irish traveller lifestyle

PHOTOGRAPHY

Life With the Irish Travellers Reveals a Bygone World

One photographer spent four years gaining unprecedented access to this close-knit community.

When Birte Kaufmann first encountered Irish Travellers, she was on a trip with friends in the Irish countryside and saw a girl and her little brother running toward a roadside camp. The caravans and horses reminded Kaufmannn, who is German, of the Romany camps she had seen elsewhere in Europe, but the people looked intriguingly different.

Who were they, she wondered, and how could she delve deeper into their culture?

"People said, You'll never get an insight into that community—forget about it," Kaufmann recalls of sharing with Irish friends her burgeoning plans to photograph the close-knit Travellers.

An ethnic minority in Ireland , the Travellers have lived on the margins of mainstream Irish society for centuries. Efforts have been made to incorporate the nomadic group into mainstream culture by settling them into government housing and enforcing school attendance. But even living among "settled people," they face ongoing discrimination.

Kaufmann describes theirs as a parallel world, where deeply-rooted gender roles and an itinerant lifestyle have kept them apart from the broader Irish community even as their freedom to roam has become increasingly curtailed.

To gain access to the community, Kaufmann first attempted to engage through human rights groups that work with them—to no avail. So she decided to do it "the hard way," she says. She had heard about a “halting site”—walled areas on the outskirts of large towns that contain houses as well as spaces for caravan parking—and on her next trip to Ireland, she simply showed up.

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She was met by barking dogs, one of which bit her. A young woman approached, speaking English with an accent so thick that Kaufmann had trouble comprehending. Undeterred, she decided to lay her cards on the table. "I was really honest. I told [her] I was coming from Germany , where we don't have our own traveling community, [that] I knew who they were and was interested in how [they live]," Kaufmann recalls.

The young woman "was totally surprised, but finally they invited me for a cup of tea. I was sitting in a caravan with her grandfather. I asked them if I could come back and stay with them." Kaufmann says they chortled, as if to say, Yeah, right.

When she next returned from Germany, it was with a camper van of her own, so that she could stay alongside the extended family clan that would become the focus of her project. "I knew it was a high risk," she says, “but I gave them some pictures I had taken in the caravan of the grandfather. And they said, 'Ok. Now you're here. We have the images. One cup of tea. Now go. We are busy.'"

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As a photographer, and especially as a woman, Kaufmann was something of a novelty given the strictly defined gender roles of the Traveller community—men tend to the horses and livestock, women to home and family. Girls marry young and only with the blessing of their parents. Men don’t typically speak to women in public.

She slowly gained their trust to the point that one of the family members—a young mother who took a particular shine to her and was perhaps even amused at her struggle to understand what they were saying—began teaching her Gammon, their unwritten language.

"She tried to teach me words to say if the guys are being rude," she says. "And then the father started telling me what I should say. [They] tried to make me feel more comfortable." Her knowledge of words selectively and seldom shared with outsiders demonstrated to other Travellers that one of their own had trusted her enough to share.

And in turn, understanding how they communicate with each other helped her get past the sense of feeling unwelcome and deepened her appreciation of their differences. "At first [the talk] sounds really rough," she says. "Then there was this point at which I realized it was their language. They don't really call anyone by name. It's 'the woman over there,' 'the man over there,' 'the child,'" she explains. "It's not personal, [but] at first it sounds very rude.”

Kaufmann made multiple visits to the family over the course of four years, eventually living with them. The men gradually accepted her and allowed her to photograph them hunting and trading horses at a fair. She was able to blend into the background and photograph them as an unobtrusive observer of their everyday lives—lives, she says, that are filled with a lot of idle time. As Ireland becomes less agrarian, the Travellers’ traditional work as horse traders, farm laborers, tinsmiths, and entertainers has become more scarce.

"The older generations can't read or write," Kaufmann says, "but they have their own intelligence. On the one hand life was so sad and boring because everything their lives were stemming from wasn't there anymore. On the other hand there was this freedom—they live their lives in their own way."

And then, she says, she found herself taking no photographs at all. "One of the boys who really didn't like to be photographed said, 'Do you know what's really strange with Birte now? She's here and she's not really photographing anymore.'"

And that's when she knew her project was done.

Birte Kaufmann's project on the Travellers is now available as a book . You may also see more of Birte Kaufmann's photographs on her website .

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Hidden World Of Girls

For traveller women in ireland, life is changing.

The Kitchen Sisters

Second of a yearlong series

Helen Connors (right), who is part of a Traveller family, says she started school when she was 4 years old. But the community didn't take Traveller girls very seriously — and she says she was called a "knacker" and a "pikey." Nikki Silva hide caption

Travellers, "the people of walking," are often referred to as the Gypsies of Ireland. Mistrusted for the most part, their traditions and lifestyle are not well understood within the larger culture. Historically, they were nomads who moved in caravans and lived in encampments on the side of the road. Their tradition as "tinkers" or tinsmiths, and as the breeders and traders of some of Ireland's best horses, goes back hundreds of years.

As times change in Ireland and the notions of private and public space change and contract, the culture no longer accepts the Travellers on public and private lands and has begun to create "halts" where they can settle.

Helen Connors, 21, lives in Hazel Hill, a new government experiment in Traveller housing on the lower slopes of Dublin Mountain, with her husband and two children.

"Travellers got their name because they're so fond of traveling around the world in a caravan," she says. "They'd have their wagons and their horses. You'd see them along the roadside. You could be in Dublin today; you could be in Cork tomorrow. That's how Travellers got their name. We call you 'settled people.' "

"Travelling girls don't really mix much with settled girls," says Shirley Martin, a 23-year-old mother of three. "The way of living, caravans, by the side of the road. A come and go thing. My family is a Travelling family."

Life In School Hard For Travellers

There are similarities between Traveller and Romany Gypsy culture, but Travellers do not define themselves as Romany, says Mary Burke, associate professor of Irish literature at the University of Connecticut.

For many generations, Travellers -- the nomadic, indigenous Irish minority -- provided services to an Ireland that was predominantly agricultural: seasonal farm labor, tinsmithing, horse-trading, hawking, music and entertainment.

The Irish government is experimenting with housing for Travellers — the Gypsies of Ireland — on the lower slopes of Dublin Mountain. The houses are called "halts." Today, the majority of Travellers either live in houses permanently or live in houses at certain times of the year. Gerry O'Leary hide caption

In the early days Travellers moved from place to place with horses and carts. British Romany introduced Travellers to wagons. The wagons were overtaken by caravans, and the caravans were overtaken by mobile homes. But today the majority of Travellers either live in houses permanently or live in houses at certain times of the year.

"But that doesn't mean that prejudice or identity disappear when they settle in houses," Burke says.

Connors started school when she was about 4 years old. She says the community didn't take educating Traveller girls very seriously.

"I didn't learn very much in school because I was bullied a lot," Connors says. "You were a 'knacker' or a 'pikey.' That's all you'd hear every day. You'd be in trouble nearly every day for fighting. If I said to the teacher, 'I can't do that; can I have some help?' she'd say, 'Here's paper; just go down to the back of the class and draw whatever you want.' I had one teacher that said to me, 'Well, a Traveller won't do nothing with their life. Why would you want to know how to read and write? You're going to go off and marry young and have loads of children.' So I was just put down to the end of the class and everyone else was up on top."

Because school in Ireland is set up for kids who live in a house year-round, Burke says, a cultural attitude developed toward Traveller kids who moved around a lot for not being capable of -- or interested in -- learning.

"And that carries over into today," Burke says.

Traveller Girls Marry Young

Traveller families are especially strict with girls, according to Martin.

"Some mothers and fathers is too strict where you wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere," she says. "This is why most Travelling girls get married young, because they want to get away from that. Travelling girls, most of them today would be 16, 17, 18, which will want marriage."

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This year, NPR and The Kitchen Sisters will bring you stories of girls and the women they become. You can follow them on Twitter by going to @kitchensisters. You can send suggestions to our listener comment line at (202) 408-9576.

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The girls travel in a pack, promenading.

"They look very glamorous," Burke says. "Lot's of makeup and heels and long hair."

Terry McCarthy, 16, was recently married.

"When I was 13, I met my husband at a festival," she says. "And the minute I met him, I knew I was in love. I got engaged when I was 15. I had a big do for that. I had a big engagement party. Just went from there then. I got married last month. I had a lovely big huge white dress."

"Whatever you want on your wedding day you have to get," Connors says. "When I got married, I got to design my own wedding dress -- my dream dress. It had a 50-foot train. It was all diamonds and lace. Travellers, too, they have a mini-bride. That's a girl you just dress up to look just like yourself for the day. Your mini-bride has to look like you."

Theresa Hughes and daughter Jennifer have been sewing wedding dresses for Traveller girls for more than 10 years.

"The Travelling community, they come over to us to get their outfits made for going to weddings -- even the mothers and grannies want bling," Theresa says. "Thick pink satin, sequins, beads, glitter. They go all out."

Jennifer shows off a white miniskirt with beads on it.

"I just go all out; I go for extremes," she says. "I kind of used Elvis as an inspiration -- Elvis' white Lycra suit, the flared one that he wears to his last concert."

There is a lot of money involved in Traveller weddings, both in terms of substantial dowry payments and in terms of putting on a good show.

Traveller Women Gain Power

As women age in Traveller culture, they gain power. They often outlive the men. They can become matriarchs in the culture, particularly if they have a large family. And there's prestige attached to being the mother of many.

Shirley Martin, 23, a resident at Hazel Hill, says that Traveller families are especially strict with girls — and that's why they marry young. Nikki Silva hide caption

Shirley Martin, 23, a resident at Hazel Hill, says that Traveller families are especially strict with girls — and that's why they marry young.

"When I was a kid, the Travellers, they used to come around our houses making pots and pans and doing odd jobs," says Paul Connelly, the caretaker of the Hazel Hill halting site. "And in return for that, they may get milk and bread and potatoes. People will not tolerate Travellers living on the side of the roads now. It's dangerous for themselves. The country's trying to get them settled. Set up halting sites and trying to get them to live in them."

Traveller life has changed, Helen Connors says.

"My mother and father had 17 children -- nine boys and eight girls," she says. "Myself, I left school when I was 11, but then I started a trainer course where I learned how to read and write. Then I did a child care course, and I passed all my exams. Now I can read and write what I never learned in school. I learned it by myself. Travellers are speaking up for themselves and being heard."

Produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva) in collaboration with Dublin producer, Nuala Macklin; mixed by Jim McKee

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What it is like inside a tightknit, reclusive community of Irish Travellers

Photographer Mary Turner has spent years documenting a tightknit, reclusive community of Irish Travellers. Fueled by curiosity about how they were living their lives, she continues to document them to this day. Turner recounted her experience working on the project to In Sight below.

On Oct. 19, 2011, the British government began the mass eviction of 86 families of Irish Traveller heritage from their homes on a former scrap yard known as Dale Farm in Southeast England. Although the Travellers owned the land, the surrounding community would not tolerate their presence, and after a long legal battle they were eventually refused government permission to stay. The result was the largest eviction in U.K. history.

On a bleak day in January 2009, I first approached the disputed site in Essex. The site had long been the subject of a land dispute between the Traveller families, the Sheridans, who were living on the converted scrap yard, and Basildon Council. As it was not far from where I grew up, I decided to go along and see if I could meet the families and perhaps come away with a few photographs.

Looking back, it was as ignominious a start as I could possibly have hoped to make. I parked my car at the end of the winding, potholed road to the site and walked nervously up to the first lane of trailers. I stood in the rain and looked around at row upon row of closed trailer doors, a small group of children playing with stones in a yard and an elderly man eyeballing me as I tried to look casually as though I belonged there. Within less than 10 minutes, I was retreating hastily to my car followed furiously by a pack of possessed dogs. By the time I got home, I had promised myself I was never going back to Dale Farm.

But I did go back. Again and again. And over the next few years, that scene was to become as familiar to me as my own home.

It was a long road getting to know the deeply private families at Dale Farm. With good reason, they are deeply mistrustful of the settled community, especially those carrying cameras or notebooks. So for months my camera lay untouched as I sat in their busy trailers drinking tea, reading letters for the largely illiterate community, helping to make doctor’s appointments and decoding complex eviction notices from the local council.

But somewhere along the line, I was fortunate enough to meet Barbara and Jean Sheridan, two extraordinary women who have allowed me to document their lives and that of their families as they grow up.

Gradually, as the weeks turned into months, the Dale Farm Travellers stopped being my subjects and became my friends, and the minutiae of their everyday lives lost its novelty and became part of the fabric of my own life. I will never be able to speak for them as a Traveller, but as our lives have become peculiarly entwined, I have taken part in and photographed their eviction, communions, weddings, hope, grief and happiness.

There have been countless moments that you could not make up — the day they tried to get me to buy a Shetland pony on the Internet, the day they did my makeup “Traveller style.” It has never been less than entertaining.

I have been witness to the gradual introduction of more regular schooling, cellphones and the use of the Internet and Facebook into the lives of a largely illiterate community. These things are beginning to change their lives forever.

Although the eviction of Dale Farm reached its peak over a period of a few months in 2011, it was in fact the culmination of years of legal argument and a long battle over the property. The first Irish Travellers had moved onto the site in the early 2000s when they bought the yards from its owner, Raymond Bocking, who was running a scrap yard on the site for the Basildon Council.

Within a short time, more Sheridan family members arrived, thinking they had found a place to stay with their family members. But the surrounding settled community was becoming increasingly unhappy with the presence of a large number of Travellers living nearby. Gradually, over the years, the local people and the Sheridan families of Dale Farm became embroiled in the bitter battle that led, ultimately, to the devastating mass eviction in October and November 2011.

As eviction loomed, the deeply private community became a media sensation, with journalists arriving from all over the world to see it. As the Travellers’ final summer on the site turned to autumn, a group of young activists determined to halt the eviction set up a camp on the site, with eager journalists trying to infiltrate the group and find out its battle plans.

Meanwhile the Sheridans tried to get on with their lives. They are the most resilient people I have ever known. Although they were not used to such attention or such unusual people on their doorstep, and were nervous about the publicity, they welcomed the activists and their support. In private, though, they confessed that it all seemed a bit strange. They called them “the hippies people” as they watched them pitching tents and singing around campfires.

On Oct. 19, 2011, the eviction began at 5 a.m. Riot police poured down the hill behind the site and broke through the activists’ meager defenses within minutes, and then into Dale Farm. Photographers and camera crews rushed to the site as the Travellers opened the doors of their trailers in their pajamas and started to watch the destruction of their homes. I can still hear Nora’s voice as, pushed up against their long riot shields, she shouted over and over: “My home, this is my home; get away from my home.” And tiny Michelle Sheridan standing in her dressing gown in front of a group of riot police, their helmets and shields assembled, mobbed by news photographers, and saying through her tears, “You young men should all be ashamed of yourselves; your mothers would be ashamed of you all.”

The eviction of Dale Farm had begun. Over the coming days and weeks, police were a constant presence at the site. Bailiffs patrolled the yards and dug up the land around us. I stood and watched as Jeany’s mobile home, where her family had known so many happy times and where I had taken the first photograph that I was remotely happy with, way back in 2009, was loaded up onto a pickup truck and taken away to be disposed of. By the end of November 2011, there was nothing left of Dale Farm.

After Dale Farm

It seemed back in 2011 that no one believed the Dale Farm families really had nowhere else to go. But I knew them, as I know them now, and I have seen that this is the reality of their situation as the years pass.

In the first few weeks after the eviction, the Travellers pulled their trailers onto the road outside their old home and began attaching generators to get them through the winter. A year on, most were still there, parked on the potholed lane I had first run down years ago, chased by a pack of dogs.

Barbara and her small family are still there to this day. Sometimes when there is space in a family member’s yard on the legal side at the front of Dale Farm, which always existed, she is able to rent what they call a “camping closet” there, a yard to park her trailer on for a while.

Barbara is fortunate in this respect, at least. It means that her three sons, John, Richard and Dennis, still attend Crays Hill school, just down the road from Dale Farm. But for Jean, who had to move on, this was not the case.

Jean and her children, like many of the families, eventually decided that they could not live on the road at Dale Farm forever and set out to try to find permanent places to stay.

It is neither practical nor legal for modern Travellers to live permanently on the roadside. Jean talks constantly of how she wants her children to be educated. In 2011, she spoke to me about her hopes for her children’s future.

“I grew up on the side of the road. But I want for my Viviana what I hadn’t got. I want her to learn how to read and write. There is no such thing as living on the side of the road anymore. It’s different. Everything is Internets now and computers and texting, and everything like that. In probably another 10 years down the line, it’s going to be even more advanced. Everything is going to be computers and chips and that sort of thing. So you can’t live on the road. You’ve got to look into things from your children’s point of view.”

But Jean’s children — Viviana, John (“Button”), Richard and David — have been forced to do precisely that. Jean has never found anywhere permanent for her small family to live, and every couple of weeks she is forced to look for new places to stop. She and her family are traveling in France, where I have plans to visit them in the coming months to see the children who I have known for so long, and who are now becoming adults.

Staying with them on their journey around the United Kingdom or in temporarily rented yards, constantly hawking for work and looking for a place where they might be at last able to stay, I have witnessed firsthand their struggle.

Barbara once told me: “We learned to live with prejudice long ago; that’s part of our life. We’ve been prejudiced against, no one wanted us all our lives and that’s it. ‘Gypsies on the side of the road! Pikeys on the end of the street! Move ’em on.’ We take prejudice as a compliment.”

I’m not sure I really understood it until after the eviction from Dale Farm. Now, I have overheard prejudicial talk in local pubs, been turned away with them and eyeballed in public places, and felt the humiliation as police arrive in the lay-bys and public parks to explain that they are sorry, but that after a week more the families will have to move on. It is a constantly uneasy life.

But I have also been witness to what was always, to me, the important story of the Dale Farm Travellers. Not the eviction, but the warmth and humanity of this unique community, what we have in common and not what separates us. When I have felt like an outsider in my own world, the routinely ostracized Dale Farm families have shown me rare friendship and kindness. When I have been flat broke and moved into a new and shabby flat, they brought me a new duvet, pans and a kettle, and when I need a laugh, there is quite simply no one better to be with.

As I watch the children from Dale Farm grow up and away from the trauma of their eviction and face the challenges of Traveller life in the fast-moving modern world, my photographs are becoming an extensive archive of the lives of this much-derided community and, for me personally, a document of friendships that have changed my life.

In Sight is The Washington Post’s photography blog for visual narrative. This platform showcases compelling and diverse imagery from staff and freelance photographers, news agencies and archives. If you are interested in submitting a story to In Sight, please complete this form.

Traveller culture, crafts and traditions

Explore a selection of material related to the culture, traditions and crafts of the traveller community in ireland..

Museum staff, working in partnership with Traveller community representatives and others, have worked on special projects and initiatives to make Traveller community history and heritage better known. It is a critical value of the National Museum of Ireland that its collections are reflective of all of the people of Ireland and our shared experiences. It is also crucial to our values as an organisation that the Traveller community, a community that is marginalised, is consulted and engaged in the development of Museum exhibitions and programmes exploring their culture. The Museum continues to seek additional objects for this collection. Irish Travellers, or Mincéirí , have a shared history, culture and language. They are a distinct ethnic minority group, as well as being a part of Irish society for centuries. The distinct ethnicity of Travellers was officially recognised in Ireland on 1 March 2017.

Exhibition: Crown beoir

Online gallery: traveller culture, discover the craft of the tinsmith, film: tinsmith at work, 1965, step-by-step: making a lidded tin can, exhibition: travellers' journey/minceir misl’d, film: this giant tent, film: 'tinsmith' by merchants gate films, learn about: tin lanterns, learn about: beady pockets.

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A Brief History Of Irish...

A Brief History of Irish Travellers, Ireland’s Only Indigenous Minority

After a long battle, Irish Travellers were finally officially recognised as an indigenous ethnic minority by Ireland’s government in early March 2017. Here, Culture Trip takes a look at the origins of the Irish Travelling community and how the historic ruling came about. At the time of the 2011 census , there were around 29,500 Irish Travellers in the Irish Republic , making up 0.6% of the population. The community was found to be unevenly distributed across the country, with the highest number living in County Galway and South Dublin. Although – as the name suggests – Irish Travellers have historically been a nomadic people, the census showed a majority living in private dwellings.

Throughout Irish history, the Travelling community has been markedly separated from the general Irish population, resulting in widespread stereotyping and discrimination. The same year as the census, a survey conducted by Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute found that Irish Travellers suffer widespread ostracism; this and other factors have been shown to contribute to high levels of mental health problems among Irish Travellers. Indeed, the 2010 All Ireland Traveller Health Study found their suicide rate to be six times the national average, accounting for a shocking 11% of Traveller deaths.

Through the 2011 census, members of the Travelling community were also found to have poorer general health, higher rates of disability and significantly lower levels of education as compared to the general population, with seven out of 10 Irish Travellers educated only to primary level or lower.

Because of a lack of written history, the exact origins of the Irish Travelling Community have been difficult to clarify. Although it had been hypothesised, until relatively recently, that Irish Travellers may be linked to the Romani people, a genetic study released in February of this year revealed this connection to be false.

The study found that Travellers are of Irish ancestral origin, but split off from the general population sometime around the mid-1600s – much earlier than had been thought previously. In one widely quoted finding, the DNA comparisons conducted in the course of the research found that while Irish Travellers originated in Ireland, they are genetically different from ‘settled’ Irish people, to the same degree as people from Spain.

The results of the study, conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin, the University of Edinburgh and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, contributed significantly to Irish Travellers being officially designated an ethnic minority, defined as a group within a community with different national or cultural traditions from the main population.

Speaking to RTE on the day of the ruling, former director of the Irish Traveller Movement Brigid Quilligan said, ‘We want every Traveller in Ireland to be proud of who they are and to say that we’re not a failed set of people. We have our own unique identity, and we shouldn’t take on all of the negative aspects of what people think about us. We should be able to be proud and for that to happen our State needed to acknowledge our identity and our ethnicity, and they’re doing that today.’

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About Irish Travellers

Irish Travellers are an indigenous minority who, historical sources confirm, have been part of Irish society for centuries. Travellers long shared history, cultural values, language, customs and traditions make them a self-defined group, and one which is recognisable and distinct. Their culture and way of life, of which nomadism is an important factor, distinguishes them from the sedentary (settled) population.

There are an estimated 31,000 Travellers in Ireland, making up more than 4,485 Traveller families. This constitutes approximately 0.7% of the total national population. It is estimated that an additional 15,000 Irish Travellers live in Britain, with a further 10,000 Travellers of Irish descent living in the US.

Travellers were formally recognised as an ethnic group by the Irish state on March 1st 2017, after many decades of campaigning by ITM and other Traveller activists and organisations. Ethnicity or identity relates to the collective set of beliefs, attitudes, values, norms and language that Travellers share that make them Travellers.

Traveller Culture

Culture is not static and solely based in the past, but an interplay between tradition and emerging new ideas.

Traveller culture and identity is constantly changing and adapting. Some aspects of change happen as society changes globally. Other changes are forced upon the community- for example, legislative changes that have had huge negative impacts on Traveller culture: nomadism effectively criminalised through the Trespass legislation, changed laws governing market trading and laws covering horse ownership. These laws have meant that traditional aspects of Traveller culture are almost impossible to express. Despite these policies, which have had serious impacts on the community, Travellers continue to see themselves as Travellers and show pride in their identity and heritage.

Marginalisation of Travellers

Travellers, as individuals and as a group, experience a high level of prejudice and exclusion in Irish society. Many have to endure living in intolerable conditions, such as lack of access to basic facilities of sanitation, water and electricity. This leads to ongoing health problems among the Traveller community. The All Ireland Traveller Health Study 2010 revealed that Traveller men live, on average, 15 years less than settled men, while Traveller women live on average 11 years less than their settled peers. Discrimination and its effects are a daily feature of Travellers lives.

The long road towards acceptance for Irish Travellers

The Irish Traveller community is fighting for official recognition of its ethnic identity and for a way of life.

Avila Park, Dublin, Ireland – In a wooden shed in his back garden, James Collins sits on a low stool hammering out the final touches on a billy can. At 68, he is one of only two remaining traveller tinsmiths in Ireland.

Above the clutter of well-worn tools and scrap sheet metal hang a dozen or so other cans. Nowadays, he says, there’s precious little demand for his trade, and he largely continues it as a hobby, occasionally selling some of his work at vintage craft fairs.

Since the introduction of plastic homeware in the 1960s and 1970s, tinsmithing – traditionally dominated by the historically nomadic community known as Travellers – has effectively died out. Even the block tin, James originally used, is no longer available.

“It’s more difficult to work with,” he says, holding up a gleaming aluminium can. “You can’t make what you want to make out of it because you have to use solder and that won’t take solder.”

READ MORE: Ballinasloe Horse Fair – An ancient Irish tradition

James was raised on the road in the Irish midlands, a traditional upbringing unknown to most Travellers today. “I was bred, born and reared on the road,” he says, “but the young lads today wasn’t. They all grew up in houses and went to school and all this craic. I never got any education, never went to school in my life.”

Until his late 20s, when he settled in Avila Park, a housing estate for Travellers on the outskirts of Dublin, the Irish capital, James plied his trade for farmers, smithing and repairing buckets. “It never goes out of your mind; you’re always thinking, thinking the whole time about the road,” he says.

In comparison, younger generations have little interest in traditional crafts or the travelling lifestyle – James’ children and grandchildren don’t know how to harness a horse, for example. And anti-trespass legislation introduced in the early 2000s, which was used to disperse encampments by the side of roads or on council-owned land, made a nomadic existence increasingly difficult.

Yet, even as the distinct traditions of Irish Travellers seem to fade into the past, the battle for official recognition of their identity continues.

Avila Park is a housing estate for Travellers on the outskirts of Dublin [Ruairi Casey/Al Jazeera]

The search for recognition

Unlike the United Nations and the United Kingdom, Ireland does not recognise Travellers as a separate ethnicity from the non-Traveller community. For decades, human rights organisations and Traveller advocacy groups have been seeking this recognition, but to little avail.

However, on January 26, a parliamentary committee established to investigate the issue stated unequivocally that “Travellers are, de facto, a separate ethnic group”.

“This is not a gift to be bestowed upon them, but a fact the state ought to formally acknowledge,” it further said.

The committee report urged the Taoiseach, Ireland’s prime minister, or the minister for justice to give a statement to the Dail, the Irish parliament, acknowledging this at the earliest opportunity.

This development was welcomed by members of the Travelling community, although some remain cautious in their optimism. It would not be the first time an Irish government has reneged on such commitments – a 2014 parliamentary report made the same recommendation, which was never acted upon.

A history of deprivation and discrimination

An examination of the almost 30,000 Travellers in the Republic of Ireland shows a staggering level of deprivation completely at odds with the non-Traveller community. Another 4,000 to 5,000 Travellers live in Northern Ireland, in a similar situation.

Around half of Travellers have no secondary education and only 1 percent have attended university, according to Pavee Point, a group fighting for the rights of Travellers.

WATCH: Irish travellers facing discrimination

Some 84 percent of Travellers are unemployed, while suicide rates are almost seven times higher than among settled people. A 2010 study found that life expectancy was 15 years lower among men and 11 years lower among women when compared with their settled counterparts.

Discrimination against Travellers remains endemic at social and institutional levels. Being denied entry to businesses is a common occurrence and many try to hide their background when applying for jobs, fearing that potential employers will not hire them.

“Symbolically it would have a profound impact on our collective sense of identity, self-esteem and confidence as a people,” says Martin Collins, the co-director of Pavee Point, on the recognition of Traveller ethnicity.

“Some travellers have internalised [racism] and end up believing that they are of no value, they are of no worth … So that’s the impact. That’s the outcome of both racism and your identity being denied.”

A culture denied

It was a 1963 government report, the Commission on Itinerancy, that has set the tone for the state’s attitude towards Travellers ever since, says Sinn Fein Senator Padraig MacLochlainn, the first person from a Traveller background to be elected to the Irish parliament.

Traveller rights groups have been seeking recognition for their community [Ruairi Casey/Al Jazeera]

The Committee on Itinerancy ‘s terms of reference defined Travellers as a “problem”, whose social ills were “inherent in their way of life,” and outlined the goal of “promot[ing] their absorption into the general community”.

No Travellers were on the committee, nor were they consulted for its report.

“Our people and our state denied their history and decided that they were criminals and they needed to be immersed in with the rest of us,” says MacLochlainn.

This refusal to acknowledge the community’s rich cultural history – notably their own language, Cant, and significant contributions to Irish traditional music – persists today.

Traveller culture is frequently portrayed in the media as separate and distinct, MacLochlainn says, but almost always in negative terms, in exploitation TV shows such as My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and exposes on Traveller criminality.

“You clearly accept them as a distinct group – why are you making these programmes if you don’t? If they’re a distinct group, could you do it now in positive terms?

“When it comes to negative characterisations, the media, the establishment … in Ireland are more than happy for them to be characterised in negative terms,” the senator says.

Behind James’ shed in Avila Park, traditional and modern Traveller accommodation sit side by side. A wooden barreltop caravan, washed green with blue and red embellishments, sits between two mobile home units, where his younger relatives stay.

Only one has both electricity and running water, which were installed by the family. Power is provided from the house by a yellow cable, wound loosely around plastic drainpipes and holes in its pebbledash exterior.

An early morning fire in a nearby prefabricated unit just a few weeks before offered a bleak reminder of the danger these makeshift electrical fixtures pose. A neighbour raised the alarm and the young couple inside escaped before their home was reduced to a charred husk.

Children burned to death

This near disaster has reminded some people of a fire in the south Dublin suburb of Carrickmines more than a year ago, which continues to cast a shadow over relations between the Traveller and the settled communities.

In the early hours of October 10, 2015, a fire ripped through a halting site killing 10 people, including five children, from two families – the Lynch and Gilbert family and the Connors. The youngest victim was five months old. It was one of the deadliest fires in the history of the Republic of Ireland.

Social workers had raised concerns about the site’s substandard prefabricated units to authorities in the months before the fire, but no action was taken. The blaze and its aftermath would, for many, become an example of the pervasive discrimination Travellers face in Ireland today.

Three days after the fire, some locals blockaded land marked for temporary accommodation for the surviving members of the Connors family, preventing construction vehicles from entering. Though the obstruction was condemned by then Environment Minister Alan Kelly and several Traveller groups, the protesters were successful.

OPINION: Catholic Ireland’s saints and sinners

On October 21, one day before the last victims were buried, the county council announced that the Connors family would instead be resettled on a reclaimed dump on council land in a nearby suburb. At the time of writing, the family remain in that location.

Alongside many expressions of grief on social media after the fire were comments highlighting the discrimination towards travellers in Irish society.

On one popular news site, a comment simply wishing that the victims rest in peace received hundreds of thumbs down votes from other readers. “Hundreds of Irish people gave a thumbs down to an expression of sympathy for children who were burned to death,” says MacLochlainn. “That’s terrifying; that’s absolutely terrifying.”

In response to the tragedy, local authorities across the country conducted fire safety audits at Traveller accommodation sites. “All we got was a few fire alarms, a few fire blankets and some carbon monoxide alarms,” says Collins, of Pavee Point.

“That’s like re-arranging the chairs on the Titanic. That’s totally inadequate. These sites need to be completely redeveloped [and] refurbished, because the sites are just inherently dangerous. Getting a few fire alarms and a few hoses will not rectify the situation.”

For Collins, the long overdue recognition of Traveller ethnicity is an important milestone, but as the Carrickmines example shows, a commitment to materially improving the lives of Travellers is also necessary if they are to be truly equal in their own country.

Traveller culture is frequently portrayed negatively in the media [Ruairi Casey/Al Jazeera]

Who are the Irish Travellers in the US?

They're one of ireland's oldest and most marginalized minorities but who are the irish travellers in the us.

A scene from the Murphy Village episode of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

One of Ireland's oldest and most marginalized minorities but how much to do you know about Irish Travellers in America?

In Ireland, nearly everybody is aware of the existence of the Irish Travellers — they’re one of Ireland’s oldest and most marginalized minority groups, known for their itinerant lifestyle, distinct dialects and oft-questioned traditions.

However, many people know that there are also communities of Irish Travellers in America.

A few times each year, a headline will pop up about Irish Travellers in the US. Sometimes it’ll be from a local newspaper in South Carolina or Texas; on rarer occasions, such as the bust of a high-profile rhinoceros horn smuggling ring, it’ll be in Bloomberg Businessweek . Except for the occasional story expressing interest in the culture or history of the Travellers, the articles are typically from the crime section — detailing a theft or scam, or local concern that the Travellers have arrived in the area.

But if you don’t happen to live in those areas or catch those headlines, and if you missed out on that one famous episode of "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding," you’d be easily forgiven for not having any idea that the Irish Travellers have lived in the US for generations. They’re not recognized as a distinct ethnic group by the US Census, and, what’s more, Irish Americans have never claimed them under the umbrella of the Irish diaspora.

What little we do know about the Irish Travellers here in America comes from those very news articles, and from a scant number of books and documentaries.

There are believed to be anywhere from 7,000 to 40,000 Irish Travellers in the US, though most estimates lie closer to the 10,000 mark. The Travellers here descended from groups who left Ireland around the time of the Great Hunger and settled in the US, carving out a similar lifestyle to the one they followed in Ireland.

Like their counterparts in Ireland, Irish Travellers in the US speak their own dialects of Cant, Shelta, or Gammon, which can include elements of Irish, Gaelic, English, Greek, and Hebrew.

Also similar to their Ireland-based counterparts, the American Irish Travellers identify as strictly Catholic and adhere to their own traditions and mores. The men travel and work and the women raise the children. Many of the women are promised to their future husbands in arranged marriages when they are very young.

Their primary trade is repair work, often categorized as dubious in nature (though the fairness of that generalization has been called into question). But the US Irish Travellers have also, over the years, amassed fortunes through a unique internal economy based on life insurance policies.

As Paul Connolly, who made a documentary about Irish Travellers in the US for the Irish channel TV3 in 2013, told The Journal : “Most of the income comes from insurance. . . In America, there’s a clause which allows you to insure anyone with a blood connection — and as they have intermarried for generations, there’s a likelihood there will be a blood connection.

"So they’ve worked out a way of profiting from this, and that, according to the Travellers I’ve spoken to, is how they make their money and how they’re so wealthy. Some of the more morbid characters we came across referred to it as ‘Death Watch’.”

Perhaps the most notorious instance of this system gone awry took place in 2015, when Anita Fox, a 69-year-old Irish Traveller woman in Texas, was found stabbed to death. Police later identified the perpetrators as Gerard and Bernard Gorman, who held a $1 million life insurance policy in Fox’s name.

There are Irish Traveller enclaves in Texas, in the Houston and Fort Worth areas, as well as in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida, with smaller settlements found in rural New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Many of the groups identify based on where in the US their ancestors first based themselves, such as the Ohio Travellers, Georgia Travellers, Texas Travellers, and Mississippi Travellers.

The largest-known Irish Traveller community in the US is in Murphy Village, South Carolina, which, as noted in a report by the Florida Ancient Order of Hibernians, is home to approximately 1,500 people with only 11 different surnames.

According to a 2002 article in the Washington Post , “The Irish Travelers who settled in the United States in the 19th century migrated to different parts of the country and established their own clan groups, often with little intermingling across regions.

“The Sherlocks, O'Haras and others settled [in Murphy Village] in the 1960s, on land around a Catholic church whose pastor, the Rev. Joseph Murphy, became the patron and namesake of the growing community just outside the town of North Augusta.”

Far from a caravan or mobile home community, Murphy Village has become home to an increasing number of suburban “McMansions” in recent decades, as the US Irish Travellers build permanent homes, which they use as a base between travels and for holidays. In this regard, its closest Irish counterpart is Rathkeale, Co. Limerick, which was the subject of a New York Times story in 2012 , chronicling the massive homecoming that takes place every Christmas.

“The Riches,” a serial drama about a contemporary Irish Traveller family in the US, starring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, aired on FX for two seasons, in 2007 and 2008.

H/T Slate , The Journal , The Washington Post , Florida AOH .

* Originally published in Sept 2016.

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The big fat truth about Gypsy life

M y Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, the television series that ended last week and attracted nine million viewers, was designed to "throw an overdue light on a secretive, marginalised and little-understood segment of our society", according to the blurb from Channel 4. But the show largely avoided the myriad of problems, such as discrimination, poor health and poverty faced by Travellers, except for what felt like a tokenistic final episode, and instead focused on over-the-top wedding dresses and other excesses.

MBFGW was about Gypsies and Travellers, but there was criticism from both communities that C4 failed to properly distinguish between the two. There are around 300,000 Gypsy Roma and Irish Travellers in the UK – Roma Gypsies are originally from northern India, whereas Travellers are of Irish origin – and both groups are nomadic. Since 2002, Travellers have been recognised as an ethnic group and are protected under the Race Relations Act. Last week C4 was accused by the Irish Traveller Movement in Britain of fuelling "hatred and suspicion" of their way of life and have demanded a right of reply.

Kathleen, who lives with her six children in a three-bedroom trailer, is fairly typical of an Irish Traveller woman, except that she is separated from her husband. Along with many other Gypsy and Traveller women in the UK, Kathleen was a victim of domestic violence. Although there is no conclusive evidence about the prevalence of this abuse, a study in Wrexham, cited in a paper by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2007, found that 61% of married English Gypsy women and 81% of Irish Travellers had experienced domestic abuse. And a significant number of those women who had reported the abuse appeared to have suffered more severe and sustained violence than those within mainstream communities.

"I left him and went back to my mammy but he kept finding me, taking me home and getting me pregnant," Kathleen says. She now feels safe because she has male family members living on the same site. "With my brother close by, he wouldn't dare come here."

It is rare for women to call the police for help. "You would be seen as a grass and disowned by the whole community," says Bernie O'Roarke, outreach and resettlement worker for domestic violence charity Solas Anois (Gaelic for Comfort Now), which is based in London. The situation probably isn't helped by the fact that there is only one, 10-room refuge dedicated to Traveller women in the UK, also in London. But domestic violence is just one of the issues tackled by O'Roarke during her visits. The welfare needs, particularly those of the women and girls, of this community are vast. The women are three times more likely to miscarry or have a still-born child compared to the rest of the population, mainly, it is thought, as a result of reluctance to undergo routine gynaecological care, and infections linked to poor sanitation and lack of clean water. The rate of suicides among Traveller women is significantly higher than in the general population, and life expectancy is low for women and men, with one third of Travellers dying before the age of 59. And as many Traveller girls are taken out of education prior to secondary school to prevent them mixing with boys from other cultures, illiteracy rates are high.

O'Roarke is a familiar face on the sites around London, offering women and their children help with health care, education and finance. The men leave the women alone to deal with these issues, so if the women do want to talk about violence and abuse, they can do so without fear of the men overhearing.

I visit some trailers with O'Roarke at a site in London and am struck by how the women seem to manage, usually with large families, to keep everything so clean and tidy. There are colourful displays of Royal Crown Derby crockery, handed down from mother to daughter on her wedding day. There is certainly no sign of wealth or excessive spending. Many tell me they struggle to feed their children, and have no savings or bank account.

Things seem set to get worse for Traveller women. Only 19 days after the general election last year, £50m that had been allocated to building new sites across London was scrapped from the budget. O'Roarke is expecting to be the only Traveller liaison worker in the capital before long – her funding comes from the Irish government.

"Most of the women can't read or write. Who is supposed to help them if they get rid of the bit of support they have now?" asks O'Roarke. "We will be seeing Traveller women and their children on the streets because of these cuts. If they get a letter saying they are in danger of eviction but they can't read it, what are they supposed to do?"

Conditions on the site are as grim as the homes are spotless. The trailers are not connected to water pipes, and the toilets, bathrooms and cooking facilities are in a small, unheated shed across the yard. "In the snow and rain, the little ones are always getting colds," says Brigid, who lives in the next trailer to Kathleen. "And there are so many pot holes that the council haven't filled, you can go flying in the dark."

But living on a site is about being part of the community. When Traveller girls are growing up, they are only allowed to go out with other family members, and once married, her husband rules the roost. "The men would never allow a woman out with her friends," says Kathleen. "That's why we want to live on a site, for company." Kathleen, after spending time in a refuge after finally managing to escape her husband, was initially allocated a house, as opposed to a plot on a site. Almost immediately her children became depressed. "It's like putting a horse in a box. He would buck to get out," says Kathleen. "We can't live in houses; we need freedom and fresh air. I was on anti-depressives. The children couldn't go out because the neighbours would complain about the noise."

Since moving to their site two years ago, Kathleen and her children have been far happier. Until MBFGW was screened, that is. "Now every week I go to the school and the parents are talking about that programme. They won't let our kids mix with theirs because they say we stink and don't talk properly. Settled kids won't even play sports with ours in case they touch them."

Mary, Kathleen's 15-year-old daughter, is upset by the series too, and says that she has faced further prejudice since it hit the screens. "That programme didn't show the real way we go on. All my friends are asking if it's true what they show on telly, and I think they've gone different [towards me] since it was shown."

In one episode the viewer was informed that young Traveller men at weddings and other social occasions use something known as "grabbing" to force a reluctant girl to kiss them. One newspaper report called it a "secret courting ritual".

"Grabbing has never happened to me or any of my friends and the first time I ever saw it was on the telly," says Mary. "I wouldn't put up with it, and I don't know why they made out we all do it. It's just one nasty boy they showed."

Brigid adds: "Grabbing has never happened to my kids. I have honestly never heard of it. It's all make-believe."

Helen, a Traveller in her 20s on the same site, is also furious about the portrayal of women in MBFGW. "The way us women come across in the programme is a disgrace," she said. "It shows us as nothing but slaves to the men, only good for cooking and cleaning, and always being available to open our legs to them. We don't want that for our daughters."

Helen is also worried that Traveller women are being portrayed as rich and spoilt when, in fact, life is a struggle for the majority. "I don't know anyone so rich that they can afford to splash out on wedding dresses like that. Mine was secondhand. They'll now be saying we are all criminals, or sponging off the state." I ask a number of Traveller women how representative of the Traveller and Gypsy communities those featured in MBFGW are, and they all come back with a similar answer: the programme focused on a small number of individuals from five sites (out of an estimated 300-plus across the UK), and in any community, there are a minority who have access to large amounts of cash.

I ask O'Roarke what she thinks the future holds for Travellers. She is worried. "That TV programme has put our work back 100 years. And if these women lose the little support they have, they literally will be left to rot."

She is concerned that problems affecting Traveller women and girls, such as lack of education, forced and early marriage, and abuse within the home, are not being taken seriously.

"These issues do not just affect certain Asian communities," says O'Roarke. "We have had Traveller women in the refuge who have been forced to marry someone who they have never met, and marrying cousins is not uncommon."

But some say that things are slowly improving. "I think it's changing an awful lot for the young ones," says Kathleen. "We don't want them to have no education and get married at 16, and have loads of kids and the same life as we did."

Would Kathleen ever marry again? It is out of the question, she tells me. These things are just not done. "You marry for life," she says. "If I was to have another man, my daughters would never be married because I would have brought shame on them."

O'Roarke would like to see changes that include: "Better support for the women to keep their daughters in education, and a serious commitment from the government to challenge the prejudice thrown at these people."

While people are being entertained by watching Katie Price-replica weddings on TV, and girls dressed in Beyoncé-style outfits dirty dancing, women such as Kathleen, Brigid and Helen are living in substandard conditions and facing daily prejudice while trying to give their children the best start in life. The reality is a far cry from the C4 depiction and is rarely aired. O'Roarke tells me that Traveller women are usually reluctant to allow outsiders into their homes, despite the impression given by MBFGW. "But we just want our side of the story put across," says Brigid, "so settled people know we are not like that."

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Irish Travellers: Examining the History, Culture, and Challenges of a Nomadic Community

By Happy Sharer

Introduction

Irish Travellers are a nomadic ethnic group native to Ireland that has existed for centuries. They are distinct from the settled population, with their own language, traditions, and customs. The purpose of this article is to explore the history, culture, and challenges facing the Irish Traveller community both in Ireland and abroad.

A Historical Overview of Irish Travellers

The earliest records of Irish Travellers date back to the 1500s, when they were referred to as “tinkers” or “itinerants”. They were known for their metalwork and horse trading, but also for their nomadic lifestyle. Over time, the term “tinker” became derogatory, and the preferred term for the group is now “Irish Travellers”.

Pre-20th Century History

In the 19th century, Irish Travellers began to settle in areas such as Dublin, where they established market stalls. Many of them worked in the road repair industry, as well as in the construction and agricultural sectors. In the early 20th century, the Irish government passed legislation banning the nomadic lifestyle of Irish Travellers, forcing them to settle in permanent homes.

20th and 21st Century History

In the late 20th century, Irish Travellers began to regain their nomadic roots, although the majority still live in permanent homes. Irish Travellers have become increasingly visible in recent years, particularly in the media, where they are often portrayed in a negative light. This has led to an increase in discrimination and prejudice against the community.

The Social and Political Struggles of Irish Travellers

Irish Travellers face numerous social and political challenges, particularly in terms of discrimination in education and employment, and lack of representation in politics. These issues have been exacerbated by misconceptions and stereotypes perpetuated by the media.

Discrimination in Education and Employment

Irish Travellers face significant barriers to accessing education and employment opportunities. According to a report by the Equality Authority, Irish Travellers experience higher rates of unemployment than the general population, and are more likely to be underemployed and underpaid. Furthermore, research has found that Irish Travellers are less likely to complete secondary school and university than their non-Traveller peers.

Lack of Representation in Politics

Irish Travellers are largely excluded from the political process, with no elected representatives in either the national or local governments. This lack of representation means that Irish Travellers’ voices are not heard in decision-making processes, and their needs and concerns are not taken into account.

Challenges for Irish Travellers in Ireland and Abroad

Irish Travellers also face discrimination and prejudice in other countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, where they are often denied access to public services, housing, and employment. In addition, they are often victims of hate crimes and racial profiling.

Exploring the Culture and Traditions of Irish Travellers

Irish Travellers have their own distinctive culture and traditions. These include traditional music and dance, their own language and dialects, and a unique cuisine.

Traditional Music and Dance

Irish Travellers are renowned for their lively traditional music and dance. They often perform at festivals and events, and some of their songs have become popular in the mainstream. According to Robert Dunbar, professor of Irish Studies at University College Dublin, “the music of the Travellers is an expression of their identity and culture, and it serves to bind them together as a community.”

Language and Dialects

Irish Travellers have their own language and dialects, which are derived from a mixture of English and Irish Gaelic. There is also a distinct Traveller vocabulary, which includes words and phrases that are not used by the settled population.

Food and Cuisine

Irish Travellers have a unique cuisine that reflects their nomadic lifestyle. Dishes such as stew, fried bread, and potatoes are cooked over open fires and shared among family and friends.

Examining the Education and Employment Challenges Faced by Irish Travellers

Irish Travellers face numerous challenges when it comes to accessing education and employment opportunities. These include limited access to education, low employment rates, and barriers to professional advancement.

Limited Access to Education

Irish Travellers experience high levels of educational disadvantage due to discrimination, poverty, and lack of access to resources. According to a report by the Central Statistics Office, only 5% of Irish Travellers aged 15-24 had completed third level education, compared to 33% of the general population.

Low Employment Rates

Irish Travellers have significantly lower employment rates than the general population. According to a report by the Equality Authority, only 29% of Irish Travellers were employed in 2011, compared to 69% of the general population.

Barriers to Professional Advancement

Irish Travellers also face numerous barriers to professional advancement, including discrimination and lack of access to resources. Research has found that Irish Travellers are less likely to receive promotions and pay rises than their non-Traveller peers.

How the Irish Traveller Community is Adapting to Modern Society

Despite the challenges faced by Irish Travellers, the community is adapting to modern society in a variety of ways. These include embracing technology, advocating for rights and representation, and engaging with the settled population.

Embracing Technology

Irish Travellers have embraced technology in recent years, using it to connect with family and friends, access information, and promote their culture. For example, in 2010, the Irish Traveller Movement launched a website to provide information about the community and raise awareness of the issues they face.

Advocating for Rights and Representation

Irish Travellers have also become more vocal in advocating for their rights and representation in recent years. Organisations such as Pavee Point and the Irish Traveller Movement have been working to raise awareness of the issues faced by the community and lobby for change.

An Exploration of the Relationship Between Irish Travellers and the Mainstream Population

Although Irish Travellers have experienced discrimination and prejudice from the mainstream population, there have been efforts to bridge the divide between the two groups. This includes initiatives to promote dialogue and understanding, as well as projects to promote intercultural exchange.

Misconceptions and Stereotypes

Misconceptions and stereotypes about Irish Travellers are widespread in the mainstream population. These include stereotypes of criminality and anti-social behaviour, which are often perpetuated by the media.

Building Bridges Through Interaction

In recent years, there have been efforts to build bridges between Irish Travellers and the mainstream population through dialogue and interaction. For example, in 2017, the Irish Traveller Movement launched a project called “Cultural Connections”, which aims to promote understanding and collaboration between the two communities.

Investigating the Impact of Discrimination on Irish Travellers

Discrimination has had a significant impact on Irish Travellers, particularly in terms of systemic inequality and its effects on mental health and wellbeing.

Systemic Inequality

Irish Travellers experience systemic inequality, with discrimination in education, employment, and access to services. This has resulted in higher levels of poverty and poorer health outcomes for the community.

Effects on Mental Health and Well-Being

Discrimination and prejudice can also have a negative effect on Irish Travellers’ mental health and wellbeing. Research has found that Irish Travellers experience higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicide than the general population.

This article has explored the history, culture, and challenges of the Irish Traveller community. It has examined systemic inequality, discrimination in education and employment, and the impact of these issues on mental health and wellbeing. Irish Travellers have also been shown to be adapting to modern society, embracing technology, advocating for rights and representation, and engaging with the settled population. Although Irish Travellers have experienced discrimination and prejudice from the mainstream population, there have been efforts to bridge the divide between the two groups. Finally, it is clear that discrimination has had a significant impact on Irish Travellers, particularly in terms of systemic inequality and its effects on mental health and wellbeing.

Summary of Key Points

Call to Action

It is important that we recognise the struggles faced by Irish Travellers and take steps to address systemic inequality and combat discrimination. We must also strive to foster understanding and collaboration between the Irish Traveller community and the mainstream population, in order to create a more inclusive and equitable society.

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Updated on October 2, 2023 / By Lisa Reitelbach

Irish Travelers’ Dressing Style: Debunking the Provocative Myth

The Irish Travelers, a distinct and often misunderstood community in Ireland, have long been the subject of myths and stereotypes. Among these misconceptions is the belief that Travelers dress provocatively, perpetuating harmful stereotypes and stigmatizing an already marginalized group.

In this blog post, we delve into the fascinating world of Irish Travelers’ fashion and aim to debunk the provocative dressing myth. We’ll explore the history, cultural significance, and evolution of Traveler clothing, shedding light on the real story behind their attire.

By challenging these misconceptions, we hope to promote understanding and respect for this unique community’s rich cultural heritage, rather than reinforcing negative stereotypes.

Irish Travelers’ Dressing Style

Irish Travelers, also known as Pavees or Minceirí, have a distinctive and traditional dressing style that reflects their cultural identity and nomadic way of life.

Here are some features of Irish Travelers’ dressing style:

Bright Colors and Patterns

Irish Travelers often favor vibrant and colorful clothing. Bright hues, intricate patterns, and floral designs are commonly seen in their dresses and skirts, contributing to a lively and eye-catching appearance.

Modesty and Elegance

Traditional dresses for women are often long and modest, reflecting a sense of cultural conservatism. Despite the vibrant colors, there is a certain elegance and grace in their dress style.

Scarves and Shawls

Women frequently wear scarves or shawls, which are not only practical for different weather conditions but also serve as additional adornments. These accessories often complement the overall look of the outfit.

Tailored Suits for Men

Men in the Irish Traveler community often wear well-tailored suits, especially during special occasions and events. Suits are a symbol of formality, respect, and cultural pride.

Head Coverings

Women may wear headscarves or bonnets as part of their traditional attire. The style of head covering can vary, and it is often a cultural marker that signifies identity within the Traveler community.

Jewelry and Adornments

Both men and women may wear jewelry and accessories. Women may adorn themselves with earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, while men might wear rings or other accessories.

Traditional Wedding Attire

Wedding attire is especially elaborate and rich in symbolism. The bride’s dress is often ornate, and weddings are significant cultural events within the community.

Practicality and Durability

Given the nomadic lifestyle of Irish Travelers, clothing is chosen for practicality and durability. Fabrics and designs need to withstand the rigors of daily life, including frequent travel and exposure to various weather conditions.

It’s important to note that while there are certain commonalities in dressing style among Irish Travelers, individual choices and preferences can vary.

Additionally, the Traveler community, like any cultural group, experiences changes over time, and contemporary fashion may also influence the Irish traveler style.

Dress Culture of Irish Travellers

The dress culture of Irish Travelers, also known as Pavees or Minceirí, reflects a unique blend of tradition, practicality, and cultural identity.

While individual styles can vary, certain elements are characteristic of the dress culture within this community:

Vibrant Colors and Patterns

Traditional Irish Traveler clothing often features bright and vibrant colors. Dresses and skirts for women may showcase bold patterns and floral designs, contributing to a distinctive and lively appearance.

Modesty in Women’s Attire

Women’s dresses are typically long and modest, reflecting a cultural emphasis on modesty and conservatism. The style often includes long sleeves and high necklines.

Formal and Informal Wear

While everyday wear tends to be practical and comfortable, Irish travellers clothes have distinct styles for formal occasions.

Formal dresses for women and well-tailored suits for men are worn during events such as weddings or religious ceremonies.

Women may wear headscarves or bonnets, often matching the colors and patterns of their dresses. Head coverings are a cultural marker and contribute to the overall traditional appearance.

Men in the Traveler community often wear well-tailored suits for formal events. The suits are considered a symbol of respect and cultural pride.

Practical and Durable Fabrics

Due to the nomadic lifestyle of Irish Travelers, clothing is chosen for its practicality and durability. Fabrics are selected to withstand frequent travel, different weather conditions, and the demands of daily life.

Wedding Attire

Weddings are significant cultural events within the Traveler community, and wedding attire is elaborate. The bride’s dress is often adorned with intricate details, and wedding celebrations are marked by traditional clothing.

Influence of Tradition

The dress culture of Irish Travelers is deeply rooted in tradition, and many clothing choices are influenced by cultural practices, familial expectations, and a desire to preserve a distinct identity.

Adaptation to Contemporary Fashion

While maintaining traditional elements, Irish Travelers may incorporate some aspects of contemporary fashion into their dress, especially in casual or everyday wear.

This blending of tradition and modernity reflects the dynamic nature of cultural practices.

It’s essential to approach discussions of dress culture with sensitivity, as practices may vary among different groups of Irish Travelers, and individuals within the community may have unique preferences and interpretations of traditional attire.

Why Do Irish Travellers Dress Provocatively?

Irish Travellers are a distinct ethnic group in Ireland, with their own unique culture and traditions. Their dressing style, like any other cultural group, can vary widely depending on personal preferences, age, regional influences, and evolving fashion trends.

As with any community, some individuals may choose to dress in a more attention-grabbing manner, while others may prefer conservative or traditional clothing.

It’s crucial to recognize that Irish Travellers, like any community, should not be reduced to a stereotype based on their dressing style or any other aspect of their culture. Dressing preferences are an individual choice, and there is no inherent reason for them to dress “provocatively” as a group.

However, it’s essential to recognize that perceptions of clothing can be subjective and influenced by cultural, social, and individual factors. Some points to consider are:

Individual Choice and Expression

Like any community, Irish Travelers consist of individuals with diverse tastes and styles. Some may choose clothing that is perceived as more provocative based on personal preferences and trends.

Generational and Cultural Shifts

Younger generations may adopt styles influenced by contemporary fashion trends, which may include clothing choices that are perceived as more provocative compared to traditional or older styles within the community.

Media Influence

Exposure to mainstream media and fashion trends can impact the choices of individuals, including those within the Irish Traveler community.

Access to a globalized fashion culture may lead to variations in clothing styles.

Cultural Misinterpretations

Sometimes, there can be misinterpretations or stereotypes about the clothing choices of specific communities.

It’s important to avoid generalizations and recognize the diversity of styles and preferences within any cultural or ethnic group.

It’s crucial to approach discussions about dress with sensitivity and an understanding of the complexity and individuality of choices within any community.

Blanket assumptions about provocative dressing may perpetuate stereotypes and misunderstandings.

What “Provocative” Means in the Context of Irish Traveller Fashion ?

Using the term “provocative” to describe Irish traveller’s fashion is problematic as it can carry negative connotations and perpetuate harmful stereotypes. What may be considered provocative varies significantly from one culture to another and is subjective based on societal norms and personal beliefs.

It’s important to avoid labeling the dressing style of any cultural group as provocative or inappropriate without understanding the cultural context and the meaning attached to their clothing choices. Irish Travellers, like any other, have their own set of values, and traditions, for choosing their attire.

To summarize, it’s crucial to approach discussions about Irish traveller’s fashion choices of any cultural group with sensitivity, respect, and an understanding that individuals within that group may have diverse preferences and reasons for their clothing choices.

The Symbolism Behind the Attire of Irish Travellers

The attire of Irish Travellers holds significant symbolism, reflecting their cultural identity, traditions, and values. It is essential to understand that the symbolism may vary among different families or communities within the Traveller population.

Below are some general aspects of the symbolism behind the attire of Irish Travellers:

Cultural Identity

The clothing worn by Irish Travellers often serves as a marker of their distinct cultural identity. It helps them maintain a sense of belonging and pride within their community, distinguishing them from other groups.

Tradition and Heritage

Many Irish Traveller families have a rich history and maintain strong ties to their ancestral traditions. Traditional clothing is a way to honor their heritage and preserve customs that have been passed down through generations.

Celebration of Occasions

Special occasions like weddings, religious ceremonies, or community gatherings call for traditional dress. These events are essential in Traveller culture, and the attire worn during such occasions holds particular significance.

Status and Social Standing

Within the Irish Traveller community, certain clothing styles or accessories may indicate a person’s social standing or role within the group. For instance, elder members or leaders might have distinct clothing that sets them apart.

Incorporating Luck and Superstitions

Some Irish Travellers believe in superstitions related to colors or patterns on clothing, associating them with good luck or protection from harm. This belief often influences their choice of attire.

Respect for Modesty

Modesty is an essential value in many cultures, and the Traveller community is no exception. Traditional attire may be designed to adhere to modesty norms while allowing for cultural expression.

Symbolic Embroidery and Patterns

Embroidery and patterns on clothing can carry symbolic meanings, such as family symbols, protection symbols, or representations of nature and spirituality.

Practicality and Adaptation to Lifestyle

The clothing of Irish Travellers is often designed to suit their nomadic lifestyle and practical needs. Durable fabrics, comfortable styles, and items suitable for various weather conditions are commonly chosen.

Factors Influencing Dressing Choices of Irish Travelers

The dressing choices of Irish Travelers, like any cultural group, are influenced by a complex interplay of factors that shape their identity, lifestyle, and values. These influences help shed light on the significance of their attire within their community.

Cultural Heritage

Irish Travelers have a strong sense of cultural heritage, and their dressing choices often reflect traditional customs passed down through generations. Clothing serves as a visual marker of their distinct identity, connecting them to their ancestors and reinforcing a shared sense of belonging.

Social Identity and Status

Attire can indicate social standing and roles within the Irish Traveler community. Specific clothing styles or accessories might distinguish elders or leaders, symbolizing their respected positions.

Family and Community Expectations

Family and community play a vital role in shaping dressing choices. Expectations of dressing modestly and adhering to cultural norms are reinforced within the close-knit Traveller society.

Rites of Passage and Celebrations

Special occasions like weddings, religious ceremonies, and community gatherings call for traditional dress, emphasizing the importance of cultural celebrations and reinforcing their customs.

Geographical Influences

The dressing style of Irish Travelers can be influenced by regional differences and interactions with other cultural groups. As they travel and interact with settled communities, elements of outside fashion might be incorporated into their attire.

Practicality and Adaptation

The nomadic lifestyle of Irish Travelers influences their clothing choices. Practicality and durability are essential factors when selecting attire that can withstand the demands of their mobile way of life.

Spirituality and Superstitions

Symbolism and superstitions are woven into the fabric of Irish Traveller culture. Certain colors, patterns, or accessories may be believed to bring luck or protect against harm.

Preservation of Tradition

Amidst globalization and modern influences, some Irish Travelers may choose to hold firmly to their traditional dressing styles as a means of preserving their distinct identity and heritage.

Economic Factors

Economic circumstances can influence the availability and affordability of clothing choices. Some may favor traditional clothing because it is more accessible or reflects their resourcefulness in creating their attire.

External Perceptions and Stereotypes

Negative external perceptions and stereotypes about Irish Travelers may impact their dressing choices. In response, some individuals might embrace traditional attire as a way of asserting their cultural pride and challenging stereotypes.

Do Irish Travelers dress provocatively as a cultural norm?

Contrary to the stereotype, Irish Travelers’ dressing choices are not inherently provocative. Like any cultural group, their attire varies based on individual preferences, regional influences, and personal beliefs. Generalizing their clothing as provocative oversimplifies their diverse cultural expressions.

What are the factors influencing Irish Travelers’ dressing choices?

Several factors shape the dressing choices of Irish Travelers, including cultural heritage, social identity, family expectations, and practicality. Their clothing often reflects tradition, and elements of symbolism, superstitions, and spirituality might influence their attire.

Is there a distinction between everyday clothing and special occasion wear?

Yes, Irish Travelers, like many communities, have distinct clothing for everyday wear and special occasions. Traditional dress is often worn during significant events like weddings, religious ceremonies, and cultural celebrations, reinforcing a sense of identity and continuity.

How do external perceptions impact their dressing choices?

Negative stereotypes and external perceptions can influence how some Irish Travelers choose to dress. While some may embrace traditional attire proudly, others might feel compelled to challenge stereotypes or adapt their clothing choices due to external pressures.

How can we promote cultural understanding and respect for Irish Travelers’ dressing choices?

Promoting cultural understanding requires debunking stereotypes and acknowledging the diversity within the Irish Traveler community. Respect and appreciation for their heritage, traditions, and choices foster an inclusive and compassionate approach toward addressing misconceptions.

Dispelling the myth that Irish Travelers dress provocatively is vital for promoting cultural appreciation and understanding. Their dressing style is deeply rooted in their history, traditions, and personal choices, reflecting their cultural identity and values.

By embracing the complexities of their clothing choices, we can foster a more inclusive society that celebrates diversity and recognizes the beauty in preserving and adapting cultural practices over time.

It’s time to appreciate the beauty and complexity of Traveler fashion and to foster empathy and respect for this remarkable community. By debunking the myth of provocative dressing, we take a step towards a more inclusive and informed society.

About Lisa Reitelbach

My name is Lisa. I am a sewing specialist and have been in the sewing industry for over 20 years. I have a degree in fashion design and my work experience includes working with different clothing brands, designing clothes, and teaching people how to sew. LinkedIn

I enjoy making clothes for myself as well as for my friends, family members, and clients. I am always happy to share my knowledge about sewing with anyone who is interested in learning more about it.

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History of Irish Traveller: The Legacy and Journey of Travellers

The Rich Tapestry of Irish Travellers: A Glimpse into a Unique Community

Introduction.

The story of the Irish Traveller community is woven deeply into the fabric of Irish history and society. A nomadic ethnic group with roots that are distinct from the settled Irish population, the travellers have endured centuries of both recognition and prejudice. This article explores the history, culture, and challenges of the Irish Traveller community.

The History of Irish Travellers: From Ancient Times to Today

1. origins of the irish travellers.

The true origins of the Irish Travellers remain a topic of debate among historians. Some believe their beginnings trace back to the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, while others suggest they are an indigenous ethnic group with a lineage that predates this event.

2. Travellers in Ireland Through the Ages

For centuries, travellers in Ireland have led an itinerant lifestyle, embracing a nomadic culture distinct from the settled Irish population. Their unique language, a mix of English and Irish, further solidified their identity as a distinct group within the Irish society for centuries.

The Challenges and Triumphs of the Traveller Community

1. health and social issues among irish travellers.

The Ireland Traveller Health Study revealed startling disparities in health outcomes. The general population enjoys better health than the majority of Irish travellers. Challenges such as metabolic and congenital problems are notably higher among Irish travellers, making healthcare accessibility a major concern for the community.

2. Recognition as an Ethnic Minority

In March 2017, the Irish government finally recognised Irish travellers as a distinct ethnic group, a significant milestone for traveller rights groups. The Irish Traveller Movement and Pavee Point were among the community advocacy groups that hailed this recognition.

3. The Role of Traveller Women and Men in Society

Traveller women and traveller men have unique roles within their community, often influenced by a strict code of behaviour that dictates some of their moral beliefs and influences their actions. Despite facing political and cultural discrimination, many traveller women are now at the forefront of community development initiatives.

Irish Travellers Beyond the Shores of Ireland

1. irish travellers in the us.

The town of North Augusta has witnessed the settling of Irish travellers in America. Known as Irish Travelers, this community maintains a distinct identity, though they've integrated with the larger Irish population.

2. Global Diaspora

From the UK, where they are sometimes colloquially referred to as 'gypsies', to the broader diaspora including those of mixed English and Irish extraction, the influence and presence of Irish travellers are undeniably global.

Conclusion: A Call to Embrace and Understand

While the Irish state and Irish society have come a long way in recognising the unique identity of the Irish Traveller community, there is still a journey ahead. The hope is for a Republic of Ireland where both travellers and settled people coexist in mutual respect and understanding.

The Evolving Landscape of Irish Traveller Identity in Modern Times

1. the recognition of travellers as a distinct group in ireland’s contemporary landscape.

In a landmark move, Irish travellers were recognised as an ethnic minority group by the Irish government, marking a pivotal moment in the nation's history. This recognition of traveller ethnicity aligns with Ireland’s ongoing efforts to appreciate the diverse tapestry of cultures and identities within its borders. It's notable that they are one of several groups identified as having a significant cultural and historical impact on the nation.

2. The Struggle for Identity: Beyond Stereotypes and Media Portrayal

Shows like "Big Fat Gypsy" have, for better or worse, shaped the perceptions many people have of the traveller community. While some argue the show offers insight, others believe it perpetuates stereotypes that don't reflect the life of the majority of Irish travellers. The Irish Times, a leading publication, has covered this debate extensively, shedding light on the travellers as a distinct group beyond the media caricatures.

3. Delving Deep into Traveller Traditions and Modern Interactions

Irish travellers have lived in harmony with the settled community for generations, often maintaining their distinct culture and identity. Known to follow a strict code of behaviour and values, the community places emphasis on traditions passed down over generations. The language of mixed English and traveller dialect further strengthens their distinct identity. While some traveller females take up roles deeply rooted in their traditions, there's a noticeable shift towards modern professions and lifestyle choices.

4. A Glimpse into Travellers' Socio-Economic Landscape

The Economic and Social Research Institute conducted a study that revealed startling statistics. It was found that the life expectancy of 167 travellers is significantly lower, sometimes by up to six times, within the general population. While challenges persist, the money allocated by the government post their recognition as an Irish ethnic minority is hopeful. Prominent figures like Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver have also voiced their support for the traveller community, bringing attention to their unique culture on a global stage.

5. Conclusion: A Bright Future Ahead

The journey of the Irish travellers, from ancient nomads to recognised members of contemporary Irish society, has been both challenging and inspiring. As the nation moves forward, it's essential for the Irish people to embrace the rich tapestry of cultures, recognizing the contributions and unique identity of each group.

Discover the World of Irish Travellers with Cunian App !

Explore the rich history, culture, and unique stories of the Irish Travelling community through Cunian, the digital tour guide app. Dive deep into the origins of Irish travellers, their nomadic lifestyle, and the challenges they've overcome. And the best part? All tours on the Cunian app are absolutely free. Download now and embark on a journey through time!

Frequently Asked Questions: Understanding the Traveller Culture

1. Are Irish Travellers and Roma the same? No, Irish Travellers and Roma are two distinct ethnic groups with different histories and cultures.

2. What is the Royal College of Surgeons' connection to the Irish Travellers? The Royal College of Surgeons conducted studies highlighting health disparities among travellers compared to the general Irish population.

3. What are halting sites? Halting sites are designated areas where the traveller families can legally park their caravans, a testament to their traditional nomadic way of life.

4. Why were Irish Travellers in the US, particularly in the town of North Augusta, in the news? Irish Travellers in the US, especially those in North Augusta, made headlines for their unique culture and traditions, distinct even from other Irish communities.

5. How does the Irish Traveller community perceive the show 'Big Fat Gypsy'? The show has been controversial. Some believe it doesn't accurately represent the lives of the majority of Irish Travellers.

6. How is the Irish Traveller Movement significant? The Irish Traveller Movement is a leading national platform advocating for the rights and recognition of the traveller community in Ireland.

7. What role do young travellers play in the community? Young travellers are the bridge between tradition and modernity, often leading initiatives for change within the traveller community.

8. How has the Irish government supported the traveller community in recent years? Following the recognition of travellers as an ethnic minority, the Irish government allocated funds and resources to support community initiatives and development.

9. What is known about the first traveller families in history? Historical records from County Galway and other regions highlight the presence of traveller families, but their exact origins remain a subject of research.

10. Are travellers significantly different genetically from the settled Irish community? Some studies suggest travellers are genetically distinct from the settled community, but this is an area of ongoing research.

Celtic Junction Arts Center

Best cultural center in north america, – irishcentral, a 501(c)(3) organization, 836 prior avenue,, st. paul, mn, 55104, celtic junction arts review, irish travellers work to define the road ahead in contemporary times.

Jane Kennedy

Over the past half century, many ethnic groups have experienced social advances that improved their quality of life. Irish Travellers are no exception to this in some ways. Modernization since the 1960s has brought a sea change to the Irish ethnic group that has existed for centuries. But, to borrow a line from past U.S. presidential campaigns, are Travellers better off today than they were say 50 years ago (or longer)?

The history of Irish Travellers goes back centuries. Their itinerant nature came about when the demand for their skills waned, and they were unable to make a living in their typically small towns. This led them to an itinerant existence; eventually, they developed an ethnic identity as Travellers.

“There is a lot of ignorance about Travellers as an ethnic group,” notes Fergal O’Brien of Armagh, No. Ireland, a licensed social worker who has researched Irish Travellers and today performs musically with them. “You have to be born a Traveller,” he recalls telling singer Sinead O’Connor who once inquired if she could become a Traveller simply by pulling up her trailer alongside a Traveller community.

Travellers have their own shared culture that includes a separate language, matched marriages, the trades they practice, and more. In 1997, the No. Ireland Race Relations Order recognized Irish Travellers as a racial group within the meaning of the law. This was a momentous acknowledgment considering how long Travellers existed in Ireland. It took yet another 20 years before the Republic of Ireland gave such recognition to Travellers.

Making a living

Aside from the term Travellers, research refers to this community as “tinkers” “Gypsies” or “itinerants.” They prefer to be called Travellers and find the phrase “tinkers” to be pejorative. Gypsies refer to Roma people who are an Indo-Aryan group.

The name “tinkers” originated from their trade as tinsmiths. The sound of a hammer hitting metal was called tinkering and therefore the name became synonymous with Travellers because not only was tin smithing a popular trade among the men, but it was also one of the more highly regarded types of work. Using new sheets of tin or empty biscuit containers, tinsmiths made cups, kettles, milk pails, lanterns, buckets, and more.

Travellers also were knowledgeable horsemen and adept at horse and donkey trading. This skill earned them a good income when they would ply their trade at country fairs. Travellers were known to drive horses from the west coast of Ireland and bring them to Dublin and surrounding areas where the animals were sold at a good price.

Travellers also took on work as chimney sweeps, peddlers, and fortune tellers. It was typically the women Travellers who would peddle the merchandise created by their husbands, going into the Irish settled communities and earning money. Many describe the rural farm families and Travellers as having a symbiotic relationship – the farmers needed the wares the Travellers sold, and the Travellers needed an income.

Typically, Traveller families would go from one rural community to the next in groups of three families. Once they had called on the residents of one area, they would pull up stakes and move to the next. Travellers did not wander aimlessly; instead, they planned their routes and moved from one location to another in an ordered manner.

Wagons: a place to call home

Almost a century earlier, Travellers roamed throughout Ireland in colorful covered wagons. They resided in tents in the early years but that changed after World War I when Gypsies in England were threatened with conscription, and they fled to Ireland. Irish Travellers were intrigued by this type of transportation/ home on wheels; after purchasing some covered wagons, it didn’t take long for Travellers to begin constructing their own. By the mid-1930s, about half of the Irish Traveller population owned covered wagons. As recent as 1960, some 61% of the then 6.5 thousand Travellers still lived in wagons. 1

The covered wagons were but one symbol of the Traveller culture. Irish Travellers were also considered gifted musicians and storytellers, two aspects that, unlike covered wagons, allow their culture to be preserved and sustained.

Volunteers with the Irish Folklore Commission in the 1930s ventured into the countryside to capture local storytellers using a heavy and bulky recording device, the Edison Ediphone. One individual, Páidraig Mac Gréine, is estimated to have transcribed 10,000 pages of folklore material in the course of his work .2 After the folktales were recorded, Mac Greine and other field workers transcribed the recordings in the exact words of the recorder.

Many of the folk tales of that era were published in Bealoideas , a journal of folklore that began in 1927. Today, folktales recorded by Irish Travellers in the 1930s are available in Bealoideas accessible through JSTOR, a digital library that includes journals in the social sciences and humanities.

In describing Bealoideas in the early- to mid-1930s, author Bairbre Ni Fhloinn writes, “Certainly, no other body was then engaging with Travellers in an attempt to document their history, their life experience and their wealth of oral tradition.” 3

Music continues to be an important aspect of Traveller culture. After a long day of working at their craft and services, and selling their wares, Travellers would gather around campfires in the evening and engage in storytelling and music. The songs also served to preserve the history of this itinerant community.

Today there are a number of musicians influenced by Irish Travellers of the past. Some well-known contemporary Irish Traveller musicians include Paddy Keenan who was born in Co. Meath. He hails from a line of musicians who are steeped in traditional music. Keenan has even performed several times at the Celtic Junction, the last time being June 18 of 2022.

Sharyn Ward is another successful Traveller singer and songwriter. Born in Longford and the mother of two children, she made it to the “Ireland’s Got Talent” final with her rendition of “One Starry Night.” She notes that “the song makes me proud to be a Traveller.” 4

Keenan and Ward are but two of successful singers/musicians. Others include Michael O’Connell, Co. Clare; Pat Broderick, East Galway; and Martin Nolan, Dublin, (pipes).

Contemporary Irish Traveller music tends to focus on the hardships experienced in the past and the discrimination and isolation felt by Travellers today. In the stirring song, “Move Along,” written by Finbar Magee, singer William Dundon laments,

While this song speaks to how Travellers have been treated both in the past and presently, singer Dundon displays a positive outlook for his family. “I’m settled now,” says Dundon. “My kids are settled. They’re going to school to have a good education to have all the means to survive and have a happy life.”

A personal ambition for Dundon, who works in security, is to own his security company. But he says if that doesn’t work out, “I’m going to go into music.” According to Dundon, when it comes to music, being a Traveller doesn’t really matter. He notes, “When you’re a musician, everyone wants you.”

One of his greatest accomplishments was a trip to China a few years ago when his musical group was invited by Simon Coveney, the deputy leader of Fine Gael since 2017, to perform in Beijing. Dundon said it was incredible enough to play in China, but then he was given the opportunity to play music on the Great Wall of China – something less than 100 musicians have ever been allowed to do. It’s opportunities like these that give Dundon hope for a brighter future for Travellers as they make their way into the 21 st century.

But yet there are many hurdles to deal with in contemporary times. Irish Travellers have undergone a major shift in their lifestyle within the past half century. While “modernization” is generally a positive concept that brings with it a more prosperous and enlightened society, for Travellers, the change hasn’t necessarily been positive.

A recent article in the Irish Times 5 points to a report published in February 2023 that shows how suicide is impacting Travellers in South County Dublin and Ballyfermot:

Travellers have a suicide rate six times that of the general population
Over two-thirds of Travellers have lost a loved one to suicide
Almost 90 percent of Travellers are worried about suicide in their community

These shocking statistics go hand in hand with the reality that a large percentage of Irish Travellers cannot find employment and are then forced to live in government-funded housing. To add to this, their children tend to leave school early for a variety of complex reasons.

Some countries struggle with itinerants who come from ‘outside.’ But in Ireland, “the itinerants are their own people with Irish names,” notes Aimee L’Amie, editor of The Irish Travelling People: A Resource Collection.

Discrimination, the feeling of not fitting in with the “settled” Irish population, and poverty may seem like insurmountable problems facing today’s Irish Travellers. But one needs only look at their many contributions over centuries to recognize how vital this ethnic community is to the Republic of Ireland and No. Ireland. People like musician Dundon can see a brighter life ahead. While it’s true the itinerant lifestyle may be coming to an end for many Irish Travellers, their past will always remain a vital piece of Irish history.

1 George Gmelch. Shorten the Road, (Dublin: The O’Brien Press, 19xx) p. 18 2 The Irish Times, “Folklore Collector Who Specialised in Traditions of Travelling Community,” March 3, 2007. 3 “On the Edge: Portrayals of Travellers and Others in Irish Popular Tradition, Bairbre Ni Fhloinn, Bealoideas , Iml. 83, p. 5. 4 Traveller Collection website, https://travellercollection.ie/items/628370a5be5aff4ed2883074 5 “The Irish Times View on Suicide in the Traveller Community,” Editorial, The Irish Times , Feb. 23, 2023 6 “ The Irish Traveling People: A Resource Collection,” Aileen L’Amie, Volume 2: The Republic of Ireland 1951-81. Part F: Galway 1967-70 . 1984. JSTOR , https://jstor.org/stable/community.

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Past Issues

'Distinct identity': Irish Travellers celebrate day they were recognized as ethnic minority

This day six years ago, the Irish Traveller community was recognized by the Irish State as an ethnic group

16:45, 1 MAR 2023
Updated 16:49, 1 MAR 2023

Irish Travellers sitting at their campsite, circa 1960s

In Ireland, today marks Irish Traveller Ethnicity Day: a celebration of the moment Irish Travellers were officially recognized as an ethnic group in the Irish state.

On March 1, 2017, Taoiseach Enda Kenny made a statement in the Dáil formally recognizing the ethnic status of the Traveller community in Ireland. After a campaign spanning multiple decades, the date meant that the contributions made and challenges faced by the Traveller community would now be recognized at state level.

"The Traveller community has for many years campaigned to have their unique heritage, culture and identity formally recognized by the Irish state," the Taoiseach said at the time. "And in this state, they make their contribution as gardaí, doctors, members of the Defence Forces, prison officers."

Read more: Old footage shows New York's historic Gaelic Park in the 1960s

Irish Traveller girls at their caravan, circa 1950

The Taoiseach continued: "So there should be no surprise that a person can identify as Irish and as Traveller. This is a deep and personal issue for many Travellers."

The Irish Traveller community has long faced discrimination in Ireland , with the group largely excluded from settled society over generations. The life expectancy of Irish Travellers is lower than their settled peers, and the community's suicide rate is six times the national average.

Being recognized as an ethnic minority means Irish Travellers (who are separate from but often confused with the Romani people due to similarities in their historically nomadic cultures) are now included in Ireland's anti-racism and integration policies. It also recognizes the unique culture and history of the Traveller community, who have, according to scientists, been genetically distinct from settled Irish people for at least 1,000 years.

The day doesn't just celebrate Irish Travellers based in Ireland, but their international diaspora. The community spans the UK, where they are also recognized as an ethnic minority, as well as Canada and the US .

An encampment of Irish Travellers in Birmingham, England, June 1966

It's difficult to guess how large the diaspora of the Irish Traveller community is in the US, as the US Census does not recognize them as an ethnic group. Estimations range their US population to be anywhere between 10,000 and 40,000.

The vast majority of this population is thought to have arrived in the US between 1845 and 1860 as a result of the Great Famine. Here, Irish Traveller communities mostly reside in Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and South Carolina. The largest is around 2,500 people, who live in Murphy Village, SC.

Like Irish Travellers in Ireland, Irish Travellers in the US have a unique cultural identity. This includes practicing devout Catholicism, a strong emphasis on family and community, and some usage of Cant, a language of mixed Irish and English origin spoken by Travellers.

"Our Traveller community is an integral part of our society for over a millennium, with their own distinct identity – a people within our people," the Taoiseach said this day six years ago. "...It is a historic day for our Travellers and a proud day for Ireland."

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Irish in Russia: ‘It’s business as usual in Moscow’

Irish people living in russia describe mood of ‘calm’ there amid invasion of ukraine.

Irish citizen Hugh McEnaney, who currently lives in Moscow. Photograph: Hugh McEnaney

Sitting in the back of a taxi driving through Moscow city centre, Co Armagh-born Hugh McEnaney described the mood of the Russian capital as calm.

Although the streets were quiet on Tuesday afternoon, there was a heavy police presence in central Moscow, in anticipation of protests that evening over Russia's decision to invade Ukraine.

Mr McEnaney (51), who grew up in Dublin and moved to Moscow in 2007, says he does not have "the budget to uproot" and leave Russia, in the wake of financial sanctions from the European Union and the US amid the invasion.

Speaking about the conflict, Mr McEnaney said he tried to remain “apolitical” about most matters. “If I was in Ukraine and my home was being bombed it would be a different story,” he told The Irish Times.

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There was an air of “panic” among some European expats living in Russia, with many seeking to make urgent arrangements to leave the country, he said.

Mr McEnaney had met his wife, a Russian woman, while travelling in southeast Asia, and later moved with her to Moscow where they now live.

The older generation of Russians appeared to have "a lot of time and respect" for Russian president Vladimir Putin, and were more inclined to believe the country needed "a strong leader", he said.

Despite the invasion, which has seen fierce fighting in several Ukrainian cities, for the ordinary person it was “business as usual in Moscow” this week, Mr McEnaney said.

The biggest impact of the conflict on day-to-day life was the fact the rouble had “tanked” following severe financial sanctions, he said.

Among Russians he spoke to, there was no groundswell of support to bring Kyiv under the control of the Kremlin. "I haven't heard anybody saying Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, and we want it back," he said.

He added that he had heard some commentary from locals expressing fears Ukraine was becoming a "cog" in an eastern expansion of Nato.

In the tense weeks leading up to the violence, when Russia was amassing troops along the Ukrainian border, there was little discussion or debate of any possible invasion among people in Moscow, he said.

Robert Kelly (54), originally from Blanchardstown, west Dublin, has lived in Russia for 30 years and said he was "shocked" by the decision to attack Ukraine.

While out walking his dog in Moscow on Tuesday, he described the public mood as “relatively calm”. This may change in the coming weeks when the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy begin to be felt by ordinary people, he said.

Mr Kelly, who works in food imports, said it was effectively "impossible" for him to fly out of the country now, even if he wanted to, as much of Europe had closed its airspace to Russia.

Ambassador’s warning

Brian McElduff, Irish Ambassador to Russia, has recommended that Irish citizens living in or visiting Russia who wished to leave should do so “as quickly as possible”.

In a recent email to Irish residents in Russia, seen by The Irish Times, Mr McElduff said the Department of Foreign Affairs was recommending against travel to Russia, given the “rapidly deteriorating flight and transport options”, as well as “banking difficulties due to sanctions”.

Mr McElduff said he understood many of the Irish community there were “settled” with family in the country, and may have “the resources and contacts to assist them in this difficult period”.

The Ambassador said the “decision on whether to depart is for each individual to make, bearing in mind their own circumstances”.

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A History of Moscow in 13 Dishes

Featured city guides.

Lifestyle in Moscow

This guide was written prior to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and is therefore not reflective of the current situation. Travel to Russia is currently not advisable due to the area's volatile political situation.

From its Soviet-era apartment blocks to opulent churches and government buildings, Moscow is a city of contrasts. Not only is it Russia’s political and economic centre, but it also forms the country’s cultural and artistic heart.

There are plenty of shopping opportunities, eateries and a lively nightlife to enjoy. Although expats will find some of the costs involved in living in Moscow to be relatively high, there are plenty of pursuits to enjoy that won't break the bank.

Shopping in Moscow

Moscow shopping certainly caters for big spenders, but for those who don’t have the means to shop like the rich and famous, there are many bargains to be found.

There are various malls and boutiques in the city centre. Okhotny Ryad, at Manezhnaya Square, is an underground mall. Expats can find a range of goods including high-street fashions, perfumes, electronic products and sporting goods. GUM is the most well-known and iconic department store in Russia, where one can find a range of high-end brands and gourmet foods.

Local markets include the Izmailovsky market and the Cheremushinsky Rynok market. There's a claim that the exclusive Eliseev Gastronome supermarket sells the best caviar and vodka in the city.

Nightlife in Moscow

The nightlife in Moscow is extraordinary, featuring everything from bars and clubs to bowling alleys, billiards rooms and casinos. The trendiest nightlife areas are in and around Kitay-Gorod, Arbat, Khamovniki, Tverskoy and Presnensky.

With long winters, it’s no surprise that one turns to alcohol to forget about the cold. Alcoholic drinks are a normal part of social life in Moscow, particularly Russia’s famous vodka.

Eating out in Moscow

There is a variety of cuisine available in Moscow. Expats will find international flavours well represented in the city, from Eastern delights to Western eateries and fast-food joints. There are also plenty of good local restaurants offering classic Russian cuisine.

Restaurants in Moscow can be expensive. Middle-range restaurants fill up quickly so it’s best to book in advance. Some of the best restaurants in Moscow are in the Garden Ring around Kitay-Gorod and Red Square. Poklonnaya Hill and Kiyevsky Station Square are also popular dining areas.

Entertainment in Moscow

For those with more refined tastes, the performing arts are alive and well in the city, particularly ballet and opera. There is no shortage of events in Moscow. Visits to the Bolshoi Theatre, Gogol Centre and Stanislavsky Electrotheatre are highly recommended.

Sports and outdoor activities in Moscow

The city’s cold climate will appeal to winter sports enthusiasts. Ice skating is an especially popular pastime that is enjoyed throughout the year but particularly in the colder months. Moscow becomes a winter wonderland each year, with outdoor skating rinks dotted around the city.

Kayaking, running and football are other popular activities. Expats will find a lot of runners in Moscow. It’s free and a great way to stay in shape. Expats can also find running clubs to join – a great way to meet people.

Are you an expat living in Moscow?

Expat Arrivals is looking for locals to contribute to this guide, and answer forum questions from others planning their move to Moscow. Please contact us if you'd like to contribute.

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IMAGES

Growing Up Travelling: Photographs that reveal the inside world of
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The Secret Lives Of Irish Travellers
Check out Jamie Johnson's incredible 'vices' work
Diversity is beautiful: Irish Travellers Photographed by Michele Zousmer

VIDEO

Irish Traveller WhatsApp group😂😮😱#travellersbkb #travellers #bkf #bkb
Irish Traveller wants a fight
Irish traveller's reply
Irish Traveller The Foal McDonough
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Irish travellers

COMMENTS

Irish Travellers
Irish Travellers (Irish: an lucht siúil, meaning the walking people), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí) are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.. They are predominantly English speaking, though many also speak Shelta, a language of mixed English and Irish origin. The majority of Irish Travellers are Roman Catholic, the ...
Irish Travellers
Irish Travellers, a traditionally nomadic ethnic minority indigenous to Ireland.Irish Travellers live in Ireland and throughout Great Britain, with smaller communities in Canada and the United States.They have lived as a distinct ethnic group with their own culture, language, and values, distinguished from settled Irish communities, for centuries. ...
Life With the Irish Travellers Reveals a Bygone World
An ethnic minority in Ireland, the Travellers have lived on the margins of mainstream Irish society for centuries. Efforts have been made to incorporate the nomadic group into mainstream culture ...
Documenting The Irish Travellers: A Nomadic Culture of Yore
His book stands as a document of an era, and a way of life that is slowly fading into the past. In the 1960s Alen MacWeeney photographed indigenous Irish nomads called the Travellers. Fifty years ...
For Traveller Women In Ireland, Life Is Changing : NPR
For many generations, Travellers -- the nomadic, indigenous Irish minority -- provided services to an Ireland that was predominantly agricultural: seasonal farm labor, tinsmithing, horse-trading ...
What it is like inside a tightknit, reclusive community of Irish Travellers
On Oct. 19, 2011, the British government began the mass eviction of 86 families of Irish Traveller heritage from their homes on a former scrap yard known as Dale Farm in Southeast England.
Traveller culture, crafts and traditions
Irish Travellers, or Mincéirí, have a shared history, culture and language. They are a distinct ethnic minority group, as well as being a part of Irish society for centuries. The distinct ethnicity of Travellers was officially recognised in Ireland on 1 March 2017.
A Brief History Of Irish Travellers Irelands Only ...
A Brief History of Irish Travellers, Ireland's Only Indigenous Minority. After a long battle, Irish Travellers were finally officially recognised as an indigenous ethnic minority by Ireland's government in early March 2017. Here, Culture Trip takes a look at the origins of the Irish Travelling community and how the historic ruling came about.
Irish Travellers
Irish Travellers are an indigenous minority who, historical sources confirm, have been part of Irish society for centuries. Travellers long shared history, cultural values, language, customs and traditions make them a self-defined group, and one which is recognisable and distinct. Their culture and way of life, of which nomadism is an important ...
The long road towards acceptance for Irish Travellers
The Irish Traveller community is fighting for official recognition of its ethnic identity and for a way of life. Younger generations if Travellers have little interest in traditional crafts ...
Who are the Irish Travellers in the US?
Perhaps the most notorious instance of this system gone awry took place in 2015, when Anita Fox, a 69-year-old Irish Traveller woman in Texas, was found stabbed to death. Police later identified ...
The big fat truth about Gypsy life
The big fat truth about Gypsy life. Over-the-top brides were the main draw in Channel 4's series on Traveller communities. But when Julie Bindel visited, she found prejudice, poor health and ...
Irish Travellers: Examining the History, Culture, and Challenges of a
Irish Travellers have their own language and dialects, which are derived from a mixture of English and Irish Gaelic. There is also a distinct Traveller vocabulary, which includes words and phrases that are not used by the settled population. Food and Cuisine . Irish Travellers have a unique cuisine that reflects their nomadic lifestyle.
Irish Travelers' Dressing Style: Debunking the Provocative Myth
The nomadic lifestyle of Irish Travelers influences their clothing choices. Practicality and durability are essential factors when selecting attire that can withstand the demands of their mobile way of life. Spirituality and Superstitions. Symbolism and superstitions are woven into the fabric of Irish Traveller culture.
History of Irish Traveller: The Legacy and Journey of Travellers
The true origins of the Irish Travellers remain a topic of debate among historians. Some believe their beginnings trace back to the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, while others suggest they are an indigenous ethnic group with a lineage that predates this event. 2. Travellers in Ireland Through the Ages.
Irish Travellers Work to Define the Road Ahead in Contemporary Times
Irish Travellers have undergone a major shift in their lifestyle within the past half century. While "modernization" is generally a positive concept that brings with it a more prosperous and enlightened society, for Travellers, the change hasn't necessarily been positive.
'Distinct identity': Irish Travellers celebrate day they were
The life expectancy of Irish Travellers is lower than their settled peers, and the community's suicide rate is six times the national average. Being recognized as an ethnic minority means Irish Travellers (who are separate from but often confused with the Romani people due to similarities in their historically nomadic cultures) are now included ...
[4K] Walking Streets Moscow. Moscow-City
Walking tour around Moscow-City.Thanks for watching!MY GEAR THAT I USEMinimalist Handheld SetupiPhone 11 128GB https://amzn.to/3zfqbboMic for Street https://...
Irish in Russia: 'It's business as usual in Moscow'
Irish people living in Russia describe mood of 'calm' there amid invasion of Ukraine ... The biggest impact of the conflict on day-to-day life was the fact the rouble had "tanked ...
Irish Traveller culture to be promoted through school curriculum
That is one Traveller's take on what he sees as the omission of his community's culture in the Irish school curriculum. But that could soon change after research this week presented a possible ...
21 Things to Know Before You Go to Moscow
1: Off-kilter genius at Delicatessen: Brain pâté with kefir butter and young radishes served mezze-style, and the caviar and tartare pizza. Head for Food City. You might think that calling Food City (Фуд Сити), an agriculture depot on the outskirts of Moscow, a "city" would be some kind of hyperbole. It is not.
Lifestyle in Moscow
Moscow becomes a winter wonderland each year, with outdoor skating rinks dotted around the city. Kayaking, running and football are other popular activities. Expats will find a lot of runners in Moscow. It's free and a great way to stay in shape. Expats can also find running clubs to join - a great way to meet people.