Day 1
General Synod 2026 Begins Today in Newcastle, Co Down
The 2026 meeting of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland gets underway today, Thursday May 7, in Newcastle in County Down.
For the first time since 2019, General Synod will return to meeting in person for three days with business continuing tomorrow, Friday May 8, and Saturday May 9.
The venue this year is the Slieve Donard Hotel which was opened in 1898 by the Belfast and County Down Railway to bring tourists to the growing resort town nestling below the Mourne Mountains.
The ‘new castle’ was built in 1588 just south of the River Shimna, replacing a previous fortification, and was replaced around 1830 by a hotel – the Annesley Arms. The building subsequently became the town’s public library and now houses its leisure centre and tourist information centre.
The General Synod Service of Holy Communion will be held in the hotel at 12 noon today. The preacher will be The Most Revd Pat Storey, Bishop of Meath and Kildare.
The business of Synod will get underway at 2pm this afternoon. The provisional timetable is available at https://www.churchofireland.org/synod/2026/timetable/day-1
Synod starts with the Presidential Address by the Primate, Archbishop John McDowell. A total of five Bills will be considered by members of General Synod this year and will go through their initial stages today.
An audio broadcast of the proceedings at General Synod is available here: https://www.churchofireland.org/synod/2026/audio-broadcast
Throughout Synod there will be news updates and photographs available on the Synod website: https://www.churchofireland.org/synod/2026/news/