14-16 September, 2009
Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland

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Photonics Ireland is the premier conference for photonics research in Ireland. Photonics Ireland 2009 was held at Actons Hotel, in a spectacular location overlooking the harbour in Kinsale, County Cork. This all-Ireland conference, which attracted more than 275 participants, was reported in a front-page article in the Irish Times (Tuesday 15 September 2009).

With almost 200 papers presented, the sessions covered most aspects of photonics research in Irish Universities and Institutes of Technology, including: Photonic Materials, Photonic Devices, Nanophotonics and Plasmonics, Biophotonics, Imaging, Laser Material Interactions, Quantum Optics, and Optical Communication Systems. The conference also included a Photonics Industry event.

The conference participants were representative of all of the photonics research groups in the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, and many research students and post-docs in photonics — as well as senior researchers — participated. In addition, there were several high-level representatives of industry and funding agencies.

Photonics Ireland 2009 (like its predecessor Photonics Ireland 2007 held in Salthill, Galway, 24-26 September 2007) was a no-frills conference to minimize costs. What the conference lacked (banners and flowers) was more than compensated by its spectacular location and warm, sunny weather. The student-rate registration fee was held at the 2007 price, to encourage maximum participation.

Photonics Ireland 2009 was sponsored by the Institute of Physics, Science Foundation Ireland, INSPIRE: Integrated Nanoscience Platform for Ireland (a PRTLI-funded collaborative research initiative), Tyndall National Institute, Thorlabs, and IMEX Test & Measurement.