National Landscape Forum 2026 ‘Our Shared Landscapes’
The Irish Landscape Institute is pleased to support the: Landscape Forum 2026: Our Shared Landscapes
14th and 15th May, Peace Campus, Monaghan Town, County Monaghan
This year’s National Landscape Forum (NLF26) organised by Landscape Alliance Ireland partnership with Monaghan County Council will convene in Monaghan Town with the aim of enhancing public understanding and awareness of our shared built/natural heritage within the framework of our planning and development legislation/process, EU EIA/SEA Directives, Ireland’s National Landscape Strategy 2015 and the European Landscape Convention 2000.
Event Overview
This years forum in Monaghan Town will include historical and ecology walks, talks, workshops and always great discussions on our landscapes
We are delighted to provide free registration for this years Landscape Forum with thanks to our sponsors.
Thursday 14th May – Peace Campus, Monaghan Town
14:00 – Registration
14:30 – Field trip to Convent of St Louis – 30 acres, Thrive project with Drew Hurley MCC
16:00 – Monaghan Museum – Behind the scenes tour with Liam Bradley MCC
17:00 – Tea/Coffee 5.30 pm – Conversation & Discussion with Terry O’Regan, LAI founder – Our Great Landscape Book – reading, writing & arithmetic!
18:30 – Reception and landscape conversation on Peace Campus Rooftop Terrace
Friday 15th May – Peace Campus, Monaghan Town
All-day forum with the following themes:
09:00 – Registration
09:30 – Welcome from Robert Burns, CE Monaghan CC
09:50 – Talk by Heather McLaughlin ‘Heritage and Connections’
10:15 – Talk by a guest from the Paul Hogarth Company ‘Engagement and Planning’ Monaghan TBC
10:45 – Talk by Sinead Hogan ‘Dromore River Mapping Project’
11:00 – Tea/ Coffee
11:30 – Walking Tour of Monaghan town – historical tour of town centre and guided walk to Elliots Hill, an urban rewilding project with Patrice Macreesh (1.5 hours)
13:00-14:00 – LUNCH at the Peace Campus
14:00 – Workshop ‘Landscape in Ireland’ led by Christina Todd, Dublin City Council, including a discussion/workshop on Landscape professions in Ireland? (30mins). The aim is to form a clear record with a list of actions. This will be led by one or two Landscape professionals with a potential universal café system.
Suggested topics for discussion:
· What can landscape professionals offer to projects and to the community?
· What is precedent in other countries?
· Where are the gaps?
· What is lost without landscape input? Holistic outcomes, sustainable designs, etc.
· What do stakeholders need? Want?
14:40 – Talk by Dr Peter Doran, School of Law, Queen’s University, Belfast ‘The Rights of Nature in sharing their Landscape’ TBC
15:10 – Talk by Philip Doran, UCD ‘Visualising the Paris Climate Agreement’s Impact on the Irish Landscape’
15:30 – Talk by Dr Amy Strecker, UCD Sutherland School of Law ‘Landscape & Democracy’
16:00-17:00 – Q&A followed by NLF26 conclusion
The National Landscape Forum is organised by Landscape Alliance Ireland in a different location each year in support of the National Landscape Strategy 2015, the European Landscape Convention 2000 and the promotion of responsible, informed sustainable landscape care and management. This year we are fortunate to be enthusiastically hosted by Monaghan County Council and generously sponsored by the Built Heritage in the DHLGH, Waterways Ireland, Bord Bia, Irish Landscape Institute and MKO Environmental Consultants.
The landscape forum of its nature is a dynamic happening and elements of the programme may change right up to the day. Participants are expected to participate and all viewpoints may be aired and respected. Key words in the European Landscape Convention definition of landscape are ‘as perceived by people’, we need to inform, share and understand the implications of our perceptions of landscape if we are to live in harmony with each other and nature. The landscape forum is a unique opportunity to strive together in achieving that aim.
Thanks to our sponsors participation in the forum is free, but advance registration is essential. Places are quite limited for the programme on Thursday, 15th May, but not so on Friday 15th May. Register now here.
Sensible walking shoes and suitable weather gear are recommended.
Further details should also be available shortly on our new website landscapeallianceireland.com.
Background
Landscape Alliance Ireland (LAI), founded in 1995 has organised the National Landscape Forum on 14 occasions over the intervening years including the most recent forums held in Waterford (2023), Tralee (2024) and Athlone (2025). The forums involved presentations on built and natural heritage, discussions, workshops and field study trips. Proceedings were published for 5 forums and latterly outcomes were made available digitally. LAI also organised the 3rd European Landscape Convention Workshops 2005 in Cork
LAI recently launched a new website intended to facilitate disseminating both the forum outputs and information relevant to landscape planning, management and protection as provided for in the National Landscape Strategy 2015.
Whilst the forum continues to have a broad, open theme to facilitate addressing both local and wider landscape issues, the focussed theme this year will reflect on the challenges and values of shared landscapes and the role of the democratic process in addressing the same.
The programme this year includes presentations, workshops and a local walking field trips of Monaghan Town and in the surrounding county. The Forum will be of interest to planners, landscape practitioners and other relevant professionals/experts from Monaghan, across Ireland and Northern Ireland.