Castlepook’s mixed bone assemblage raises an intriguing question about how we reconstruct Ice Age Ireland from evidence accumulated across millennia. The coexistence of mammoth, reindeer, giant deer and predators indicates ecological connection with north-west Europe, yet it cannot prove that these animals shared one landscape or moment at different times. Similarly, the possible butchered reindeer bone suggests contact without demonstrating habitation. How might future dating, sediment analysis, and comparison with contemporaneous European sites help distinguish brief human incursions from repeated seasonal use, while also clarifying which habitats allowed large mammals to reach and persist intermittently in Ireland during MIS 3?