Offaly County Childcare Committee Annual Seminar 2026

What to Expect

Offaly County Childcare Committee holds its annual seminar at the Central Hotel Tullamore on Saturday 17 October 2026, with the 2026 theme set as Supporting Inclusion in Practice. It is the committee’s main gathering of the year for the county’s early years workforce, and it runs as a morning-to-early-afternoon session rather than a full day, from 9am to 2pm.

Two speakers are billed. Jeanette Delahunty presents Inclusion in Practice: Understanding Behaviour and Supporting All Children, working through what inclusive practice looks like when applied to behaviour in a real room rather than in policy. Nicola Erasmus follows with Positive Language and Behaviour Support Strategies in Early Years, focused on the language practitioners use and the strategies that support children without escalating a situation. Both talks sit squarely with the day-to-day realities of preschool rooms, afterschool services and childminding settings across Offaly. The seminar is in person only, with no online option, and places are booked through Eventbrite in advance. Refunds are available up to seven days before the date.

Good to Know

• Date: Saturday 17 October 2026, 9am to 2pm
• Venue: Central Hotel Tullamore, Main Street, Tullamore, R35 Y7P1
• Theme: Supporting Inclusion in Practice
• Speakers: Jeanette Delahunty and Nicola Erasmus
• In person only; no online attendance
• Booking through Eventbrite; refunds up to 7 days before the seminar
• Organised by Offaly County Childcare Committee

Getting There

The Central Hotel is on Main Street in the middle of Tullamore, a short walk from O’Connor Square and the Grand Canal harbour. Tullamore is reached on the N52 and N80, signposted off the M6 at Kilbeggan and off the M7 at Portlaoise. There is pay-and-display parking on the surrounding streets and larger car parks off Bridge Street and at the Bridge Centre, both within a few minutes on foot. Tullamore railway station sits on the Dublin Heuston to Galway line, about 15 minutes’ walk from Main Street, and Bus Eireann services stop in the town centre, which makes a 9am start workable without a car for anyone travelling from Dublin or Athlone.