Political Studies Association of Ireland

Annual Conference 2026

The Department of Government and Politics at University College Cork welcomes you to the 2026 annual conference of the Political Studies Association of Ireland. The conference will take place at the Metropole Hotel in Cork City over the weekend 16–18 October 2026.

More information on the hotel venue and how to reach it is available at www.themetropolehotel.ie

Draft programme

The draft programme for the annual conference is available here. For panel convenors, please ensure that information is shared with all paper givers.

Please contact us on psai@ucc.ie if you need to make an amendment or notice any errors.

Registration for the conference will close on 23 September and after that point, papers without a registered presenter will be removed from the programme.

A final version of the programme will be circulated when registration for the conference closes. Please note that panel dates and time may be moved in the final programme.

Registration

Registration for the PSAI annual conference in Cork (16-18 October 2026) is now open. Registration will be managed through Event Brite at https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/psai-annual-conference-tickets-1992494172707?aff=oddtdtcreator

The page offers conference registration options for full, graduate and retired members of the association.

Registration options that also include the conference dinner are included on the list of registration options.

Regular registration will close on 23 September and thereafter a late fee will apply.

Please note that there are some travel questions included in the registration form. The annual conference has received funding support from Fáilte Ireland and one of the requirements is that we collect data on the travel arrangements of delegates.

Conference hotel room rate

The Metropole has set aside a number of rooms which can be booked by conference delegates for the nights of the conference. The agreed rates are as follows:

€175.00 Bed & Breakfast single use
€190.00 Bed & Breakfast twin/double use.

The rooms at this rate are available on a first come, first served basis.

To make a booking, please call the hotel and use the code GA001216

Visiting Cork

Hotels and guesthouses in Cork City

• The Metropole Hotel
• The Kinglsey Hotel
• The Montenotte Hotel
• Gabriel House Guesthouse
• Maldron Hotel Shandon
• Maldron Hotel South Mall
• The Imperial Hotel
• The River Lee Hotel
• Hayfield Manor Hotel
• The Address Hotel
• Leonardo Hotel
• Clayton Hotel – Cork City
• The Dean – Cork
• Clayton Hotel – Silver Springs
• Ashley Hotel
• Kent Station Guesthouse
• Moxy Cork
• Shandon Bells Guest House
• Lancaster Lodge
• Premier Inn Cork City
• Hotel Issacs
• Bru Hostel

Restaurants in Cork

• Thompsons Cork
• Bayou
• The Glass Curtain
• Isaac’s Restaurant
• L’Attitude 51 Wine Bar
• Greenes Restaurant
• Cask
• Son of a Bun
• MacCurtain Wine Cellar
• Gallagher’s
• Franciscan Well Bar and Brewpub
• Corn store
• Market Lane
• Elbow Lane
• Goldie
• Paradiso (vegetarian)
• Good hood
• Jacob’s on the Mall
• Izz Café
• Nosta Restaurant
• Jacques Restaurant
• Ichigo Ichie
• Miyazaki
• Liberty Grill
• Quay Co-op (vegetarian)
• The SpitJack
• Good Day Deli
• The Farmgate Café in the English Market

Things to do in Cork and surrounding areas

• Blarney Castle & Gardens
• Blackrock Castle Observatory
• Red Abbey Tower
• Cork Ghost Tour
• FitzGerald Park
• Elizabeth Fort
• The Butter Museum
• The English Market
• Cork City Gaol
• Old Cork Waterworks Experience
• Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral
• Collins Barracks Military Museum
• Nano Nagle Place
• St Anne’s Church Shandon Bells & Tower
• Cobh Titanic Experience
• Spike Island
• The Glucksman, UCC
• Fota Wildlife Park
• St Peter’s
• Ballycotton Cliff Walk
• Charles Fort
• Camden Fort Meagher
• Macroom Buffalo Cheese

Peter Mair Lecture

In 2012, the Political Studies Association of Ireland instituted the Peter Mair lecture in honour of one of Ireland’s most distinguished political scientists. The lecture is delivered at the Association’s annual conference and is to be published in Irish Political Studies. You can find the published lectures here. The lecture series to date includes:

2025 Caterina Froio (Sciences Po). Why political science (still) struggles with the far right (and how we move forward).

2024 Paul Webb (University of Sussex). ‘Reflections on Peter Mair’s Legacy.’

2023 Nicole Bolleyer (LMU Munich). ‘How to study political parties: from civil society to the state and back.’ [Video.]

2022 Fernando Casal Bertoa (University of Nottingham). ‘The Problem of Party System Change Revisited.’

2021 Catherine de Vries (Bocconi University). ‘Political Change in Europe: the Role of Political Entrepreneurs.’

2019 Simon Hix (London School of Economics and Political Science). ‘Remaking Democracy. Ireland as a Role-Model.’

2018 Anne Rasmussen (University of Copenhagen): ‘Policy Representation in Europe’

2017 Luca Verzichelli (Siena) ‘Back to Responsiveness: The Crisis and Challenges to the European Political
Elites’.

2016 Brigid Laffan (EUI) ‘Europe’s Union: Fractured Polity and Fractious Politics’

2015 Rudy Andeweg (Leiden) ‘Peter Mair on Representative Democracy’.

2014 Donatella Della Porta (EUI) ‘Political Cleavages in a Time of Austerity’.

2013 Kenneth Carty (British Columbia) ‘A natural governing party: Fianna Fáil in comparative perspective’.

2012 Ingrid van Biezen (Leiden) ‘The End of Party Democracy as we Know It?’.

Recent hosts of the PSAI Annual Conference

2025 – University of Galway

2024 – Trinity College Dublin

2023 – Queen’s University Belfast

2022 – South East Technological University, Waterford

2021 – University College Dublin

2020 – Online event

2019 – National University of Ireland, Maynooth

2018 – University of Limerick

2017 – Dublin City University

2016 – Queens University Belfast

2015 – University College Cork

2014 – National University of Ireland, Galway

2013 – Trinity College Dublin

2012 – University of Ulster, Magee

2011 – University College Dublin

2010 – Dublin Institute of Technology

2009 – Liverpool Hope University

2008 – National University of Ireland, Galway

2007 – Dublin City University

2006 – University College Cork