Summary: Migration of these early peoples
Key dates:
These early people probably had Ireland to themselves for nearly a millennium before new immigrants, who had sea-faring skills, arrived. This lack of fresh blood meant that the level of population did not alter dramatically. On a negative note, it also meant that they would have been breeding from a fairly restricted genetic pool.
The sea waters of the Irish Sea in 7000BC were much shallower than they are now and, while it may not have been possible to walk from England to Ireland, it would have been possible certainly to make the journey in a relatively small raft or canoe.
As hunter gatherers, these people roamed the countryside but their campsites tended to be located near sources of water such as rivers, lakes or the coast.
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