University College Cork Hosts the 50th Annual Irish Endocrine Society Meeting
The Irish Endocrine Society (IES) will mark its 50th anniversary by hosting its Annual Meeting at University College Cork (UCC) on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2026. The two-day conference takes place across the 1849 Tudor Gothic Revival building known as the Aula Maxima and the modern Devere Hall within the student centre, the Medical Independent reported.
Scientific Programme and Keynote Lectures in Cork
The event opens on Friday morning with an RCPI specialist training committee meeting alongside IES subsection meetings in Devere Hall. A ‘Meet the Professor’ session with the Hadden Lecturer, Prof Mirjam Christ-Crain of the University Hospital of Basel, will run concurrently in the Aula Maxima, featuring six case presentations by trainees. Prof Christ-Crain, who serves as President-Elect of the European Society of Endocrinology, will later deliver the main Hadden Lecture on vasopressin deficiency and fluid disorders.
Dr Maeve Durkan, Hon. Secretary of IES at European Thyroid Association @ETA_Thyroid 47th Annual Meeting in Porto, Portugal, Sept 2026 pic.twitter.com/fYkK5iDi6w
The morning schedule also features the Paediatric Keynote Lecture by Prof Colin Hawkes, a Consultant Paediatric Endocrinologist at Cork University Hospital. Prof Hawkes focuses on growth disorders, puberty, and hormone-related conditions in children and adolescents. Afternoon sessions shift toward person-centred diabetes communication, bariatric surgery, and vascular calcification under diabetic conditions in human lung microvascular endothelial cells, followed by a historical address from Prof Sean Dineen on five decades of the IES.
Lifetime Achievement Award for Prof Chris Thompson
During the Gala dinner at the Kingsley Hotel on Friday evening, IES President and Consultant Endocrinologist Prof Steven Hunter will present the Society’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award to the recently retired Consultant Endocrinologist Prof Chris Thompson. Prof Thompson moved to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin from Glasgow in 1997, where he raised over €500,000 for a new day centre, established the country’s first adolescent diabetes service, and was the senior author on international guidelines for the management of hyponatraemia.
Saturday Thyroid Disease Updates and Annual General Meeting
Proceedings on Saturday 14 November begin with the IES Annual General Meeting in the Aula Maxima. Following short oral presentations, Prof Carla Moran—Consultant Endocrinologist at the Beacon Hospital, Rotunda Hospital, and St Vincent’s University Hospital—will deliver the McKenna Lecture. Her address is titled ‘Advancing diagnosis, phenotyping, and management of rare thyroid disease’. The conference concludes following four additional oral presentations and the final distribution of awards and grants.
Frequently Asked Questions About the 2026 IES Meeting
Where is the 50th Annual Meeting taking place?
The meeting is being held at University College Cork across the historic Aula Maxima and Devere Hall in the Student Centre on 13–14 November 2026.
Who is delivering the Hadden Lecture?
Prof Mirjam Christ-Crain, Professor of Endocrinology at the University Hospital of Basel and President-Elect of the European Society of Endocrinology, is the Hadden Lecturer.
Who receives the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award?
Prof Chris Thompson, a retired Consultant Endocrinologist from Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, will receive the award at the Friday evening Gala dinner.
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