On Wednesday Eoghan (Owen) picked me up from my lodgings and we travelled down to Portlaoise for the chaplaincy conference. On the way he took me through some of the most historic parts of Dublin and then we headed down the motorway for about 1 ½ hours. After settling in I went for a stroll through the town of Portlaoise, grabbed some hot-chips from the fish & chips shop and then got lost. I ended up walking a long way, and then when it was getting dark I finally gave in and asked a local the way back to the Heritage Hotel - he pointed the 100 metres to the sign that said, "Heritage Hotel". I went and had a great hamburger meal with a Guinness in the bar, and then registered for the conference and attended the opening prayer session. The day's program finished with a wine and cheese evening.

Today Thursday, after a sumptuous Irish brekky, I attended the opening prayer and then enjoyed two keynote sessions with Professor John Sullivan (1) Chaplains as Practical Theologians, and (2) a workshop: Building Links & Promoting Collaboration (Young people, families, Church & Education systems). I was fortunate to enjoy lunch with Professor Sullivan and the members of the Association Executive.

In the afternoon, I attended two workshops: (a) Understanding the needs of young people in parental separation (Glynis Good) & (b) Chaplains Journey in Faith (Anne Loughman) which included a deep meditation experience reflecting on Jesus washing the disciples' feet. Tonight is the conference dinner - so I'd better go and get ready.