Maguirebridge’s Mossland Basin
Archived: 7 October 2026
30,155 BCE cannot be identified as a specific Irish historical year; it falls within a broad Late Pleistocene radiocarbon range. Derryvree, near Maguiresbridge, preserves freshwater sediments between glacial tills, indicating treeless tundra-like wetlands with mosses, sedges, dwarf willow and aquatic plants. Insects and wider cave faunas suggest cold, open habitats supporting mammals including reindeer, deer and predators, although assemblages span long periods. Growing ice preceded the Last Glacial Maximum, altering routes and habitats. A marked Castlepook reindeer bone may indicate human butchery, but proves neither settlement nor continuity. Later glaciation destroyed evidence, leaving fragmentary record of ecological connections with Europe.