Nigel Monaghan
@nigelmonaghan-nh.bsky.social
Geologist / palaeontologist in Dublin, retired museum curator National Museum of Ireland, still digging... mostly in 18-19th centuries
What does ‘native animal’ mean? Here’s a study (only partially paywalled) that may help explain why it can be a simplistic and unhelpful term www.sciencedirect.com:5037/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:14 PM
What does ‘native animal’ mean? Here’s a study (only partially paywalled) that may help explain why it can be a simplistic and unhelpful term www.sciencedirect.com:5037/science/arti...
That’s why I prefer to study ancient wildlife with little or no humans. People have always been a problem, and yes, not just in the Holocene
November 28, 2025 at 4:05 PM
That’s why I prefer to study ancient wildlife with little or no humans. People have always been a problem, and yes, not just in the Holocene
The evidence for various animals in Ireland during the Holocene is very incomplete as the new work on wild cats demonstrates. The term ‘native’ can mean different things and in terms of ecology it is more helpful to consider established, introduced, integrated. sciencecalling.com/2012/08/24/w...
What is native?
There is one question that is guaranteed to spark debate among any Irish scientists researching land mammals. Three short words that could make you re-evaluate how you perceive the animals you grew…
sciencecalling.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The evidence for various animals in Ireland during the Holocene is very incomplete as the new work on wild cats demonstrates. The term ‘native’ can mean different things and in terms of ecology it is more helpful to consider established, introduced, integrated. sciencecalling.com/2012/08/24/w...
Of course I’m not saying that all animals were introduced but there’s a lot of others working in this field presenting evidence at conferences such as AIMS and the picture is fluid. Long established assumptions are not evidence. ‘Native’ is also an unfortunate term sites.google.com/view/aims202...
AIMS 2024
A two-day symposium of all things related to mammals in Ireland, cohosted by University of Galway and Atlantic Technological University
sites.google.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Of course I’m not saying that all animals were introduced but there’s a lot of others working in this field presenting evidence at conferences such as AIMS and the picture is fluid. Long established assumptions are not evidence. ‘Native’ is also an unfortunate term sites.google.com/view/aims202...
There are questions around bears in the Holocene, based on several genetic signatures at different times, summarised here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
November 28, 2025 at 3:44 PM
There are questions around bears in the Holocene, based on several genetic signatures at different times, summarised here: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
The laser pointer was the giveaway
November 28, 2025 at 1:17 PM
The laser pointer was the giveaway
Other wild animals (red deer) were probably introduced by Neolithic farmers. A lot of our ‘native’ fauna has human connections
November 28, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Other wild animals (red deer) were probably introduced by Neolithic farmers. A lot of our ‘native’ fauna has human connections
The Irish wild cat is more closely related genetically to those from Italy and Spain than modern Scottish wild cats
November 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM
The Irish wild cat is more closely related genetically to those from Italy and Spain than modern Scottish wild cats
Earliest direct dated wildcat (Felis silvestris) from Ireland. (Dowd, M., De Martino, M., McCarthy, M. and Ottoni, C.) Journal of Irish Archaeology 34, 225–234.
November 28, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Earliest direct dated wildcat (Felis silvestris) from Ireland. (Dowd, M., De Martino, M., McCarthy, M. and Ottoni, C.) Journal of Irish Archaeology 34, 225–234.
Finally we have concrete evidence through quality research.
November 28, 2025 at 7:40 AM
Finally we have concrete evidence through quality research.
As Tánaiste and Minister for Industry and Commerce, Lemass saw the closure of the Harcourt Street railway along with other routes in 1958. Maybe we should name the Metro after him instead!
November 26, 2025 at 5:32 AM
As Tánaiste and Minister for Industry and Commerce, Lemass saw the closure of the Harcourt Street railway along with other routes in 1958. Maybe we should name the Metro after him instead!
Whale carcass found on Donegal beach identified as Arctic species never before seen in Irish waters jrnl.ie/6882088
Whale carcass found on Donegal beach identified as Arctic species never before seen in Irish waters
The dead female narwhal was found by a family walking along Sweet Nellies Beach on the Inishowen Peninsula.
jrnl.ie
November 21, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Whale carcass found on Donegal beach identified as Arctic species never before seen in Irish waters jrnl.ie/6882088
The fossil hall in Dublin, demolished 1962
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The fossil hall in Dublin, demolished 1962
There are dinosaurs of a different kind in the parliament restaurant but no museum there since 1960s
November 21, 2025 at 4:26 PM
There are dinosaurs of a different kind in the parliament restaurant but no museum there since 1960s
The fossil hall was closed in 1920s for security reasons and never reopened. That’s the main reason that geological and palaeontological specimens live in storage although we get some into temporary exhibitions
November 21, 2025 at 4:22 PM
The fossil hall was closed in 1920s for security reasons and never reopened. That’s the main reason that geological and palaeontological specimens live in storage although we get some into temporary exhibitions