National Menopause Summit comes to Dublin next week

Featuring leading advocates, clinicians, facilitators and professionals in the area of perimenopause and menopause, the sold out inaugural National Menopause Summit supported by M&S takes place next week in The Round Room at The Mansion House on Thursday, March 23, 2023.

In advance of next week’s landmark event, Sinead McNamara founder and co-director of the National Menopause Summit comments “Illustrating the crucial importance, demand and need for menopause education and support in Ireland, we are delighted to announce that next week’s full day summit is entirely sold out and we look forward to welcoming over 500 attendees to the first year of this now annual event.

“Attendees can expect a packed agenda of fact based information, knowledge, advice and support from Ireland’s leading experts in the area of perimenopause and menopause across both the personal and professional arenas.”

Compèring and moderating this sold out event is Gráinne Seoige whose recent TG4 documentary Meanapás: Meon Nua explored the topic of menopause, how it is handled in this country and served as a ground-breaking vehicle to debunk menopause for Irish women.

The expertly curated panel of speakers will feature Davina McCall who has become a passionate advocate for raising awareness about menopause as well as fronting two critically acclaimed Channel 4 documentaries and recently releasing her book Menopausing.

The National Menopause Summit will shift the narrative by debunking myths and taboos, provide vital fact based information on menopause symptoms, solutions and complex menopause, and include advice from leading experts in crucial areas of menopause care and women’s health including nutrition, mental health, heart health, pelvic floor health, posture and women’s physical wellness.

Also championing for a new norm across the Irish workplace, the National Menopause Summit will advocate and empower the introduction of inclusive, compassionate and sympathetic work policies to ensure all feel supported and enabled to forge forward in their careers, thus stemming the flow of women choosing to exit the workforce, or disregard opportunities for advancement, due to the lack of these crucial supports.

In addition to Davina McCall and Gráinne Seoige, the inaugural summit’s powerful voices and exceptional speaker line-up also includes Dr Deirdre Lundy, lead medical officer for the Complex Menopause Service at the National Maternity Hospital Holles Street;  Dr Caoimhe Hartley, clinical lead Rotunda Hospital Menopause Clinic,  founder & CEO Menopause Health; Dr Sumi Dunne, GP and clinical lecturer in General Practice, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the GP expert on RTE’s Operation Transformation; Loretta Dignam, founder and CEO of The Menopause Hub; Sallyanne Brady, advocate and founder of The Irish Menopause; Aveen Bannon, founder and dietitian at the Dublin Nutrition Centre who is currently considered one of the top dietitian’s in the country;  Dr Máire Finn, GP and educator passionate about women’s health and wellbeing; Joanne Healy, head of group employee relations at Bank of Ireland and Katie Ridge, head of employer relations at Adare Human Resource Management.

The full day event will also feature moderated panel discussions with leading experts in the areas of menopause in the workplace and menopause care and women’s health.

‘The Journey Through Menopause’ panel discussion will feature heart health with Janis Morrissey, director of health promotion at the Irish Heart Foundation; pelvic floor health with Maeve Whelan of Pelvic Physiotherapy; the importance of posture and breast health with chartered physiotherapist Siobhan O’Donovan from PostureFitting; the importance of maintaining muscle mass while we age with personal trainer and perimenopause to post-menopause women’s wellness coach Sarah Alcock of Primefit by Sarah; and the role of GPs in menopause care from Dr Brian Kennedy founder of HRT Prescribers. Panellists in the area of ‘Menopause in the Workplace’ will include Karen McGowan president of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO),  Fania Stoney from Great Place to Work, Kay McCarthy managing director and founder MCCP and Paula Maher of Dun Laoghaire, Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT).

One of Ireland’s favourite comedians, Deirdre O’Kane, will close out the day with a stand-up comedy set musing on all things menopause, midlife and the maelstrom that is modern living.