Last week we won a tender published by voluntary group, Meath Field Names Group, to undertake the GIS Mapping/ Digitisation of Meath fields using Mapinfo software.
The Meath Field Names Group is a voluntary group which was established in May 2008. This project is to record and publish the field names of County Meath along with their history, folklore and relevant information. It is guided by an elected Steering Group along with a network of local volunteers, and is strongly supported by Meath IFA, Meath Archaeological and Historical Society and Meath County Council Library Services.
The Meath Field Names Project is the first of its kind for an entire county in Ireland and as such, is breaking new ground. To date there have been some 500+ volunteers helping with this project in some shape or form. The Steering Group has always focussed on the best quality and the most useful end product possible. The Meath model developed for this project will be studied and used by other counties hoping to take a similar project.
The information gathering stage of the project has thus far been hugely successful, with the database now holding records of approximately 21,000 fields from around 800 townlands all around the county. The next stages of the project are:
1. Digitising the fields/ mapping work to link the database to fields on the map
2. Preparation and publication of project report book
3. Development of project website
Mallon Technology have been enlisted to undertake the digitisation and mapping stage, where it is hoped that the project will take on a whole new additional visual dimension. At a glance it will be possible to see features, field names and trends and how they are geographically spread across the county. The mapping work will be invaluable for further detailed study of different historical aspects of the information gathered.
