The Disappearance of Wolves in Ireland                                A True, Fact-Based Story

"For thousands of years, wolves lived all across Ireland — including Wicklow. They were here from the end of the last Ice Age and were a natural part of the landscape, hunting deer and moving through the thick native forests that once covered much of the country.

By the 1500s and 1600s, Ireland was still heavily wooded, and wolves were common enough that English settlers described Ireland as 'full of wolves'. Records from the period show that Wicklow, with its deep valleys and dense forests, was one of their strongholds.

Then, in the 17th century, things began to change rapidly.

Large-scale deforestation took place to supply timber for shipbuilding and iron production. As forests disappeared, wolves lost much of their habitat. At the same time, farming increased, especially sheep farming. With livestock now spread across open land, wolves came into more frequent conflict with people.

Government records from the 1600s show that bounties were officially offered for killing wolves. Payments were higher for female wolves — a deliberate attempt to stop them breeding. Professional wolf hunters operated in areas including Wicklow, and winter hunts were common because snow made tracks easy to follow.

Over the next century, the combination of habitat loss, deforestation, livestock protection, and organised hunting steadily reduced their numbers. By the early 1700s, wolves were becoming rare. The last confirmed kills in Ireland are recorded sometime between 1700 and 1786, depending on the source. Many historians believe the final surviving wolves were in the Wicklow or Carlow regions, though the exact location isn't certain.

What is certain is this:
By the late 18th century, wolves had disappeared completely from Ireland. Their extinction here was caused by human activity — not by disease, not by natural decline, but by habitat loss and deliberate eradication.

Today, the mountains and forests of Wicklow still hold the landscape they once lived in, even if the animals themselves are gone."