We must imagine these early settlers living an organised, planned, perhaps nearly sedentary existence, probably in very small bands in an environment which would differ subtly from today's.

Of course, the fact that Ireland was an island coupled with the distinctiveness of its fauna raises the question of where these peoples came from. Ironically, the fact that much of the Mount Sandel settlement has produced radio-carbon dates of 7,000-6,600 B.C. reduces the probability of a convenient intrusion from adjacent parts of Scotland. In fact, the suggestion that the earliest inhabitants came to Co. Antrim attracted by the possibility of finding flint for making tools was an explanation of convenience which contained spurious reasoning. Nothing as early as Mount Sandel had been found in Scotland and, until recently, nothing resembling the types of microliths found at Mount Sandel had been found at a remotely similar date. On the other hand, relatively similar industries were known from further south in Britain. Therefore, the idea that man first entered Ireland in the north-east and only gradually trickled out through the rest of the island is based more on the activity of archaeologists than on that of Mesolithic communities.

This picture has been altered slightly in the last few years. Firstly, Mount Sandel type industries have now been found in Scotland as far north as the Isle of Rhum. These could date as far back as 6,500 B.C. Within Ireland, Michael Ryan of the National Museum has found what could be a summer hunting camp on the shores of Lough Boora in Co. Offaly, where some Mount Sandel type microliths have turned up. A similar range of little microliths has now been found at several sites along the Blackwater River in Co. Cork. Thus, wherever the earliest settlers came from, we can no longer presume that they initially landed in the north-east, and we now know that, irrespective of where they landed, they spread rapidly over the whole island.

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From the Appletree Press title: The People of Ireland (currently out of print).
Also see A Little History of Ireland.