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Mesolithic Ireland (8000 BC - 4500 BC)
The first people arrived in Ireland over 9000 years ago during the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) time. They were hunter-gatherers who
- hunted wild boar and gathered fruits, nuts and berries in the forests
- fished in the rivers and loughs for salmon, trout and eel
- hunted sea mammals such as seals, collected shellfish, gathered seaweed
- caught birds and collected their eggs
Image: Stone Age reconstruction drawing