Ireland Reaching Out values the trust of all individuals and organisations with whom it interacts and we recognise that maintaining this trust requires us to be transparent and accountable in upholding the confidentiality of the personal information that you choose to share with us. This privacy statement outlines the principles that the Ireland Reaching Programme team applies in order to ensure the integrity of your personal information.

We are committed to respecting the privacy of our volunteers, registered users and all other contacts. We have developed this privacy policy to ensure that all information pertaining to Ireland Reaching Out constituents and members of the public availing of our services online and in print, will not be shared with any third parties and that we are compliant with the rules set forth in the Irish Electronic Communications Regulation (2011), the Irish Data Protection Act (2018) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).. Occasionally we may send you information about our activities, including meetings, progress and feedback, but only with your prior consen. Requests to be removed from such contact lists will be respected and acted on immediately by us.

Information Collected and How it is Used

Ireland Reaching Out collects and maintains basic contact details and/or event registration information concerning genealogical family trees, additional information you wish to share by way of comments and suggestions and your requests to receive updates.

Ireland Reaching Out does not collect any personal information from visitors to its website other than information that is knowingly and willingly given.

Information collected is stored on our own database that is in compliance with the security regulations set forth in the GDPR and the Irish Data Protection Act (2018).

Ireland Reaching Out will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to other organisations. We assure you that the identity of all our users will be kept confidential. Use of information will be limited to internal purposes and only to further the Ireland Reaching Out mission to reunite the Irish Diaspora.

For more information or to request a change to your contact details, please feel free to contact Ireland Reaching Out by emailing info@irelandxo.com.

For more information regarding your rights under the GDPR and the Irish Data Protection Act (2018),  visit the website of the Irish Data Protection Commission at www.dataprotection.ie.

Ireland Reaching Out will only share information with third parties who help us with the delivery of our service to our members and our volunteers. Any information shared will be strictly necessary for the provision of the service they help us provide, such as website maintenance. Any third party which Ireland Reaching Out work with and share information with will be expected to have the same standard of data protection as Ireland Reaching Out does and will be contractually obligated to use measures to protect this information, as mandated by the GDPR.

Emails sent to members by Ireland Reaching Out.

Ireland Reaching Out regularly sends communications to members via emails.

There are two different methods of sending email communications to our members and both offer members the prior option of either receiving or not receiving them.

Automatic email notifications to members.

There are 3 different types of AUTOMATIC email notifications that members can receive and all three are opt-in, meaning that members must choose to receive them.

  • Updates on a message thread you are following or have contributed to. This setting is managed directly from the message board thread.
  • Updates about new XO Chronicles added to a Civil Parish you have joined. This setting is managed directly from your account settings.
  • News and Events added to a Civil Parish you have joined. This setting is managed directly from your account settings.

Newsletter type emails to members

When a member joins Ireland Reaching Out, they agree to our terms and conditions which includes receiving at least one newsletter-type email from us.  This is the ‘welcome’ email.  If they are not happy to continue receiving newsletter-type emails from us they may choose to unsubscribe at any time from within the email itself.


Ireland XO should secure prior consent from individuals before sending out newsletters or information on events – their consent to receive such messages should not be assumed or taken for granted.

Assuming you have consent to do so, each subsequent promotional or informational message must give recipients the option to opt-out from receiving any further messages in the future.

You need to ensure that you advise website visitors to  any cookies that are deployed on the site, their function, and offer visitors the option to disable them should that be their preference.

Updated August 2020