Reporting from the Grand Hotel, Malahide, Dublin | 29 October 2026 | Opening session A full conference room, a diminished market and a recovery that remains just beyond reach: the opening session of the International Softwood Conference in Dublin brought the contradictions facing Europe’s timber industry into unusually sharp focus. At the Grand Hotel in Malahide, the strength of the turnout was visible before the first round of questions had ended. Moderator Paul Brannen noted that delegates were sitting on windowsills at the back and invited them to take the remaining seats at the front. Morten Bergsten, presenting the ...