Neurology Update Meeting 2026 Report
The 25th Annual Neurology Update Meeting, directed by Dr. Tudor Munteanu, took place on 25th September 2026 at The City North Hotel, Gormanstown, Co. Louth.
Dr. Munteanu opened the meeting, welcoming guests, chairpersons, delegates and sponsors to the meeting. He especially welcomed his guest lecturer, Dr. Lina Nashef as well as Dr. Aoife Laffan, Prof. Norman Delanty, Prof Richard Walsh and Dr. Thomas Peukert.
Dr Munteanu delivered his opening remarks, highlighting the importance of reviewing the disease mechanisms and management of common neurological conditions, such as functional neurological disorder, epilepsy, parkinsonism, and migraine. Involving physicians and allied health professionals who diagnose and treat neurological conditions on call or in the community remains paramount, given the ongoing scarcity of neurology services and long waiting lists for specialist clinic appointments. He also discussed the importance of involving Neurology Specialist Registrars in delivering high-standard presentations at national meetings, allowing trainees to further develop their careers while deepening their understanding of subjects they are already treating as part of their clinical roles. The audience enjoyed Dr Nashef’s guest lecture on the classification and treatment of Lennox–Gastaut syndrome. Dr Munteanu congratulated Dr Nashef on her recent acceptance of the ABN Medal for her lifetime achievements in neurology and epilepsy care.
Meeting Programme
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Dr Aoife Laffan, Consultant Neurologist, St James University Hospital, chaired the opening session of the meeting. The first speaker was Dr Kara O’Connell, Consultant Psychiatrist, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. Drogheda. In her lecture she explained, ‘Functional Neurological Disorder: pathophysiology and anatomical localization.’ The second speaker was Dr Hongying Chen, Neurology Specialist Registrar who delivered a talk on, ‘FND diagnosis and management for GPs and GIM physicians.‘ The final speaker of the first session was, Dr Diane Gillan, Principal Specialist Clinical Neuropsychologist, Beaumont Hospital. Her presentation was titled, ‘Neuropsychological interventions in FND.’
Dr. Aoife Laffan 
Dr Diane Gillan (centre) 
Dr Chen with Dr Munteanu -
Prof. Norman Delanty, Consultant Neurologist, Beaumont Hospital, chaired the second session. He introduced Prof Peter Widdess-Walsh, who discussed, ‘Pathophysiological mechanisms of seizure generation in the epilepsies.‘ Dr Emma Dolan followed with her talk, ‘The diagnosis and management of epilepsy by GPs and GIM physicians.’ Finally Dr Michael Kinney ended the session with his talk on ‘Clinical updates on the epilepsies.‘
Dr. Emma Dolan 
Dr. Kinney, Dr. Dolan, Prof. Widdess-Walsh and Prof. Delanty 
Prof. Norman Delanty on right with Prof. Janice Redmond and Dr. John McConville -
Prof Richard Walsh, Consultant Neurologist, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, chaired the third session. He introduced the first speaker, Prof Anhar Hassan who discussed, ‘Parkinson’s disease: a review of the pathophysiology.’ Her presentation was followed by Dr Asya Tacheva, who talked about, ‘The diagnosis and management of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease by GPs and GIM Physicians.‘ The final presentation was delivered by Dr Diana Olszewska, Cork University Hospital on, ‘Novel biomarkers in Parkinsonism.’
Prof Anhar Hassan 
Dr Asya Tacheva 
Prof Richard Walsh 
Dr Diana Olszewska 
The Parkinsonism Panel 
Dr Asya Tacheva Just after the coffee break, The Guest Speaker, Dr Lina Nashef delivered her talk, “What’s in a name? Are ILAE criteria for diagnosing Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome easily applicable in adult patients in this era of novel but restricted treatments?” Dr. Nashef is a Consultant Neurologist and Reader with an interest in epilepsy at King’s College Hospital. Her research field and publications included mortality and sudden death in epilepsy, the subject of her MD thesis. She has an interest in the assessment and treatment of patients with complex epilepsy, including adults with intellectual disabilities.
Dr Nashef who was recently awarded the ABN Medal for her lifetime achievements in neurology and epilepsy care. -
Dr Thomas Peukert, Consultant Neurologist, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, introduced the fourth and final session.
Dr. Damien Ferguson, Consultant Neurologist, St. James Hospital delivered his presentation, ‘ Migraine – an update on pathophysiology.’ Dr. David Burke, General Practitioner, special interest migraine, Tallaght University Hospital was next on the podium with his ananlysis of, ‘Migraine management in the GP practice.’
And the final lecture of the meeting: ‘Migraine, Obesity and IIH: Emerging Connections,’ was given by Dr. Alina Buture, Consultant Neurologist, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital.
Dr Thomas Peukert 
Dr Damien Ferguson 
Dr David Burke 
Dr Alina Buture
Continuing Professional Development
The Neurology Update Meeting 2026 has received accreditation of 6 CPD credits in the External CPD category by The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
Certificates will be sent by email to delegates.
Evaluation and Feedback
The feedback from the evaluation forms has been most encouraging – here are a few examples of the comments we received:
- Dr. Munteanu organised a very interesting and educational meeting, Congratulations
- Excellent Meeting. Good range of topics directed at specialists and non specialists
- A job well done for all.
- The FND session was most valuable for topic appropriateness. And the epilepsy overviews were very helpful for GP audience and a good refresher for neurologists.
- Very enjoyable, great learning.
Your experience of this meeting is important and valued. We would be grateful if delegates who attended the Neurology Update Meeting would complete this Feedback Form (Word doc) and return to info@iicn.ie
Thank you.
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Photo Gallery of The 24th Annual Neurological Meeting 2026
Each lecture on the day generated much discussion, showcased the remarkable progress of this sub-speciality, and underscored the important role of a multidisciplinary approach in optimizing outcomes. As always the Question and Answer session at the end of each talk fuelled discovery and great debate.
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As always, the IICN would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our pharmaceutical sponsors for their generous support, which helped make the Update Meeting such a successful event.
