Social Care lecturers and students attended the annual Social Care Ireland conference which was held this year in Mount Wolseley on March 29^th & 30th. Social Care Ireland (SCI) is the Professional Representative Body for the Social Care Work Profession in the Republic of Ireland. The conference title was: Social Care Practice and Relationships – Critical Reflections on Relationship-based Practice. 

Pictured below is Dr. John Mc Hugh, Programme Director Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) & Lecturer in Social Studies, with conference keynote speaker Dr. Louise O’Connor, Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and Social Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London. Dr. O’Connor was presenting on Agile Emotion Practices: Recognising, Valuing and Developing the Centrality of Emotions in Social Care.

In attendance at the conference also was Dr. Lucy Bennett who enjoyed re-connecting with a former Carlow College employee, Marion Connell, currently Lecturer in Applied Social Care TUD. 

Lecturers in Social Studies, Colleen Mackintosh, Miriam Denn, and Jenny Fahy thoroughly enjoyed meeting Dr. Brian Pennie and listening to his keynote How to Find Your True North: A Guidance System for Life. 

Jenny Fahy also presented an experiential workshop The Zero Zone – Relationship with Self – an exploration through music and movement. 

Equally students from the Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) programme enjoyed the two days of learning, networking and exploring ways to improve their relationship-based practice, adding to their skills and knowledge.