Herbfeast Ireland
Ireland's Annual Professional Herbalist Conference
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View THE 2026 PROGRAMME !
About
Annual Herbfeast
MAY 15th to 17th
Herb Feast 2026: The Plant Magic is Returning!
15th – 17th May 2026 | Bellurgan Park, Cooley Peninsula, County Louth
Tickets for Herb Feast 2026 are now live!
Prepare for a transformative two-day gathering as we return to the majestic Bellurgan Park for another celebration of herbal wisdom, community, and the wild heart of Ireland. Join professional herbalists and students of herbalism on the historic Cooley Peninsula, where the thin veil between the wild world and our own feels beautifully thin.
An Enchanting Setting Steeped in Myth
Herb Feast 2026 takes place in the truly earthy setting of Bellurgan Park, a historic 18th-century estate conveniently nestled between Dublin and Belfast (1 hour drive from either city!).
Bellurgan Park House sits beneath the Hill of Ochaine (see the tree-covered hill behind the house on the image), where the legendary Irish hero Cú Chulainn stood watch during the epic tale of the Táin Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).
Today, this hill is covered by over 200 acres of a native deciduous forest, where paths wind past an archway, a tranquil lake and up to the summit, offering breathtaking views of the Cooley Mountains and the sea. Bellurgan Park isn't just a venue, it's a vibrant, living ecosystem, filled with wild plants and hidden ancient gems, ready to inspire your learning and connection to nature.
This conference is for all professional herbalists and students of professional herbalist courses.
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What's New This Year?
As new organisers, we’ve listened to your survey responses and are bringing exciting new features while maintaining all your favourite activities!
1. THE HERBFEAST PANEL: (Re)introducing a dynamic live Q&A panel featuring all our speakers, chaired by the brilliant Keith Robertson MSc FNIMH. This is your chance to engage directly with the experts and hear them discuss various topics. (Any topic ideas? Why not drop us an email? We will curate the most popular topics).
2. DISTILLATION IN ACTION: Delight your senses as we bring the art of distillation to the forefront! We will be showcasing various types of stills in action, guiding you through the process of creating exquisite hydrosols and essential oils.
3. WORKSHOPS / REFLECTION TIME: Practical workshops are coming back, and upon confirmation will include Plant contemplation / Forest Bathing, Botanical Illustration, or even just a bit of time to loose yourself in the wilderness and reflect.
4. AN ORGANIC FEAST: Food is a huge part of our gathering, and since we are health-orientated earthy folk, we’ve emphasised the use of organic produce where possible this year. We’ve found the perfect provider to ensure our shared meals are delicious, nourishing, chemical-free and fitting for our community.
5. AN EXTRA (OPTIONAL) NIGHT: Responding to overwhelming demand, we are offering the opportunity to stay one extra evening (Sunday evening) to wind down and socialise. This will include food and hopefully a big fire around which we can share stories, laughter, and music under the early summer stars.
6. FLEXIBLE ACCOMODATION:
This year, we are adopting a more flexible model similar to most herbal conferences, allowing you to choose what suits your budget and comfort:
- You buy your Weekend Ticket: (Includes all lectures, workshops, access to the grounds, lunches, and dinner.)
- Accommodation Add-On: (Covers your breakfast and chosen sleeping option.)
- More Affordable Options: Camping & Campervan pitching are available.
- On-Site Cabins: Book a shared twin cabin or double bed cabin, each kitted with an en-suite.
- Off-Site Comfort: We have secured a block deal with the local Carrickdale Hotel & Spa (a 10-minute drive away) for booking either 2 nights (Friday & Saturday) or 1 night (Saturday) - breakfast is included at the hotel, the charge on our website is a pass-through cost.
The flexibility of these options ensures everyone can attend, whether you're traveling for a day from Belfast or Dublin, or joining us for the weekend from further afield. We believe this offers the fairest and most realistic way to handle accommodation, ensuring you only pay for what you need, whether that's a cosy spot for your tent or a comfortable bed in a cabin or a hotel room. Finding suitable venues in this financial climate has become increasingly difficult, as most are either fully booked, unable to host the conference or are prohibitively expensive.
Travel Tips: Public Transport, Car-pooling and lifts
GETTING TO BELLURGAN PARK BY CAR:
Bellurgan Park is nestled on the Cooley Peninsula (Carlingford Peninsula) right between Belfast & Dublin. In just about 1 hour drive from either city, you will find your way to the estate. It is only about 5 minutes off the M1 close to the border.
Click here for the Google Map Pin!
BEST PUBLIC TRANSPORT SERVICES:
https://www.buseireann.ie/routes-and-timetables/100x
There is an hourly train that Irish Rail operate from Belfast Grand Central to Dundalk train station.
Journey lasts 1hr and 10 minutes:
https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/
HerbFeast Programme 2026
(Subject to some adjustments)
Registration
Check-in, welcome packs, and settling in.
Speaker’s Dinner & Potluck
Casual dining and meet-and-greet (an email will be sent out regarding potluck to attendees).
Opening Circle
Official welcome and grounding for the weekend. Held by Keith Robertson.
Yoga / Morning Activity
Start the day with movement and breath.
Breakfast for boarders and campers only
Registration (for day attendees)
Title TBC (relating to galenic traditions in Europe Amidst Eastern Influences)
Breakout Session 1
Please choose one of the following:
☕ Tea Break
Sustainable Methods of Growing Medicinal Plants to Support Your Clinical Practice
A dive into cultivation and growth.
🥗 Lunch Break (75 min)
Speaker Panel Discussion
With Danny, Graeme, Marina, and Kat.
Breakout Session 2
Skit: History of Celtic Medicine
Quizz / Social Evening
Yoga / Morning Activity
Breakfast for boarders and campers only
Registration (for day attendees)
Breakout Session 3
Cholesterol – Getting to the Heart of the Matter
☕ Tea Break
Clinical Approaches to Insulin Resistance
🥗 Lunch Break (75 min)
Distillation: Live Demonstration and Talk
Lorna & Luke will demonstrate distillation using a variety of stills while discussing the theory and science behind the wonderful therapeutics of Hydrosol and Essential Oils.
Closing Circle
Evening Food, Community Bonfire, Relaxing & Talent Sharing.
NOTE: This option is strictly and only available to boarders who have paid the add-on price (40€) to stay until Monday morning due to costs involved.
If you have not purchased this with your ticket but wish to join us on Sunday Evening, please get in touch.
Book Your Place
Some accommodation has limited availability! Please order soon not to dissapoint.
Financing options available during checkout.
2026 Confirmed Speakers
Dr Graeme Tobyn PhD FHEA
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Lancashire
Lecture Subject: "Roots and Routes Rediscovering European (Galenic) Medicine Amid Global Influences" (Provisional Title)
Having practised as a herbalist for 26 years, including a period in the NHS, and having taught as a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health at the University of Central Lancashire, Graeme now divides his time between teaching and research. He currently teaches for the White Crane Academy of Chinese Medicine and for Excelsior Apprenticeships in Belfast, while also pursuing research into the history of medicine and science. His extensive experience in higher education includes serving as a final clinical examiner, course external examiner and curriculum advisor for several UK BSc Herbal Medicine programmes, as well as being Visiting Botanical Medicine Scholar at Bastyr University, USA in 2015.
He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds memberships in the Royal Historical Society, the British Society for the History of Pharmacy and the College of Medicine.
Dr Tobyn’s commitment to education includes serving as external examiner for the BSc and MSc Herbal Medicine programmes at Lincoln College, UK, and acting as Visiting Botanical Medicine Scholar at Bastyr University, Seattle, USA (2015), as well as Visiting Lecturer at Pacific Rim College, B.C., Canada. He is also a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Herbal Medicine.
He is the author of Culpeper’s Medicine (1997, 2nd edn 2013), lead author of The Western Herbal Tradition (2011, repub. 2015), and has written numerous book chapters and articles. His recent publications include Tobyn, G. (2025) ‘Culpeper versus physicians: deficiencies in the London Pharmacopoeia, his commentary and their responses’, Pharmaceutical Historian, 55(4), 129–145, and Tobyn, G. (2024) ‘Culpeper’s herbal The English Physitian and its debt to apothecary John Parkinson’, Medical History, 68(3), 237–253.
His papers can be accessed here:
Danny Ó Rawe
Lecture Subject: "Clinical Approaches to Insulin Resistance" (Provisional Title)
Danny has been involved with herbal medicine for more than 30 years. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in herbal medicine. He is an Honorary Fellow and former president of the Irish Register of Herbalists (IRH). He is also a Registered Naturopath (ND) and member of the General Naturopathic Council (GNC) and was formerly Senior Lecturer in Nutrition for the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM). He also holds a Diploma in Aromatherapy and is the co-author with Keith Robertson FNIMH of Celtic Herbal Medicine (2018). His forthcoming book Tacit Knowledge and Traditional Medicine is due in 2026. Danny has written numerous papers for various publications and is a campaigner for the further understanding, preservation and advancement of Western Herbal Medicine.
He has taught at a number of herbal schools and at international conferences and symposia. He is the founder of Plant Healer Federation (PHF) a forum dedicated towards an international voice for herbal medicine; and he is one of the founders of the annual HerbFeast event in Ireland. He is a member of the American Herbalist Guild. He is a Royal Horticultural Society trained grower with over 25 years’ experience in organic cultivation. He is a researcher, activist, writer and consultant clinician with a busy multidisciplinary practice in Belfast. He is also the principal of Excelsior Apprenticeships, a traditional school of Western Herbal Medicine, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Marina & Ross
Lecture Subject: Sustainable Methods of Growing Medicinal Plants to Support Your Clinical Practice.
Brought together by their shared passion for growing unusual medicinal plants, Marina and Ross have spent over 15 years on a lifelong adventure, nurturing the land and sharing their deep knowledge of herbal medicine and health.
In Co. Sligo, they founded the Irish Herb Dispensary, pioneering Ireland's first herbal tincturing company. They grew and processed over 80 species of medicinals into tinctures, oils, and more, supplying herbalists nationwide and promoting a sustainable future for Irish herbal medicine production. Ross also trained other farmers, expanding the availability of Irish-grown herbs.
Marina & Ross were the organisers of Herbfeast 2018 and 2019. As specialists, they own and run a medicinal herb nursery, cultivating over 250 species from around the globe—from native Irish plants to rare Chinese and Ayurvedic medicinals—acting as a crucial source garden for hard-to-find herbs.
Beyond growing, teaching is integral to their role. They spent a decade educating the public, students, and practitioners from their Sligo farm, adopting a hands-on, kinaesthetic style to encourage deep engagement with the plants.
Now, with their young family, they have relocated to Ivywood in Co. Clare, a magical 40-acre space with ancient woodlands and a river. Here, they are re-establishing their clinical practice, nursery, and learning centre. Marina, an experienced herbalist and grower who has featured on RTÉ and BBC, will be teaching herbal medicine and nutrition courses. Ross continues his work in herbal medicine product development and offers consultation services, leveraging his expertise in horticulture, GACP, and GMP.
Through their courses and clinical practice, they aim to empower others to support their own health, using herbal medicine, nutrition, and even medicinal mushrooms, which they now supply and hope to grow in the Ivywood woodland. They invite you to follow their progress and join their workshops to connect with the plants and gain practical knowledge for a positive impact on your life.
Kat Maier RH (AHG)
Lecture Subject: Cholesterol: Getting to the Heart of the Matter.
Kat has been a practicing herbalist for over forty years and is the founder and director of Sacred Plant Traditions, LLC in Charlottesville, VA. Her teaching now focuses on travel, education, and online curricula. She served as President of the Board of United Plant Savers and was the recipient of their first Medicinal Plant Conservation Award.
As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Chile, coupled with her training as a Physician’s Assistant, she weaves the language of biomedicine with traditional energetic systems. She is a founding member of Botanica Mobile Clinic, which offers support to mental health and at-risk community members at no cost. She is the co-author of Bush Medicine of San Salvador Island, Bahamas, and the author of Energetic Herbalism: A Guide to Sacred Plant Traditions, Integrating Elements of Vitalism, Ayurveda, and Chinese Medicine. This book won the Gold Medal Nautilus Award in 2022.
HerbFeast Ireland
HerbFeast is an annual non-for-profit herbal festival, run for Herbalists by volunteer Herbalists from the Community of Irish Herbalists (CIH).
It is the largest annual Herbalist festival in Ireland featuring local and world renowned herbalists and speakers sharing knowledge from their passion and experiences.
Over the weekend, herbalists nationwide, and beyond, gather, network and share their experience in connection with nature and the many modalities and specialities nested within the community. It is an opportunity to connect with other people sharing the same vision.
The festival is packed with talks and activities such as seminars, workshops, herb walks and much more. The location changes almost every year to reach all counties of Ireland, North and South, West and East. Either way, all herbalists are welcome!
HerbFeast is ran by the Community of Irish Herbalists (CIH).
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Location:
Herbfeast 2026 will be held in Bellurgan Park in County Louth.