Every year, we hold our Founder's Day conference to recognise and contribute to the continued legacy of our pioneering founder, Jonathan Swift.
Taking place on Friday, 27 November, our 2020 event explored the future of mental health in Ireland, looking at the key features of an excellent mental health service, particularly when considering this year's new government and national mental health policy, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A recording of the conference is now available below, along with a copy of the full programme for the event. Former United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, Dainius Puras, participated as our keynote speaker for this event. The other speakers joining us included:
- Mary Butler TD, Minister for Mental Health and Older People
- Paul Gilligan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), St Patrick's Mental Health Services
- John Farrelly, CEO of the Mental Health Commission
- Fiona Coyle, CEO of Mental Health Reform
- Mary Favier, Immediate Past President of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP)
- Mark Smyth, Senior Clinical Psychologist with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and President of the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI)
- Joseph Duffy, CEO of Jigsaw
- William Flannery, President of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland
- Dr Amir Niazi, National Clinical Advisor and Group Lead for Mental Health in the Health Service Executive
- Martha Griffin, Chair of the Peer Support in Mental Health Programme in Dublin City University and a peer educator with the Recovery College
- Kevin Jones, carer representative, Board member and former Secretary General of EUFAMI
- Professor Paul Fearon, Medical Director of SPMHS
- Dr Damien Brennan, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Teaching and Learning at the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College Dublin.
The conference highlighted a comprehensive range of perspectives, with each speaker presenting a short 10-minute talk that concentrates on what they feel are the key areas for consideration in mental health services.
Founder's Day coincides with the birthday of Jonathan Swift, whose bequeathing of £12,000 for "a home for fools and mad" led to the establishment of not only the first mental health hospital in Ireland, but one of the very first in the world.
The annual conference brings together national and international academics, clinicians, service users and carers, and marks a major event in the Irish Continuing Professional Development (CPD) calendar. For those who attended the live event, the ICGP is awarding four CPD points and a half day's study leave; the Irish Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) is giving four points, with the PSI awarding two points.
Watch the conference
Please note that, if you watch this recording, ICGP members are eligible to claim up to four personal learning credits, with one credit awarded for every one hour of the event watched. If you are a PSI member, youi can also document this in your learning log, but the PSI will not issue a certificate for this. The IACP will not award external CPD points or personal learning credits for watching this recording.
Download the Learning and Outcomes document
Following the Founder’s Day conference, a learning outcomes document was produced based on the broad range of perspectives delivered as part of the conference.
Download the programme
Click here to access it
See more about the conference's history
Continue to…
Street Leagues | First Fortnight 2021