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About Functional Medicine Insight

Empowering practitioners through science, research and community.

Our Mission

We are committed to helping medical and healthcare practitioners advance their expertise through a lifestyle and functional medicine approach.

We recognise that each patient's health is shaped by a complex combination of diet, lifestyle, genetics, environment, and social factors. By learning and applying a functional medicine approach, practitioners gain the tools to see the whole picture — delivering personalised care that promotes physical health, emotional balance, and overall well-being.

What We Believe

Functional medicine represents a paradigm shift in how we understand and treat chronic disease. Rather than treating isolated symptoms, it identifies and addresses the root causes of illness — empowering both practitioners and patients to achieve lasting health outcomes.

Functional Medicine Insight exists to make the latest science, research and clinical thinking accessible to practitioners across Ireland and beyond. We curate expert analysis, highlight clinical trends, and connect a growing community of practitioners dedicated to advancing the standard of patient care.

Pillar 01

Science-Led

Every article and resource is grounded in peer-reviewed research and clinical evidence.

Pillar 02

Practitioner-Focused

Content is written for and by healthcare professionals, not the general public.

Pillar 03

Whole-Person Care

We explore the intersection of diet, lifestyle, genetics, environment and social factors.

Pillar 04

Community

Connecting a professional network dedicated to improving patient outcomes.

Our Conferences & Events

Through our conferences and events, FMC Ireland brings world-leading experts directly to practitioners, providing access to the latest science and research to support clinical learning and evidence-based practice. Our immersive, in-person events combine cutting-edge insights with practical strategies, giving attendees the opportunity to:

  • › Enhance clinical skills and deepen specialist knowledge
  • › Access cutting-edge insights from world-leading researchers and clinicians
  • › Connect with a professional community dedicated to optimal health outcomes
  • › Advance the science of personalised, evidence-based practice

Our annual Functional Medicine Summit takes place in Dublin each November, bringing together Ireland's leading voices in lifestyle and functional medicine.

Visit FMC Ireland — Conference 2026, Dublin →

Important Notice

Articles and resources published on Functional Medicine Insight are intended for general reading and to spark further research and professional enquiry. They are written for healthcare practitioners and should not be taken as medical advice for individual patients or members of the public. Always apply professional clinical judgement. Read our full disclaimer →

From the Founder of FMI & Owner of FMC Ireland
Gina Donnery
Gina Donnery
Owner, FMC Ireland
Nutritional Therapist · Naturopath
IFM Trained Practitioner
Credentials
Nutritional Therapist
Naturopath
IFM Trained
Owner, FMC Ireland (2022–)
Visit FMC Ireland →
Why I Took Over FMC Ireland
And Why November Matters More Than Ever

There are moments in life that divide everything into before and after.

For me, those moments came in quick succession after I turned 40. I lost both of my parents within seven weeks of each other and shortly after that, I received a stage 4 double cancer diagnosis.

I am not sharing this for sympathy — but because what happened next is the reason FMC Ireland exists in the form it does today. And it's the reason I believe so deeply in what we are building together this November.

Facing that diagnosis forced me to re-evaluate everything. Not just my treatment options, but my diet, my lifestyle and my understanding of how the body works and what it needs to heal. I discovered functional and lifestyle medicine — and something that supported my recovery in ways I had not anticipated and definitely couldn't ignore.

That journey led me to train as a nutritional therapist, naturopath and use a functional medicine approach in my clinical practice. Three years ago, I took over the reins of FMC Ireland.

"I believe FMC Ireland is more than just an annual conference. I want to build an international functional medicine community that comes together regularly — not just once a year — to share knowledge and learn from each other on best practice across the industry."

Standing on the Shoulders of Something Remarkable

FMC Ireland did not begin with me — but with the vision and heart of founder Maev Creaven, who built the Irish Lifestyle and Functional Medicine Conference from the ground up in 2016 into one of the most respected practitioner-led events in the country. A conference now in its ninth successive year.

Taking over something that someone else has built with that level of dedication is a privilege and a responsibility — and I have enormous gratitude for everything Maev created.

FMC 2026: Advancing Healthspan

FMC 2026 is the ninth annual conference and the most ambitious programme we have put together yet. The theme — Advancing Healthspan: A Functional Medicine Approach to Mind, Body and Longevity — reflects the most important clinical challenge in functional medicine today: lifespan is getting longer, and healthspan is not keeping up.

We are bringing together Dr Robert Rountree, Dr Datis Kharrazian, Dr Deanna Minich, Dr Joel Evans, Dr Gary Goldman, Dr Shania Seeber, Pete Williams and Heidi Jackson — two days, sixteen CPD hours, recorded content and presentation PDFs at the Hogan Suite, Croke Park, Dublin on 14th and 15th November 2026.

Early bird tickets close 30th June. A two-day ticket is €349 and a one-day ticket is €220.

Why I Started Functional Medicine Insight

Functional Medicine Insight was born from the same conviction that drives everything I do — that practitioners who understand root cause medicine change patient outcomes in ways that conventional pathways simply cannot match. And that the only way to scale that impact is through education.

My own experience of chronic illness taught me something that no textbook ever could: that the body has an extraordinary capacity to heal when it is properly understood and properly supported. But finding practitioners who could see the whole picture — who could ask the right questions, run the right investigations, and build a genuinely personalised plan — was harder than it should have been.

That gap — between what functional medicine makes possible and what most patients actually experience — is what Functional Medicine Insight exists to close.

"I want practitioners to have the knowledge, the tools and the community they need to support their clients not just when they are sick — but before they ever get sick. Proactive, not reactive. Root cause, not symptom management."

The chronic disease epidemic we are living through is not inevitable. So much of what we see in clinical practice — the fatigue, the hormonal disruption, the metabolic dysfunction, the autoimmunity — has identifiable upstream drivers that are addressable. But addressing them requires practitioners who have been trained to look for them.

That is why practitioner education is at the heart of everything I build. An educated practitioner does not just change the outcome for one patient — they change the outcomes for hundreds of patients over the course of a career. FMC Ireland, Functional Medicine Insight and every resource I create is built around that multiplier effect.

And underpinning all of it is one belief that my own journey made unshakeable: that supporting health before people get sick is not a luxury or a niche interest. It is the most important thing medicine can do.

Book FMC 2026 → Get in Touch
The Institute for Functional Medicine
International Organisational Member
FMC Ireland is proud to be an International Organisational Member of the Institute for Functional Medicine
Visit ifm.org →