Castlepook’s Hyaena Range
Archived: 17 September 2026
At c. 33.3 ka cal BP, Ireland experienced unstable MIS 3 cold-stage environment rather than a datable year. Derryvree, County Fermanagh, preserves organic wetland sediments between tills, showing ice-free intervals with open, treeless tundra vegetation, freshwater pools and periglacial conditions. Castlepook Cave, County Cork, yielded mammoth, reindeer, giant deer, hyaena and other fauna, demonstrating intermittent ecological links with north-west Europe, though deposits span time and are biased. Revised dating places some fauna earlier than believed. A marked reindeer bone may indicate human butchery around 33,000 years ago but cannot prove settlement. Evidence supports changing landscapes, animals and possible human visits.