Accessibility

The conference venue is accessible except for a handful of bedrooms in the old part of the property which can only be accessed by stairs. All elements of the conference will be either on the ground floor or on the first floor, accessible by lift.  

There are lots of seats all over the venue – couches every few steps! – and plenty of accessible bathrooms near all the rooms. The programme also has breaks and changeover time built in so people have time to move between rooms or take a comfort break. There are accessible, gender-neutral bathrooms available in multiple locations around the venue. 

We are delighted to offer a Student Assistant service to guests who feel they would benefit from some assistance getting around the venue – whether that might be from mobility issues or a sight impairment or anything else. Student volunteers will sign up to partner with a guest who would like some assistance in getting around the conference. If you're interested in learning more about this, please email us. Note that these assistants are not carers and will not be able to provide assistance with eating, toileting, etc. If you would like to attend the conference with a carer, your carer can register for free. Please contact us to arrange their registration. 

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While we are striving to make SARMAC 2025 as inclusive as possible, we are sure we have not thought of everything! We would be delighted to hear from any delegates if there is anything we can do to make your conference experience better. We can't promise we will have the means or facilities available to accommodate your request, but we can certainly promise that we will try our best. The earlier you can make us aware of your needs, the better, as last-minute accommodations may be more difficult to facilitate. 

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Inclusive Social Events

 

We are aware that, for example, some of our delegates may be uncomfortable attending an event with alcohol (e.g. for religious reasons) or may be travelling with a small baby and cannot attend evening events and so they may then miss out on important networking opportunities. While there will still be evening social events (as you might expect in Ireland!), we have supplemented the programme with other opportunities – e.g. there will be an Early Bird walking tour before breakfast on Thursday, where delegates can walk (or run) around the extensive grounds and meet people. There will also be a breakfast networking session on Friday and a lunchtime sports session where you can try out some Irish traditional games on the hotel sports pitches. On Thursday evening there will also be a tabletop board game gathering in the lounge, to offer an alternative to the events and gatherings in the bars. 

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Inclusion for Parents & Families

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As well as the above, the venue is very family-friendly (see here) and offers treasure hunts for children, an indoor play room and library, an outdoor playground, a butterfly garden, etc. We will host a family-friendly movie night on the evening of the poster session. While we can't provide childcare as part of the conference, babysitters can be booked via the hotel reception. 

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For any queries, please reach out to us at sarmac2025@abbey.ie

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