Press

2026 Sustainable Media Ireland Annual Conference in Galway City

Registration now open for the 2026 Sustainable Media Ireland annual conference in Galway City Supported by TG4 & Coimisiún na Meán

11.02.26

 
This year, the PorterShed in Galway will be the location for the 2026 Sustainable Media Ireland (SMI) annual conference. It is the first time it will be held outside of Dublin and TG4 are delighted to be the hosts.

Sustainable Media Ireland is a network of media organisations that come together to discuss and share information, consider policy and promote engagement on all aspects of sustainability across Ireland’s media sector.  SMI members include TG4, RTÉ, Virgin Media Ireland, Screen Ireland, Screen Producers Ireland, Independent Broadcasters of Ireland (IBI), Craol representing national, local and community media commercial and online press, with support from Coimisiún na Meán.  

The conference will be a day long experience, featuring talks and panels looking at many aspects of the media in Ireland, all through the prism of sustainability. While this clearly means careful consideration of the environment, it also considers the economic stability and social and cultural impact of our work.

Previous SMI events took place in Virgin Media Ireland studios and RTÉ studios.

This year’s event will feature a look at the contribution Manchán Magan has made to the Irish language, television and our appreciation of the land. Technology innovator Glen Mulcahy looks into what impact AI could have in the not too distant future. After a very wet and stormy start to the year, there will also be a discussion on business resilience in the light of increasing extreme weather impact.
 
Rónán Ó Domhnaill, Media Development Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán said: “Coimisiún na Meán is committed to supporting sustainability best practice across the media sector in Ireland. The annual Sustainable Media Ireland event offers all members the opportunity to network, exchange ideas and develop policy. We are delighted to be heading West and holding the event outside Dublin for the first time. We’re always conscious of managing the carbon footprint of the event by choosing timings that are convenient for public transport, which we strongly encourage, and providing a vegetarian-only catering options. We’re also excited to introduce online streaming for the first time for members unable to travel with international contributors joining us via video link. At a time when extreme weather events are impacting every part of Irish society we look forward to exploring how media can address the climate crisis in a meaningful way.”
 
Deirdre Ní Choistín, Director General TG4: “TG4 are delighted to be hosting our media colleagues for this wonderful event. Sustainability must be at the heart of everything we do as organisations. It will be great to share best practice, hear from inspiring innovators in sustainable production and discuss the challenges we all face, while working together to find long-term, viable solutions. Bringing people to Galway also allows us to showcase the best of what is happening here in the production sector in the West and to celebrate the achievements of our wonderfully talented media and creative professionals.”
 
The conference takes place on Wednesday 25th February and is free for SMI members and staff to attend.