The creators whose models featured in this section
What follows is a list of the bodies, companies, and individual creators whose models are featured on this site, accompanied by a brief outline of their background and the work posted on their Sketchfab accounts of County Kildare interest.
Discovery Programme (https://discoveryprogramme.ie/)is an archaeological research body, supported by the Heritage Council, which has developed and applied many innovative and cutting-edge survey approaches within cultural heritage and archaeological research. They have an extensive collection of very high quality models on the Sketchfab platform, including two models of the Mullamast Carved Stone, originally located at Mullamast in Co. Kildare, and the Donaghmore Ogham stone, from Donaghmore (AKA Grangewilliam), Maynooth, Co. Kildare. These monuments are now houses at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, where they were documented by the programme. The Discovery Programme’s Sketchfab models can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/discoveryprogram
Ogham in 3D (https://ogham.celt.dias.ie/) is a project to research and digitise ogham inscriptions/stones and make 3d models of the stones freely available online. Their Sketchfab page contains examples of experimental/learning models created using photogrammetry and includes two of the ogham stones from the early ecclesiastical site of Killeen Cormac at Colbinstown in south east County Kildare. More models and descriptions of ogham stones, including the seven stones of Killeen Cormac, are available from their website ogham.celt.dias.ie. Ogham in 3D’s Sketchfab models can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/oghamin3d
Digital Heritage Age, (https://www.digitalheritageage.com/) is an archaeological partnership between Gary Dempsey MA, and Orla-Peach Power MA, both specialists in the digitisation of cultural heritage, were commissioned in 2017 by Castledermot Local History Group to document some of the monuments located in their exceptionally archaeologically rich town (See a 2017 article in our News section on this project). The project was funded by a Kildare County Council Community Heritage Grant. Fifteen models were produced and a select have been embedded on this site. To explore all fifteen models visit Castledermot Local History Group’s Sketchfab account at: https://sketchfab.com/CastledermotHistory
As part of a separate project documenting all known Sheela-na-Gig and exhibitionist carvings in Ireland, Digital Heritage Age have also documented three other Co. Kildare monuments, Bishop Walter Wellesley’s tomb in St Brigid’s Cathedral, Kildare Town (the tomb was originally located at Great Connell), the Mermaid stone located in the ruins of the medieval church on the grounds of Kilkea Castle, and the exhibitionist figure carved on a quoin stone above the Guard House of the bawn at Kilkea Castle. These models can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/DH_Age
In addition, Orla-Peach Power has a Sketchfab account with one model of Kildare interest, The Ó’Gramhnaigh Mausoleum at Maynooth, which can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/orlapeach
Seán Sourke MA, (www.kildare.online) is the webmaster of kildarelocalhistory.ie (this website), photographer and specialist in the digitisation of cultural heritage, with a particular interest in how photogrammetry can be utilised to document cultural heritage monuments and artifacts. He has documented a number of Co. Kildare monuments ranging in size from small plaques to complete buildings (Furness medieval church). A number of these models have been shared on his sketchfab account, Kildare Heritage in 3D, set up to document aspects of County Kildare’s built and cultural heritage, to encourage its appreciation and foster greater awareness of the need for its protection. This account is available at: https://sketchfab.com/Kildare_Heritage
Simon Dowling (http://aerialarchaeology.blogspot.ie/) is a community pharmacist in Waterford with a background in computational modelling and engineering. He has a keen interest in applying the emerging scanning technique of photogrammetry to Archaeology. His Sketchfab account has two models of Castledermot’s south high cross, one of which is a polychromatic interpretation of what the cross may have looked like painted. These models can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/simon.dowling/
Zenobie S. Garrett Ph.D., (https://zenobiewan.com/) is an Archaeologist and a postdoctoral fellow in 3D and VR Software Curation at the University of Oklahoma. Since 2007, she has worked as part of the team reexamining Dún Ailinne (outside Kilcullen, Co. Kildare) through remote sensing techniques. In more recent years she serves as the geospatial director of the field school that carries out excavations at Dún Ailinne during the summer months. Her Sketchfab account has three models of artifacts discovered at Dún Ailinne. The models were created at The University of Oklahoma, by Kristi Wyatt, Emerging Technologies Librarian and head of the 3D Scanning Lab, and Bobby Reed, head of Emerging Technologies. All three models can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/zenobiewan.
Robert Mark Ph.D., Stanford University, Chief Scientist at Rupestrian Cyber Services (rupestrian.com), Research Associate and staff member at the Museum of Northern Arizona. Among his extensive collection of Rock Art, artifacts, and monuments from around the world posted on his sketchfab account, is a selection of Irish Rock Art, including the Kilwarden Stone from Co. Kildare, now located in the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street. The Irish collection include two models of the famous Entrance Kerbstone at Newgrange, one generated from data collected in 1984, and a more contemporary capture that shows the effects of lichen growth in the intervening years. The Irish models can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/rmark/collections/ireland-d621776b69c643d39d337c1cf8555682
Eachtra Archaeological Projects (eachtra.ie) are an Irish archaeological partnership based in Co. Waterford. Their Sketchfab account has two models of the Moone high cross, accessible at: https://sketchfab.com/eachtra.
V-SENSE (https://v-sense.scss.tcd.ie/), according to their website, are a team of 20+ researchers in Visual Computing at the intersection of Computer Vision, Computer Graphics and Media Signal Processing, aiming to establish Trinity College Dublin as a world leading centre of excellence in creative technologies. V-SENSE has one model of Co. Kildare interest on their Sketchfab account, a small tower house located at Oughterard, Co. Kildare, which can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/V-sense2020
Impact GIS (https://impactgis.com/) is a development led environmental and cultural heritage consultancy services based in Co. Galway. They have two models of Kildare interest on their Sketchfab account – a drone captured photogrammetry model showing the excavation of a Bronze Age house site at Drinnanstown South, County Kildare, and a model of pottery excavated at the same site, both of which can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/impactgis
Archer Heritage Planning (https://archerheritage.ie/) are archaeological & cultural heritage consultants. They have one model of a crouched burial excavated in 2014 at Hospital Street, Kildare Town (details: https://archerheritage.ie/?us_portfolio=kildare-town; and, https://excavations.ie/report/2014/Kildare/0024091/). The model can be accessed on their Sketchfab account at: https://sketchfab.com/AHP_roh
Barbara Karlik (https://harfiarka.pl/en/) is a Polish harpist who comissioned a model of the Fitzgerald-Kildare harp held in the National Museum of Ireland (http://museum.ie). The museum number of the item is 1946.47. The harp was scanned in the National Museum on 24.10.2017 by Elaina Surgue, data processed by 3Dprinting Ireland, Elaina Surgue and Ciarán McCormack. The model can be viewed on Barbara Karlik’s Sketchfab account at: https://sketchfab.com/harpress
Tír 3D Surveys (https://www.tir3d.ie/) are a land and engineering surveying consultancy company based in Moone, Co. Kildare, providing geospatial services collecting data from the air, the ground and below the surface. Their Sketchfab account has models of Castledermot’s South High Cross, Moone Tower House, and ‘The Queen’s Room’ at the Curragh Racecourse and can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/Tir3D
Murphy Geospatial (https://murphygs.com/) is an Irish Geospatial company that captures, collates, verifies and governs geospatial data, providing surveys and data to clients. Their Sketchfab account has one model of Kildare interest, Woodstock Castle, which can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/murphygs
GWY (full name unknown), whose Sketchfab account states only that he is a Scientist, has one model of Kildare interest, the round tower of Oughterard, which can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/GWY
Spooky Boi, whose Sketchfab account has no identification or location information, has one model of Kildare interest, a digital recreation of an interpretative replica of a partial sword found close to Monasterevin, which can be accessed at: https://sketchfab.com/Aaron13
Co. Kildare Models Not Featured
A number of creators have models of Co. Kildare interest that are not featured in this collection. These includes Tír 3D, whose sketchfab account (https://sketchfab.com/Tir3D) has models of Castledermot’s South High Cross, Moone Tower House, and ‘The Queen’s Room’ at the Curragh Racecourse. Another creator has modeled the two Castledermot Crosses in polychromatic and colour versions. These two models are available at: https://sketchfab.com/JohnMccarthy.