Farming began in Ireland around 4000 BC. People began to keep herds of animals and plant fields. It’s likely that farming was brought in by new people migrating to Ireland, and that the two different ways of life – farming and hunter-gathering – coexisted on the island for quite some time. Those who farmed fields in particular would have moved around a lot less than a hunter-gatherer, and it’s likely that people who farmed had very different religious beliefs to those who didn’t. It’s during this era that megalithic monuments were built, such as Newgrange, Carrowkeel and hundreds of dolmens. Human remains have been found in most of these huge stone structures, so it’s likely they served a religious purpose.
The climate at this time was about 2 degrees warmer than it is today, which made it slightly better for growing crops like wheat and barley. Cows, sheep, goats and chickens were all brought to Ireland during this era.
