Changes to the IGA

The new IGA constitution and membership

The IGA was originally set up as an Unlimited Association. With changes in the Companies Acts, it became possible and desirable to change it to a Company Limited By Guarantee, a CLG.

A key advantage of the CLG is that members of the IGA no longer face unlimited liability for debts of the association; liability is now limited to the value of shares held (usually €1). It also makes it much easier to apply for charitable status.

Who is running the IGA now?

There are 4 directors (Mike, Pat, Ty and Robb) who are bound by the current Companies Acts to run the IGA legally. For continuity, the Directors resolved to roll over the old committee as the Executive Committee of the new IGA. So the ExComm is doing the day-to-day work.

Who can be a member: Anyone who pays a membership fee specified by the Directors. For 2021, we decided to bundle membership with the Gaelcon membership. (People can buy tickets to Gaelcon without joining the IGA if you wish, hence the separate products going forward)

What about votes, and meetings?

Everyone who is a member gets voting rights at GMs, EGMs and AGMs after 6 months. Members can run for office after 12 months.

When will we have an AGM?

Under the current Companies Act, we’re required to have our first AGM within 18 months of the date of incorporation. So in 2022, possibly at Gaelcon or separately. We need to decide which is better, and there will be processes to follow for motions, nominations and reports.

Who holds real power?

Legally, the Directors. But they can and usually will resolve to delegate specific tasks.

Will the Directors always be in charge?

Probably not. Legally, the directors will be responsible, but in due course, they may fade into the background. They will provide oversight and the Executive Committee (ExComm for short), Gaelcon Committee and other committees will be doing the real work. Also, we do expect to change Directors from time to time: it’s not for life!

So can the members get rid of the directors?

Yep, if you really want to. We’re not planning on hanging around forever. We’re also hoping to see new faces on the committee sooner rather than later.

So if I become a member at Gaelcon, can I call an EGM and dump the directors?

Not for at least 6 months, until you have a vote and read the legalese in the Companies Act about calling meetings properly (producing a simple version of those rules is high on our to-do list because it’s important).

What is the aim of the IGA?

The IGA’s aim is to support tabletop and LARP gaming in Ireland. We do this by bringing together the gaming community annually in a nationwide event, Gaelcon. We provide a safe space for community discussion on the IGA discord channel and information to the community on the IGA website. We hope to expand over the coming years to provide services to the community like additional once-off events, training, and a network of support for people trying to run game events. What we do will depend on what the community wants, and what we can find volunteers to work on. Conversations about this happen on our community discord, and at the regular IGA panel discussion at Gaelcon. For more information, check out the rest of this website.