Privacy Statement

The Coady Collection Explorer (https://thecoadycollection.ie) is a non-commercial historical and genealogical research resource. We respect your privacy and aim to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and Irish data protection law. 

1. Data Controller

The data controller for this website is:

The Coady Collection Explorer
Site Administrator
Contact: via the website contact form

2. What Data We Collect and Why

2.1 Website Analytics (Matomo)

We use Matomo Analytics to understand how visitors use this website, for example:

• Which pages and resources are accessed
• Approximate visitor origin (e.g., country/region)
• Referring websites
• General browser/device information (e.g., device type)

Purpose: We use these aggregated statistics to understand what content is most useful and to improve the resource over time.

Lawful basis: We process analytics data on the basis of legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR): operating, securing, and improving a public historical research resource.

How Matomo is configured on this site

• Self-hosted: Matomo is hosted on infrastructure under our control (not provided by a third-party analytics service). 
• IP anonymisation: Visitors’ IP addresses are anonymised (masked) prior to storage (configured to anonymise at least 2 bytes).
• Enrichment using anonymised IP: Where location data is derived, we configure Matomo to use the anonymised IP address for enrichment.
• Do Not Track: Where enabled in your browser/device, Do Not Track (DNT) signals are respected.
• No advertising / no profiling: We do not use Matomo for advertising, cross-site tracking, or marketing profiling.

2.2 Cookies

Matomo may set first-party cookies to help produce aggregated analytics (for example, to recognise returning browsers for statistical purposes). These cookies are:

• Used only for analytics on this website
• Not used for advertising or marketing
• Not shared with third parties

You can control cookies via your browser settings, and you may opt out of Matomo tracking at any time using the tool below.

2.3 Contact Forms

If you contact us via a form on this website, we collect only the information you choose to provide (e.g., name, email address, message) so that we can respond.

• Purpose: respond to your enquiry
• Lawful basis: consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR), provided by submitting the form
• Retention: contact form messages are not retained by the website after they are sent, other than what is necessary to complete the correspondence

3. Opting Out of Analytics

You may opt out of Matomo analytics tracking using the control below:

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade personal data. We do not share analytics data with third-party advertising or marketing platforms.

5. International Transfers

Analytics processing is carried out on infrastructure under our control. We do not intentionally transfer personal data to third-party analytics services outside the European Economic Area for analytics purposes.

6. Data Retention

• Analytics: retained for statistical purposes, with privacy safeguards (including IP anonymisation). Where applicable, previously collected analytics data may be retrospectively anonymised to align with current privacy settings.
• Contact forms: retained only as long as necessary to respond and complete correspondence.

7. Your Rights Under GDPR

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to:

• Request access to personal data we hold about you
• Request rectification or erasure
• Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Request restriction of processing

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Irish supervisory authority:

Data Protection Commission (Ireland)
Website: https://www.dataprotection.ie

8. Changes to This Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time to reflect changes in the site, analytics configuration, or legal requirements. The current version will always be published on this page.

Last updated: 2026-01-09