Maguirebridge’s Inter-Till Waters
Archived: 14 September 2026
Abstract
31,737 BCE is a modern label for a Late Pleistocene, MIS 3 interval, not a documented Irish year. Inter-till freshwater sediments at Derryvree, County Fermanagh, reveal an ice-free phase with cold, periglacial wetlands, plants and insects between glacial advances. Southern caves, especially Castlepook in County Cork, preserve evidence of mammoth, reindeer, giant deer, predators and other cold-stage fauna, though deposits span multiple periods. A marked reindeer bone may indicate early human butchery, yet lacks secure context or associated artefacts. Lower sea levels altered routes, while advancing ice created a volatile ecological frontier. Permanent occupation, polities and Irish identities remain unproven.