About Us
Accredited Genealogists Ireland (AGI) was formed, as the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI), in 1986. At that time most of the practising genealogists throughout the island of Ireland came together to form a representative and accreditation body, with an independent Board of Assessors. After almost 30 years APGI changed its name to Accredited Genealogists Ireland at an Extraordinary General Meeting held in Dublin on Wednesday, 27 May 2015.
After the decision to change APGI’s name to AGI, its President, Steven Smyrl, said “Beyond its functions of accrediting and regulating, APGI has made many positive contributions over the past 30 years to the development of genealogy in Ireland, particularly through championing the needs of all types of record users, lobbying state-run archives and offices, and by supporting the efforts of the Council of Irish Genealogical Organisations (CIGO). Under its new name of Accredited Genealogists Ireland the Association will continue its vital role in all areas of genealogy across the island and internationally.”
AGI has always kept abreast of changes in the world of genealogy. In 2012 it introduced a new category of Affiliate. This is to assist reputable genealogists, in the early stages of their transition to professional research, to prepare to apply for accreditation. Through mentoring and attending AGI’s Continuing Professional Development most of our Affiliates have progressed to membership. Following a constitutional amendment at the 2023 AGI AGM, all applicants for membership of AGI must spend at least 6 months as an AGI Affiliate before applying for membership.
AGI is not an incorporated or chartered body, nor does it need to be. Like similar accrediting organisations for professional genealogists in England & Wales, Scotland and Australasia, AGI’s status is that of a longstanding association of practitioners working to maintain high standards among its members and to protect the interests of their clients. AGI is committed to the development of the study of genealogy. To that end it maintains friendly relations with genealogical societies throughout Ireland and abroad.
AGI has always been an accrediting body for genealogists throughout the island of Ireland. Accreditation from the association is controlled by an independent Board of Assessors. Each applicant is required to demonstrate to a high standard their ability, knowledge and practical experience in Irish genealogy.
The credential of membership of AGI is open to professional genealogists based anywhere on the island of Ireland who primarily conduct research in Irish sources and who are not engaged in full time work outside of genealogy. In order to gain accreditation, the genealogist must have first spent a minimum of six months as an AGI Affiliate, after which time they have 18 months to submit a sample of their work, commissioned by a client, to AGI’s entirely independent Board of Assessors. The sample of work is reviewed by three assessors, experts in the fields of genealogy, history, archives and libraries, but who are not members of AGI. The work is rigorously assessed and marked and the results are submitted to the AGI Council for ratification. The applicant’s work must achieve a certain mark to be admitted as a member of AGI. The entire process of application for membership is anonymous.
While many of our members hold a variety of qualifications, academic qualifications are not a requirement for membership of AGI. Expertise in genealogical research is learned through experience and professional development, and AGI provides Continuing Professional Development for our members. All members, once admitted, must adhere to the Rules and Code of Practice adopted by AGI.
AGI recognise that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an essential component of professional organisations. AGI members are required to accumulate 20 hours of CPD each year through lectures, courses, reading and investigating new record collections. AGI run at least four CPD events per year as a means of ensuring that our Members and Affiliates stay up-to-date with new developments in Irish genealogy and continue to maintain high standards in their work.
A panel of AGI members provide the Genealogy Advisory Service on behalf of the National Archives of Ireland (NAI). The Genealogy Service at the National Archives of Ireland (NAI) began in 2003 when the NAI invited AGI (then called the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland) to replicate a service it was already providing at the NLI. Until 2007 AGI ran both services. During that four-year period an international survey of genealogical research facilities for the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, reported “the most impressive guidance we saw was provided by the Genealogy Advisory Service at the NLI and the NAI in Dublin”.
Located in a public office on the ground floor of the National Archives of Ireland, an AGI member is available every day, Monday to Friday, between 10am and 5pm, to answer genealogy related questions and guide researchers to sources that will help to progress their research. This service is about empowering the researcher to find the records themselves, to discover the wealth of genealogical resources that are available in the National Archives of Ireland, online and in other Irish repositories. The service is attended by overseas researchers, tourists, local researchers, students and many others.
Accredited Genealogists Ireland is governed by our Constitution, a document that is under constant review and subject to amendment as the association grows and changes. The association is managed by our Council, usually composed of ten members, including a President, Vice-President, Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer, elected by the members of AGI at each Annual General Meeting. The four officers each serve a term of three years. AGI Council is supported by a number of sub committees who undertake the work of organising CPD, promoting AGI and its members, reviewing the constitution, building relationships with similar bodies in other countries. All of the work undertaken by AGI members as part of Council and sub committees is voluntary. There are no paid positions within AGI.
Accredited Genealogists Ireland currently run a foundation certificate and an advanced diploma course in Irish Family History Research with City Colleges, Dublin. Delivered online, the courses utilise the expertise of a large roster of AGI members. In the past AGI have also provided a similar course via Independent Colleges in Dublin. AGI members also provide lectures at university level, for a number of different courses and micro credentials, at genealogy events and trade shows, such as Back to Our Past and for genealogy and local history societies.
Over the years, members of AGI have written for Irish and international print media and appeared on, and undertaken the research for, radio and TV programmes. In particular, they have provided much of the raw material documenting the Irish ancestry of celebrities who have appeared on the Irish, British, USA and other versions of Who Do You Think You Are? On RTE’s Genealogy Roadshow, they helped members of the public to verify family stories. Other shows include the RTE IFTA nominated series Dead Money, about lost fortunes being restored to families and The Shelbourne, a five-episode series following the daily life of Ireland’s grandest hotel which featured the hotel’s Genealogy Butler. AGI members have also been researchers and contributors to Finding your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. (PBS), Union (BBC), The Tenements (TV3), The Great House Revival (RTE), Where Were Your Ancestors During the Famine? (RTE), Aistí ón Aer (Radio na Gaeltachta).
Many AGI members, past and present, are also authors of genealogical publications, magazine and journal articles and publishers of records:
* Rodda, Anne,Trespassers in Time: Genealogists and Microhistorians.
* Brown, Beverley, contributor to Roots, Journal of the North of Ireland Family History Society (NIFHS).
* Mitchell, Brian, A New Genealogical Atlas of Ireland, A Guide to Irish Parish Registers, Irish Passenger Lists 1847-1871, and Genealogy at a glance: Irish Genealogy Research.
* Scally, Georgina, High Island (Ardoileán), Co. Galway Excavation of an Early Medieval Monastery.
* Fennell, Joanna Cicely, contributor to Journal of the Families in British India Society and author of The Pitman Family.
* Grenham, John,Tracing your Irish Ancestors (5th ed.), Clans and Families of Ireland (1995),Generations (1996), “The Genealogical Office and its Records” in The Genealogical Office , (1999), Grenham’s Irish Surnames (CD-ROM, 2003), contributor toYour Family Tree. He wrote the “Irish Roots” column and blog in The Irish Times between 2009 and 2016.
* MacCongail, Máire, (with Paul Gorry), Tracing Irish Ancestors (1997).
* Morris, Nicola, contributor to Who Do You Think You Are? and Roots Ireland, magazines, History of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland.
* Gorry, Paul, Baltinglass Golf Club 1928-2003, Baltinglas Chronicles 1851-2001, Seven Signatories: Tracing the Family Histories of the Men Who Signed the Proclomation, Credentials for Genealogists: Proof of the Professional and (with Máire MacConghail), Tracing Irish Ancestors (1997).
* MacCotter, Paul, contributor to Irish Genealogist, Irish Roots, History Ireland, Irish Lives Remembered. For a full list of Paul’s publications: https://paulmaccotter.com/publications/
* Smyrl. Steven C., Irish Methodists – Where do I start?, (with Eileen Ó Dúill) Irish Civil Registration – Where Do I Start?, Dictionary of Dublin Dissent – Dublin’s Protestant Dissenting Meeting Houses 1660-1920, (with Dr. Jim Ryan) Dictionary of Irish Genealogy, contributor to Irish Roots magazine.
* Gregory, Kiara, World War I Irish Soldiers – Their Final Testament – index of 9000 wills.
* Sharkey, Joan, St. Anne’s: the Story of a Guinness Estate.
* Murtagh, Des, From Activation to Amalgamation, A brief history of County Kildare Vocational Education, 1930-2013
* Davison, Robert, editor Journal of the Upper Ards Historical Society.
* McDonagh, Hilary, ‘A History of Maids of the Mountain Hockey Club 1918-1999’; contributor to Swedish TV, Irish Family History Journal.
* Ellis, Eilish (deceased), ‘State-Aided Emigration Schemees from Crown Estates in Ireland c. 1850’ in Analecta Hibernica No. 22 (1960), (with P. Beryl Eustace) Registry of Deeds, Dublin: Abstract of Wills 1785-1832 (three volumes).
* Kennedy, Gerry, (deceased), Tracing Your Clare Ancestors, The Crusheen Volunteers, contributor to The Other Clare.
* McAuliffe, Eric J., (deceased), contributor The Irish Genealogist, An Irish Genealogical Source: The Roll of the Quaker School at Ballitore, Co. Kildare.
* McCabe, John, (deceased), ‘The McCabe List’ Families (Journal of the Ontario Genealogical Society).
* McDowell, Henry, (deceased), contributor Irish Family Records, Irregular Marriages in Dublin Before 1837, Directory to the Gentlemen’s Seats in Ireland, editorial committee The Irish Genealogist.
* Moorhead, Patricia, (deceased), contributor Irish Roots magazine and journals of the Irish Family History Society, Ballinteer Family History Society and the Genealogical Society of Ireland.
* O’Byrne, Eileen, (deceased), contributor to Irish Genealogy: A Record Finder, editor Convert Rolls.
AGI also acts as an advocate in the field of Irish genealogy. Our members serve and have served on a number of state boards, including the Board of the National Library of Ireland, the National Archives Advisory Council, the Irish Manuscripts Commission and the Genealogy and Heraldry Committee of the National Library of Ireland. AGI is also frequently invited to join working groups, such as the Registry of Deeds advisory group, the PRONI (Public Record Office of Northern Ireland) Forum, and the Belfast General Register Office (GRO) Users Group, and we focus on maintaining good relations with all staff of the numerous Irish repositories in Dublin, Belfast and around the country.
AGI has petitioned government for changes in the legislation governing civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in Ireland, for access to the 1926 Census of Ireland, to protect and house vulnerable record collections and to improve access to online and hard copy record collections.
AGI also works to build relationships with similar bodies overseas. Currently in an alliance with sister organisation, Association for Scottish Genealogists and Researchers in Archives (ASGRA), AGI and ASGRA members meet at a multi-day professional development event every two years, alternately hosted in Ireland and Scotland. AGI and ASGRA council members also attend the others’ AGM. AGI also enjoys excellent relationships with AGRA (UK) and AAGRA (Australian Association of Genealogists and Record Agents).
While acting as an accrediting body, AGI also strives to protect our members’ clients. With such a large diaspora, many people seeking genealogical research in Ireland are from overseas and have little means to ensure that the genealogist they contact is legitimate and experienced. This is why accreditation is important. It reassures our clients that the work of AGI members has been examined by our independent Board of Assessors and our members must adhere to AGI’s rules and code of practice. Clients also have recourse via the association, if they are not happy with the work of the AGI member.
Complaints from clients are taken very seriously. There is a Complaints Investigation Procedure and serious or repeated cases of justifiable complaint can result in expulsion from membership. An initial complaint will be dealt with by the Hon. Secretary and President, liaising with the client and the AGI member, to determine if the complaint can be quickly resolved. If the matter cannot be resolved, it will be passed to the Complaints Investigation Panel for resolution. In the history of the Association, the Complaints Investigation Panel has never been convened.
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AGI Council Members (2025)
Each EXECUTIVE COUNCIL OFFICER serves a term of three years
President
Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
General Council Members
