Maguirebridge’s Buried Tundra
Archived: 26 September 2026
Although 30,653 BCE cannot denote a specific Irish event, it falls within a Late Pleistocene MIS 3 interval recorded at Derryvree, County Fermanagh. Freshwater silts and organic deposits between tills show an ice-free phase, supporting cold, treeless tundra wetland vegetation. Castlepook Cave, County Cork, preserves a diverse, differently dated fauna including mammoth, reindeer, giant deer and predators, demonstrating changing connected habitats. A marked reindeer femur may indicate Upper Palaeolithic butchery, but cannot prove settlement or continuous occupation. No political, cultural or social institutions are identifiable. Lower sea levels and shifting ice affected access, while routes and ice extent remain uncertain.