Derryvree’s freshwater sediments show that later Pleistocene Ireland contained temporary wetland and tundra habitats between ice advances, challenging any uniform picture of an island either wholly frozen or broadly hospitable. When read alongside Castlepook’s time-mixed animal assemblage, the evidence suggests ecological connections with Britain and continental Europe, yet leaves the timing and routes of movement uncertain. The possible cut-marked reindeer bone adds another layer of caution, since a brief visit would not demonstrate settlement. How might future dating, microscopic analysis and comparison with neighbouring records clarify whether Ireland’s ice-free pockets acted mainly as short-lived animal corridors, refuges, or stopping places?