A three years programme of aerial survey and oblique photography, undertaken in 1989,1990 and 1991 and totalling 90 hours, will be reviewed. Two major themes will be addressed : the quantitative and qualitative impact of aerial survey on the archaeological record. The results of aerial survey in the West of Ireland and in upland areas will be compared with the more fertile arable areas of the South-East, particularly the great river systems of the Nore and Barrow ; the use of aerial survey in monitoring the accelerating pace of landscape change in Ireland is related to archaeological implications. A case study from the Dingle Pininsula in the South-West of Ireland will demonstrate the serious repercussions of agricultural land development on archaeological resources and the overall quality of the landscape.