The Real Deal Conference 2026 took place on Wednesday, May 6th at Goffs, Co. Kildare – and once again, it delivered a full room, straight-talking conversations, and plenty to take away.
Bringing together Ireland’s leading entrepreneurs, founders and business leaders, the day focused on what actually matters in business: growth, resilience, decision-making, and what comes next.
With over 1,000 attendees, Goffs was once again a full house.
There was a strong sense of engagement throughout the day – from the sessions on stage to the conversations happening around the room. And, as always, it was good to see a mix of familiar faces and new connections being made.
The #teamFP stand was kept busy throughout, with plenty of conversations around growth, funding, and planning ahead — and a few problems solved along the way.
A Day of Real Experience.
The day opened with our ‘Legend of Business’ interview, as Matt Cooper sat down with Thomas Kelly, Founder and former CEO of ESW.
Tommy founded ESW (formerly eShopWorld), scaling it from a Dublin start-up into a global ecommerce leader, and now, as Co-Chairman, invests in and advises a range of Irish businesses such as Sherry FitzGerald and Gym+Coffee. He shared a candid view on building and scaling internationally, and the realities of navigating challenges along the way – including the kind of decisions that define a business when it matters most.
Session two saw Áine Denn take to the stage.
Áine co-founded Altify in Dublin in 2005, scaling it into a global SaaS business before its sale to Upland Software in 2019 for a reported c.$84m. Now building again with Blazer, she shared her perspective on the full SaaS journey – from early ambition to exit, and what brings you back to start again.
The M&A in Sport panel brought a different lens to the conversation – high stakes, global scale, and no shortage of lessons learned.
Sean O’Connor, Co-Founder of STATSports (acquired by Sony), and Mickey O’Rourke, Founder of Setanta Sports and Premier Sports, shared their experiences of building internationally, navigating complex deals, and what happens when things don’t go to plan.
This year’s event was once again expertly moderated by the brilliant Matt Cooper, who brought clarity, pace, and insight to every session.
Thank You.
We’re grateful to our partners Renatus and Bank of Ireland, and to our sponsors The Currency, Byrne Wallace Shields, The Panel, Nostra, Davy, Howden Ireland and Polestar Ireland for their valued support in 2026.
The Real Deal continues to be about one thing – real conversations with people who have built, scaled, and kept going.
We look forward to doing it all again in 2027!
For more information on Ireland’s premier SME event, visit www.therealdealevent.com
