Constitution of the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations.

Adopted by Special General meeting on 23rd October 2001.

1. The organisation shall be called the 'Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations' and hereinafter referred to as the 'Council'.
2. The Council may adopt the letters C.I.G.O. as an abbreviated form.

1. To provide a forum for voluntary organisations involved in genealogical research in Ireland. (Voluntary organisations are defined as “Not for profit organisations.”)
2. To encourage preservation of, and fullest public access to, all genealogical material.
3. To represent the views of the constituent organisations, on matters concerning genealogy.
4. To liaise with statutory bodies, and any other institutions, concerned with the provision or the development of genealogical services.
5. To liaise with overseas organisations with similar aims and objectives.
6. To encourage co-operation between the various genealogical and family history societies in Ireland through joint ventures and projects to benefit Irish genealogical research.
7. To publish bulletins, and to liaise with the media on behalf of membership.
8. To publish books, articles, and other material of genealogical interest.

1. The Council shall be a representative body of constituent voluntary organisations involved in genealogical research.

1. Organisations based on the island of Ireland: This category shall be open to voluntary organisations involved in genealogical research, based on the island of Ireland.
2. Overseas based organisations: This category shall be open to voluntary organisations involved in genealogical research, based outside the island of Ireland, but who wish to associate themselves with the Council.

1. The Council shall consider each application, for membership of the Council, which will be in writing, and accompanied by a statement of the aims, and constitution, of the applicant organisation.
2. The Council shall, by simple majority vote, either confirm, or reject, any application for membership of the Council.
3. The decision of the Council to defer, or reject, any application for membership of the Council shall be considered final.
4. Each constituent organisation shall be required to pay an initial membership fee, as determined by the Council, due on the acceptance by the Council of its membership application.

1. Each of the constituent organisations shall be required to pay an Annual Subscription of an amount to be determined by the Council, on the 1st of January of each year.
2. The amount of the Annual Subscription due from the constituent organisations, which is recommended by the Council, must be submitted in advance, to the Annual General Meeting for approval.
3. Failure to pay the Annual Subscription within two calendar months of the due date shall empower the Council to cancel the membership of a constituent organisation and the renewal of a cancelled membership shall require the payment of all arrears and the required membership fee.

1. Organisations based on the island of Ireland shall be entitled to appoint two representatives on the council, hereafter these are referred to as Voting Organisations.
2. Overseas based organisations: shall not be entitled to appoint voting representatives on the Council, but may make a request in writing to the Council, that they might appoint a delegate to the Council. A delegate thus appointed must be a member of the organisation, which has requested the appointment, and may make submissions on behalf of the sponsoring organisation, on any matter concerning the activities of the Council, at the discretion of the Chair.

1. The Council shall consist of the following officers: - Chair; Vice-chair; Hon. Secretary; Hon. Treasurer; Public Relations Officer; and any other officer as may be required by the Council.
2. The Chair shall be appointed by the Voting Organisations on an annual rotation basis as determined by the Council.
3. The Vice Chair shall be appointed by the Voting Organisation on an annual rotation basis as determined by the Council.
4. The Council at the first Council meeting after the Annual General Meeting shall elect the Hon. Secretary, Hon. Treasurer, and Public Relations Officer.
5. The Council shall be empowered to appoint other officers as may be required from time to time.
6. All Officers of the Council shall hold office for a period of not greater than twelve months and shall retire at the Annual General Meeting, but thereafter shall be eligible for re-election in accordance with this Constitution.

1. The Council shall in all its deliberations, take cognisance of it being a committee representative of organisations, and shall endeavour to arrive at all decisions by consensus. There shall be a special onus on the chair to strive earnestly for this end.
2. However in the event of a vote each Voting Organisation shall be entitled to exercise two votes, one for each of its representatives present at the Council meeting.
3. The Chair may only exercise his/her vote in the case of equality.
4. The Member organisation appointing the position of Chair shall be entitled to appoint an additional representative, to the council.
5. The representative of a Voting Organisation may table a resolution for consideration by the Council, at an appropriate stage during a meeting of the Council. The Chair may at its discretion allow discussion, and may also at its discretion limit the time for discussion, of the resolution. The Council may only adopt the resolution if there is unanimity. In the event of a failure to reach a unanimous view, consideration of the resolution shall be deferred to the next meeting, when it shall appear as a separate item on the agenda. If the Council still fails to reach a unanimous view on the resolution, the members will then vote on the resolution, in the manner set out above.

1. The Council shall meet at least six times in each calendar year on dates determined by the Hon. Secretary.
2. Notice of all Council meetings shall be delivered in writing to each Voting Organisation, at least seven days prior to the date of the Council meeting. The Council shall not be held responsible for postal delays or non-delivery by the postal authorities.
3. The Hon. Secretary shall draw up the agenda of the meetings, in accordance with established practice, and in consultation with the Chair.
4. The Hon. Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the meeting in a Minute book, in which he will record, in particular, attendance, and all votes. The Minutes of the previous Council meeting shall be confirmed and signed by the Chair, at the commencement of the following meeting.
5. The quorum for all Council meetings shall be the appointed representatives of four Full Constituent Organisations.
6. The Hon. Treasurer shall cause proper records of all income and expenditure to be kept and present a report thereon to each Council meeting.

1. The Council may from time to time appoint certain sub-committees to assist in the execution of the aims and objectives of the Council.
2. The Council may invite ordinary members of constituent organisations to join subcommittees in order to advise and assist the Council.
3. The Chairpersons of sub-committees must be appointed by the Council, and shall be nonvoting ex-officio Officers of the Council.

1. The Annual General Meeting of the Council shall be held in each calendar year not later than the 30th of November.
2. The Council shall select the date of the AGM.
3. The AGM will receive the annual report of the Council, which will be presented by the Chair, and income and expenditure report, which will be presented by the Hon Treasurer.
4. Special General Meetings may be convened from time to time by the Chair, on foot of a resolution, which has been proposed, seconded, and accepted, by the Council.
5. All general meetings shall be open to the ordinary membership of each constituent organisation, who will be entitled to speak from the floor, at the discretion of the chair.
6. The proposal and seconding of resolutions at the AGM shall be by the delegates who represent the Voting Organisations on the Council. (As defined above).
7. Each Voting Organisation shall be entitled to two votes at the AGM.
8. In order for a Voting Organisation to exercise its votes at the AGM, it must prior to the commencement of the AGM inform the Hon secretary of the names of its two delegates.
9. Delegates of a Voting Organisation must be physically present at the AGM in order to propose, second or vote on resolutions.
10. The quorum for either the Annual General Meeting or a Special General Meeting shall be the two delegates, of at least four Voting Organisations.
11. Notice of a general meeting must be delivered to each constituent organisation in writing not less than twenty-one days prior to the date of the meeting. The Council shall not be held responsible for postal delays or non-delivery of notice by the postal authorities.

1. The Council shall have the power to appoint an Auditor.
2. The Auditor shall not hold any other office on the Council during the term of their office.
3. The Auditor shall cause annual audited accounts to be kept and made available to the Annual General Meeting of the Council and to submit copies thereof to the Revenue Commissioners on request.

1. The income and property of the Council shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the main objectives of the Council as set forth in this constitution.

1. The Constitution of the Council may be amended at a Special General Meeting of the Council called for that purpose on receipt of a proposal in writing to the effect signed by the appointed representatives of not less than four Voting organisations and delivered to the Chair.
2. The Chair on receipt of a proposal to amend this constitution shall cause a copy of such proposal to be delivered in writing to each constituent organisation with notice of the date of the Special General Meeting.
3. The Special General Meeting shall be convened to approve or reject a proposal to amend this constitution by recording the votes of the appointed representatives of the Voting organisations
4. Each Voting Organisations shall record two votes.
5. In the case of equality the Chair shall record a vote to reject the amendment and a period of not less than twelve months must pass before the proposed amendment may be considered for a second time.

1. If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Council there remains, after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, the same shall be gifted to the National Library of Ireland.