Imagine uncovering a secret buried for over 5,500 years—a discovery that challenges everything we thought we knew about Ireland’s ancient wildlife. That’s exactly what happened during a recent excavation in the Burren, where the remains of a wildcat dating back to around 3600 BC were found. This isn’t just any wildcat—it’s the earliest directly dated specimen ever discovered in Ireland, and it’s rewriting history. But here’s where it gets controversial: until now, no prehistoric cat remains in Ireland had been radiocarbon dated, leaving us guessing whether early finds were wildcats or later domestic intruders. So, what does this mean for our understanding of Ireland’s past? Let’s dive in.
The groundbreaking discovery was made by Dr. Marion Dowd, an archaeologist at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), during excavations in Glencurran Cave, County Clare. Deep within the cave, 39 bones belonging to an adult wildcat were unearthed. What’s fascinating is that there were no signs of human interference—no cut marks, no tools—suggesting the animal died naturally in its forest habitat. Zooarchaeologist Margaret McCarthy identified the bones, and radiocarbon dating at Queen’s University Belfast confirmed their staggering age: over 5,500 years old. Ancient DNA sequencing by Prof. Claudio Ottoni’s team at the University of Rome Tor Vergata revealed even more surprises. The Glencurran wildcat was a male, part of an ancient European lineage closely related to wildcats from Italy and Spain, not the modern Scottish population.
And this is the part most people miss: for decades, small numbers of cat bones have been found at prehistoric sites like Lough Boora (Mesolithic) and Newgrange (Neolithic), but without radiocarbon dating, their age and species remained a mystery. This new discovery finally provides concrete evidence that wildcats roamed Ireland during the Neolithic period. But it also raises big questions. Did early hunter-gatherers introduce wildcats during the Mesolithic, or did they arrive later with Neolithic farmers? How long did they survive in Ireland before disappearing? And why are prehistoric cat remains so rare? Dr. Dowd admits, ‘We simply don’t know when wildcats arrived in Ireland or when they vanished.’
Here’s where it gets even more intriguing: medieval texts mention wildcats in Ireland, but these could have been feral domestic cats. Plus, there’s often confusion with the pine marten, known in Irish as cat crainn (‘cat of the trees’). Dr. Dowd calls for radiocarbon dating of other prehistoric cat bones across Ireland to clarify the timeline. But here’s the kicker: with current technology, it’s nearly impossible to distinguish between true prehistoric wildcats and later domestic cats. Is our understanding of Ireland’s wildlife history more blurred than we thought?
Wildcats were once abundant across Europe but began to decline sharply in the 1700s due to habitat loss, hunting, and competition with domestic cats. These solitary, nocturnal creatures prefer dense forests and avoid humans, making them elusive even today. While they resemble domestic cats in size and appearance, they’re a distinct species. Dr. Dowd hopes further analysis of cat remains from other sites will shed light on how wildcats reached Ireland, their lifestyle, and the reasons for their disappearance. But the question remains: What role did humans play in their decline, and could wildcats ever return to Ireland’s forests? Let us know your thoughts in the comments—this discovery is just the beginning of a much bigger conversation.
