The first meeting was held in Dublin on January 31st 2003 where an interim steering committee was formed with power to act for up to one year to set up a formal structure, develop the new society’s constitution and set up the financial and legal arrangements.
Steering committee members are Collin Nicholls, Gerard Murphy, Alistair McCartney, Norbert Kelvin (chair), Gerard Gillen (deputy chair), and Stephen Adams.
The need is seen in Ireland to foster a greater appreciation of the pipe organ and to ensure that pipe organs, particularly those having historic significance are competently conserved. Similar societies exist in other countries, for example Northern Ireland and UK - British Institute of Organ Studies, BIOS, Germany - Orgelfreunde, Australia - Organ Historical Trust of Australia, USA - Organ Historical Society.
In line with its building conservation research, University College Cork’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering together with UCC’s Music Department, has been awarded a small IRCHSS grant to begin the process of establishing a database of pipe organs on the whole island of Ireland. This grant calls for an organ society to be set up which can advise the University on what information needs to be recorded in the proposed inventory/database and how it is to be obtained.