Moles in Ireland
**Moles are not part of Ireland’s established wild fauna; there is no established wild population of the European mole (*Talpa europaea*) on the island.** This differs from Great Britain and continental Europe, where the species is widespread.
The absolute phrase “never existed” is difficult to prove for all of the past, so it is more precise to say Ireland has no native or naturalized population and no known modern wild moles. Island isolation after the last glaciation limited natural colonization by many land mammals; the absence of moles is generally attributed to colonization history rather than a special climatic barrier.