Impact GIS was recently appointed by Kilbeacanty Graveyard Committee to undertake aerial/drone surveys of two graveyards near Gort in County Galway, with a view to mapping and recording the graveyards.

Drone surveys were undertaken using ground control points (GCP) surveyed in with a survey grade GNSS (GPS) and the imagery captured was then processed using Pix4D to produce detailed orthophotography. Extra GCPs were surveyed in to check the accuracy of the final orthophotography. A review of GCPs in the final orthophotography found their accuracy to be within 1 to 2 cm. The orthophotography was imported into QGIS and used to producing mapping, the marking up features, including bounding walls, paths, grave plots, the locations of headstones etc. Draft mapping has now been issued to the client, who will use it to align grave numbering with previous surveys. Impact GIS and Galway County Council will then host a photographic workshop, training local volunteers to undertake a photographic survey of the graves and headstones within the graveyards. Details for all graves and memorials will be added to the GIS database and uploaded, with photographs, to Galway County Council’s Galway Graveyards website.

Orthophotography of Kilbeacanty OldGraveyard
Orthophotography of Kilbeacanty Old Graveyard generated from drone survey.
Features from Kilbeacanty Old Graveyard mapped in GIS
Features within Kilbeacanty Old Graveyard mapped from orthophotography using GIS
Extract from Kilbeacanty Old Graveyard orthophotography
An extract from the orthophotography that was generated of Kilbeacanty Old Graveyard
Orthophotography of Kilbeacanty New Graveyard
Orthophotography of Kilbeacanty New Graveyard generated from drone survey
Features from Kilbeacanty New Graveyard mapped in GIS
Features within Kilbeacanty New Graveyard mapped from orthophotography using GIS
Draft mapping of Kilbeacanty New Graveyard
Draft mapping of Kilbeacanty New Graveyard generated using drone survey and GIS

2 thoughts on “Kilbeacanty Graveyard Surveys”

  1. I think you have the grave numbering wrong for Rakerin, doesn’t correspond with the numbers on the map in the graveyard itself….which was done using information from families

  2. Is there any information on who is buried in the old graveyard. Clearly the majority don’t have (readable) if any headstones. I know there is information in the new graveyard in Rakerin.
    I am aware that some years back Martin Diviney’s daughter did a map as part of a project, where is this information held I wonder?

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