Recently I read an article about the reintroduction of wolves into Ireland. I thought "Wow, how cool would that be! " Wolves were native to Ireland up until 1786 when the last wolf was killed on Mount Leinster, Co. Carlow. Interestingly, wolves had been extinct from England 300 years before their disappearance in Ireland. 

The reintroduction throws up a lot of questions and debates concerning the effect they will have on the countryside and its inhabitants. Compensation for farmers due to loss of livestock, what impact reintroducing an apex predator will have on the wildlife and if it is fair on the wolves to be reintroducing them to a landscape that has changed in the 230 years since they roamed.  

Wolves are so entwined in Irish history and mythology, with images of them appearing in the Book of Kell and tales of them throughout Irish folklore. The Irish had a very positive link to the native wolves with stories often portraying the wolves as a guide and working with humans. To imagine them once again roaming the Burren or to hear them at night howling to the moon stirs something in the soul. I say, welcome wolves!