Outreach Programme
Outreach Programme
The promotion of an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our genealogical, heraldic and vexillological heritage through a carefully planned Outreach Programme is a hugely important part of our year-round activities. The Outreach Programme is varied in its approach and includes GSI Stands, lectures, workshops and exhibitions hosted at venues in all parts of Ireland. Regular events include the Holiday World Shows in Belfast and Dublin; active retirement association events; talks to Men’s Sheds and Women’s Sheds; historical societies; clubs and other groups. Special events are organised for Heritage Week and Culture Night each year and, of course, with An Daonchartlann – the Society’s Archive and Research Centre, open to the public each Wednesday and with the Weekly Free Zoom Sessions, our very experienced researchers are always on hand to assist members of the public with their own family history research.
“Na Cúig Cúige” (The Five Provinces)
This is a new nationwide promotion of the Society, its aims and objectives, and its activities, to attract new members and to establish sustainable “in person” links with those researching their family history and living outside the Greater Dublin Area.
This outreach initiative is based on the hosting of quarterly “meet and greet” sessions at venues in Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster, in addition to the Greater Dublin Area.
The initiative is particularly aimed at our Members with Free Travel Passes for use on “Research Day Trips” to each of the venues, whereby, the journey to and from the venue is both a social event and a chance to share research tips and queries on the way.
The promotional name for this nationwide outreach initiative, “Na Cúig Cúige” draws upon on our history, folklore, mythology, and particularly the use of the number five, as this was the number of the ancient provinces of Ireland and coincidentally, the number of generations that most Irish people can easily trace their ancestry back using available records and, of course, potentially discovering contemporary fifth cousins.
Public Projects
The Outreach Programme also assists in the promotion of our public projects like the Irish DNA Atlas project – an academic and scientific collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the National Heraldic Survey, which is the first of its kind in Ireland and aims at creating a research resource for the study of the use of heraldry throughout the island of Ireland. Both projects are open to Members and non-members alike.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Society’s social inclusion policies were updated by the Board (Res: 25/03/1901) and endorsed by the Members at the Annual General Meeting held on 11th March 2025.
This resolution brought the Society’s Social Inclusion Policies, which dated from 2003 and 2005, in line with the Strategic Goals of the Society’s Development Plan; and now oblige the Board of Directors to formulate, adopt and implement policies, strategies and actions which facilitate, support and advance the Society’s longstanding commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a core principle underpinning the promotion of an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our genealogical, heraldic and vexillological heritage and related subjects; including a commitment to expand our research services and Outreach Programmes to cater for the Ireland’s ethnic and national minorities.
Public Projects
The Outreach Programme also assists in the promotion of our public projects like the Irish DNA Atlas project – an academic and scientific collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and the National Heraldic Survey, which is the first of its kind in Ireland and aims at creating a research resource for the study of the use of heraldry throughout the island of Ireland. Both projects are open to Members and non-members alike.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
The Society’s social inclusion policies were updated by the Board (Res: 25/03/1901) and endorsed by the Members at the Annual General Meeting held on 11th March 2025.
This resolution brought the Society’s Social Inclusion Policies, which dated from 2003 and 2005, in line with the Strategic Goals of the Society’s Development Plan; and now oblige the Board of Directors to formulate, adopt and implement policies, strategies and actions which facilitate, support and advance the Society’s longstanding commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as a core principle underpinning the promotion of an awareness, appreciation and knowledge of our genealogical, heraldic and vexillological heritage and related subjects; including a commitment to expand our research services and Outreach Programmes to cater for the Ireland’s ethnic and national minorities.