The earliest Mesolithic site in Ireland

Mountsandel Fort is located on the eastern bank of the River Bann near a natural weir on the river. It is believed that this was the site of a 12th-century Norman Fort once used by John de Courcy. During the 1970’s a site was excavated by Professor Peter Woodman of University College Cork. Woodman found evidence of 6 circular huts, firpits and hundreds of flint tools providing evidence of a Mesolithic homestead. He also found the remains of salmon, flatfish, eel, mackerel, shellfish, duck and red deer. When the radion carbon results came back it was found that this settlement dated to approx 7000 BC making it the earliest in Ireland.