Sample Field Trip #1

Resources for fieldwork

1. Maps are an essential prerequisite; the basic map texts for this trip were the 1:126,720 better known as the 1\2inch sheet 16 covering parts of Kildare and Wicklow; the more detailed and modern 1:50,000 sheet 50 of the Discovery Series which covers parts of Counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow. The townland names may be ascertained from the townland index sheets which are indexes to the six and 25 inch maps. The townland index for Dublin is on one sheet but Wicklow has a number of sheets. The first edition (1837) six inch to one mile maps of the Ordnance Survey are invaluable guides to the pre-famine landscape. Earlier maps are obviously less detailed but the more relevant ones for our purposes are Taylor, 1828; Duncan, 1820; Rocque, 1756 and the Down Survey maps of William Petty c.1652-1654. Estate maps have not survived for all the properties referred to but the best guide to these is the Hayes Catalogue which can be consulted in the major libraries. It is always important in the preparation of a field trip to consult the Local Studies section of your local library, in this instance the Tallaght library.

2. It is certain that someone has already worked on the area you plan to study so it is necessary to check up on secondary sources before embarking on the field course. There are two essential sources for the trip concluded and within these you will find references to other material which will help build up a more comprehensive picture. I refer to the publications:

Dublin city and county from prehistory to present, studies in honour of JH Andrews edited by FHA Aalen and Kevin Whelan and published in 1992

Wicklow history and society, interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish County edited by Ken Hannigan and William Nolan and published in 1994.

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