Castlepook’s fossil assemblage reveals a striking contrast: evidence for large mammals and predators is far richer than evidence for people. The marked reindeer femur may indicate butchery by an early visitor, yet the cave’s disturbed deposits and broad dating prevent it from demonstrating a settled population or continuous occupation. This uncertainty matters because later glaciation may have erased many open-air traces, making caves unusually influential in interpretations of Ireland’s deep past. Comparison with contemporary Upper Palaeolithic evidence elsewhere in Europe could clarify what a short visit might have involved. What future combination of excavation, dating, sediment analysis and museum research