sessions included:
- Role Players for Training facilitated an interactive session on managing difficult conversations, equipping leaders with practical strategies for conflict resolution.
- Michelle Stowe (Connect RP) delivered an inspiring keynote on Safe Spaces, Brave Spaces, followed by a panel discussion with principals Dermot Stanley, Claire Matthews and Tom Moriarty on how school leaders can co-create and sustain a relational school culture.
- Trina Golden led an essential Guidelines Review workshop for primary principals on SET Deployment Circular & Understanding Behaviours of Concern guidelines, while the second-level principals engaged in their network meeting.
- The day concluded with a networking reception and dinner, where we marked 20 years of Principals’ Conferences.
Day Two: Leadership, Vision & Collaboration
The second day deepened the focus on visionary leadership and future-focused education:
- Emer Nowlan, Educate Together CEO, opened with a keynote on the evolving landscape of equality-based education.
- Professor Patricia Mannix McNamara, Head of the School of Education at the University of Limerick, delivered a compelling talk on flourishing leadership and culture, bridging research and practice, and leaving us all with some great pearls of wisdom, including how ‘we start fresh every day, just with more wisdom than the day before’.
- Following on from these Culture discussions of the 2024 conference and again in this year’s conference, cafe-style workshopping at tables encouraged principals to explore and share innovative leadership approaches to school recruitment, induction, Droichead, and leading intergenerational staff rooms.
A Conference of Connection & Growth
As always, what made this event truly special was the collective energy in the room—principals learning from each other, challenging assumptions, and leaving with renewed inspiration. The conversations sparked here will undoubtedly ripple through schools nationwide, strengthening Educate Together’s mission.
A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors—Aladdin, ClassMate, Promethean, and The Lunch Bag—for their invaluable support in making this conference possible.
And a huge thanks also to our principals who assisted with planning this year’s conference. Here’s to continuing the conversation—and the daring leadership—in 2025 and beyond!