irish travellers knackers

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

• Temperature Check
• The Stardust Inquests
• Inside The Newsroom
• Climate Crisis
• International

'The word knacker makes me feel nervous and ashamed'

Subscribe for more videos

I GREW UP knowing I was a second class citizen but it was alright, it was normal. It was grand like you’d never question it.

John Connors spoke to  TheJournal.ie about how he felt growing up as a Traveller in Ireland. The activist and actor said the word ‘knacker’ was something he was called in school everyday.

“I remember the first time I was called it. I was four and in junior infants. I went home and I asked my mam what a knacker was and I could see the look on her face.

That’s when it all started. That’s when I realised I was different from other children.

Speaking about the effect of the word, Connors spoke about recent times when he would be relaxing with friends, and friends of friends, and how somebody would say it and instantly he would feel ‘put in his place’ and ashamed.

“We’d all be just sitting down in a pub, drinking Guinness, having singsongs. Irishmen – I’m not a Traveller, they’re not settled people – all just Irishmen, and then all of a sudden one of them would say the word ‘knackers’ and they’d be referring to Travellers.

And straight away my heart beats a bit quicker and I just get nervous and ashamed. I just feel like I’ve been stripped back, like I thought everything was alright and now I’m just this size. It just makes me feel that small.

“My natural reaction about six or seven years ago was to break their jaw, but then I learned that’s not very helpful because then you just have a broken jaw you have to deal with.

“Now I ask them about the word knacker and explain what the definition is, explain what I am, and explain that they are two very different things.

“It’s always going to be deeply offensive to us but there’s no point in weighing in on it because it will never change. It’s always going to affect me but I think it’s impossible to overcome it.”

‘I’ll never live in a house again’

The third and final programme in Connor’s three-part series, The Travellers, airs tonight.

The actor says he had no expectations about how the documentary would be viewed but that he has received very positive feedback from the settled community, with many people telling him that it has changed how they view Travellers.

He added that he wanted Traveller people to learn and feel pride when watching the programme.

My intention was always to show the truth because I’ve seen so many documentaries that were just lies. My idea was to come in and tell the truth and tell the stories and let people tell the stories … that’s the Irish way.

“We’re just presenting facts and stories and let people figure it out for themselves.”

Connors described how he came across a lot of new information about Travellers while working on the series, “A lot of the stuff I wouldn’t have known myself.

“We always had a sense that we’re really Irish but never looked into it … what I know now is that a lot of our traditions, and a big part of our culture, comes from Gaelic Ireland and we were lucky enough to hold onto them.

If you look around the 1500s, the Irish were called the nomadic people, or the wandering Irish, because the vast majority of the people actually travelled.

“When the British colonised us, one of the things they wanted to do was to get the Irish to settle. We were always a travelling country, they wanted to get us to settle so we could pay taxes, that was the main objective, to get rid of the Gaelic culture.

Gaelic culture was based around family and living around your family … we’re still trying to live around each other in our halting sites which is a modern-day version of that.

Last year Connors moved back to the halting site in Darndale where he grew up and he says he is “way happier” since.

He moved because his mother was suffering from arthritis and there was no electricity in the camp at the time.

I’ll never live in a house again, the only way I’ll leave the site is in a coffin. I love it, my family all around me.

“It’s the way I grew up for 17 years of my life so I’ll never change now.”

John Connors: The Travellers airs on RTÉ 1 at 9.35pm.

Read:  No empathy for families of five children and five adults burned to death>

Making a difference, a mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation..

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

To embed this post, copy the code below on your site

600px wide <iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/john-connors-knacker-nervous-ashamed-3018545-Oct2016/?embedpost=3018545&width=600&height=460" ></iframe>

400px wide <iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/john-connors-knacker-nervous-ashamed-3018545-Oct2016/?embedpost=3018545&width=400&height=460" ></iframe>

300px wide <iframe width="600" height="460" frameborder="0" style="border:0px;" src="https://www.thejournal.ie/https://www.thejournal.ie/john-connors-knacker-nervous-ashamed-3018545-Oct2016/?embedpost=3018545&width=300&height=460" ></iframe>

• Defamation Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel.
• Racism or Hate speech An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs.
• Trolling or Off-topic An attempt to derail the discussion.
• Inappropriate language Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs.
• Spam Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts.

Create an email alert based on the current article

• header#clickNav" class=" border-transparent tracking-wide hover:border-white border-b">Featured
• header#clickNav" class=" tracking-wide border-transparent hover:border-white border-b">Grants
• Dates 2018 - Ongoing
• Author Joseph-Philippe Bevillard
• share#close" class="hover:underline" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fphmuseum.com%2Fprojects%2Fminceirs&p[title]=MINC%C3%89IRS" target="_blank">Facebook
• share#close" class="hover:underline" href="http://twitter.com/share?text=MINC%C3%89IRS&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphmuseum.com%2Fprojects%2Fminceirs" target="_blank">Twitter 𝕏
• share#close" class="hover:underline" href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fphmuseum.com%2Fprojects%2Fminceirs&description=MINC%C3%89IRS" target="_blank">Pinterest
• share#close" class="hover:underline" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fphmuseum.com%2Fprojects%2Fminceirs&title=MINC%C3%89IRS" target="_blank">LinkedIn

Mincéirs are a traditionally nomadic ethnic minority indigenous to Ireland, referred to by the Irish Government and the settled population as Irish Travellers. The Mincéir is a true name of the Irish travelling community in their own language which is called Cant or Gammon. Although the Irish Travellers speak English, the lingo they use amongst each other at times is Cant/Gammon. The name Traveller was put upon them because of their nomadic identity. Back in the 5th century the term these groups of people were called Whitesmiths because of their association and skills as tin-smithing. Over the years the Irish Travellers have been called Tinkers, Knackers and Gyspy by some of the settled population which the Irish Travellers have found very offensive and racial. Any settled person who is not racist would use the term Irish Traveller or Travellers which is politically correct. Unfortunately many of the Irish Travellers are subjected to the continuous use of these offensive labels.

I would like to mention a few facts and some background information on this minority group of people who live mostly in Ireland I will refer to them as Irish Travellers or Travellers for short. As of publishing this book approximately 35,000 Travellers live in Ireland, less than 1% of the Irish population.

Most of the Irish Travellers live in halting sites which have been designated by the Irish government in 1968. The government were not happy with the Irish Travellers roadside camping, so they set up the so called temporary sites. Some families chose to stay and never moved, there are many of these halting sites which I have been privy to visit, but some are overcrowded due to large families and lack proper updated facilities. This in turn has forced some families to set up their own camps in disused fields, but because seen as illegal encampments the local councils are constantly trying to move the families on, and will not provide basic needs such as fresh water, electricity or sanitation. There is a small amount of Irish Travellers who wish to settle and have gone on the housing list. This can also be a tricky situation settled neighbours usually oppose having a travelling family living on their road, these leads to tension and racial abuse at times. So this discourages many families from settling.

While education is mandatory for all children living in Ireland, the Irish Travellers usually drop out by the age of 15, a lot of this is due to the children being needed at home to tend to the younger or some just find mainstream school boring and not suited to their culture. I have heard from a home economics teacher that her class is probably the most popular subject amongst the female Travellers as cooking is necessary. There have also been some fantastic stories of Irish Travellers finishing 3rd level education and obtaining great careers such as Dr. Sindy Joyce. Dr. Joyce is the first Irish Traveller to graduate with a PhD and was recently appointed by our President as one of his advisors for council of the state in 2019.

Vice-Chair of the National Traveller Mental Health Mags Casey explained that the causes of mental health issues affecting Travellers are Complex:

“Clearly the issues that affect all Travellers-such as racism and exclusion matters relating to identity, sexuality, addiction, as well as unemployment, education and accommodation have a profound impact on the community’s mental health”.

The following information is an excerpt from the National Traveller Mental Health Network officially launched in NUI Galway in 2019:

82 % of the Irish Traveller community have been affected by suicide.

90% Of Travellers agree that mental health issues are common amongst their community

56% of Travellers report poor physical and mental health restricts their normal daily activities.

In March 2017, after 25 years of campaigning, finally Irish Travellers won formal recognition as a distinct ethnic group within the State. On that day the former director of the Irish Travellers Movement, Bridgid Quilligan stated:

“We want every Traveller in Ireland to be proud of who they are and to say that “we are not a failed set of people. We have our own unique identity, and we shouldn’t take on all 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.”

What I have written is brief with some facts about these fascinating people who have made me feel utterly welcome at all times for the past 11 years. I am clearly not a writer, so I have recorded some facts and a brief synopsis into the life of Irish Travellers. I hope my photographs portray what I could not begin to write, and captured some of the Irish Travellers Lifestyle and Culture that is steeped in traditions, full of colour, celebrations, and hardships.

Joseph-Philippe Bévillard, September 2020

• Default view

Fairy, Dublin, Ireland 2019

Paddy, Galway, Ireland 2019

Helen, Offaly, Ireland 2020

Gold Rings, Galway, Ireland 2019

Little Bridesmaid, Wexford, Ireland 2019

Connors Men, Dublin, Ireland 2019

Diane and Biddy, Tipperary, Ireland 2019

After Church Wedding, Wexford, Ireland 2019

Pa with Rooster, Tipperary, Ireland 2019

Mary, Tipperary, Ireland 2019

Charlotte, Tipperary, Ireland 2019

John-Pio, Galway, Ireland 2020

Blue Balloon, Carlow, Ireland 2019

Rihanna and Alesha, Dublin, Ireland 2019

Nikita and Jimmy, Tipperary, Ireland 2019

William with His Pet Lurcher, Limerick, Ireland 2018

Bridget and Kathleen, Dublin, Ireland 2020

Nikita on Her First Holy Communion, Tipperary, Ireland 2019

Running Child, Dublin 2020

Holly, Dublin, Ireland 2020

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Stay in the loop

We will send you weekly news on contemporary photography. You can change your mind at any time. We will treat your data with respect. For more information please visit our privacy policy . By ticking here, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with them. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

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.

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.

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.

• Member Login
• Library Patron Login

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR

FREE NEWSLETTERS

Search: Title Author Article Search String:

Irish Travellers: Background information when reading The Walking People

Summary  |  Excerpt  |  Reading Guide  |  Reviews  |  Beyond the Book  |  Read-Alikes  |  Genres & Themes  |  Author Bio

The Walking People

by Mary Beth Keane

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' Opinion:

• Literary Fiction
• Mid-Atlantic, USA
• New York State
• 20th Century (multiple decades)
• Coming of Age
• Immigrants & Expats
• Strong Women

Rate this book

About this Book

• Reading Guide
• Media Reviews
• Reader Reviews

Irish Travellers

This article relates to The Walking People

Among themselves, Travellers refer to themselves as Pavees.  To outsiders they are often referred to as pikeys, knackers or tinkers (the latter two descriptions refer to traditional crafts in which they were employed, rendering animals and tin-smithing; the first two are considered particularly derogatory). In Irish, they are known as Lucht Siúil - the walking people - hence the title of Mary Beth Keane's novel.  Sometimes they are also referred to as diddycoys - which is a Roma term for a child of mixed Roma and non-Roma parentage; when used in the context of Travellers it refers to the fact that they are not "Gypsy" by blood but have adopted a similar lifestyle. A 2006 Irish national census recorded 22,400 Travellers in the country, about 0.5% of the population (but many believe the numbers are larger), with 95% living in urban areas (these days, many choose to settle in one location but may travel for seasonal work). It is estimated that there are a further 15-30,000 Travellers in Great Britain and about 7,000 in the USA, particularly based in Murphy Village , South Carolina; and the Fort Worth suburb of White Settlement, TX. The historical origins of the Travellers are disputed.  Travellers themselves claim ancient origins, even though it is clear that some adopted Traveller customs recently.  A long held believe is that Travelers are descended from landowners made homeless by Oliver Cromwell's military campaign in Ireland and the 1840s famine, but now it is thought their origins maybe older and more complex - but with no written historical record it is difficult to know. Travellers are distinctly different from the Roma (sometimes known as Gypsies); for more about the Roma People see the sidebar to Jacqueline Winspear's An Incomplete Revenge ). Whereas the Roma are considered a unique ethnic group (studies of traditional Roma show that they are genetically different from the general population), in Ireland the Travellers are considered a social group, that is to say they are genetically one with the general population but choose to live differently.  Recent research has identified that certain genetic diseases are more common in the Irish Traveller population but it is not clear whether this is a result of a distinct ancestry or simply the effect of intermarriage.  Travellers have their own customs and language, which is known to the linguistic community as Shelta but often referred to as Cant by the general population (it is believed to have developed, in part, as a means of excluding outsiders from understanding their conversations). They tend to be keen dog breeders, particularly of greyhounds and lurchers; and, despite having given up their horse-drawn carts, have a long-standing interest in horses - the annual horse fair at Ballinasloe continues to be a big draw for the community. Although their birthrate is possibly the highest in Europe and double the Irish national average, apparently a third of Travellers die before they are 25, and four out of five are dead by 65.  They are 10 times more likely to die in road accidents and their infants are ten times as likely to die before the age of two. Interesting Links:

• A comprehensive source of articles about Irish Travellers in the USA at RickRoss.com
• A 2002 article in Time  

Filed under Society and Politics

• "Beyond the Book" articles
• Free books to read and review (US only)
• Find books by time period, setting & theme
• Read-alike suggestions by book and author
• Book club discussions
• and much more!
• Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
• More about membership!
• Read-Alikes
• Genres & Themes

Support BookBrowse

Join our inner reading circle, go ad-free and get way more!

Find out more

BookBrowse Book Club

Members Recommend

Daughters of Shandong by Eve J. Chung

Eve J. Chung's debut novel recounts a family's flight to Taiwan during China's Communist revolution.

This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud

An immersive, masterful story of a family born on the wrong side of history.

Win This Book

Only the Brave by Danielle Steel

A powerful, sweeping historical novel about a courageous woman in World War II Germany.

Solve this clue:

and be entered to win..

Your guide to exceptional           books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info and giveaways by email.

Abusing Travellers is ‘racism for liberals’

Casey’s comments verbalised what people think, say those close to the community.

Businessman Peter Casey visits the Thurles estate which has been a cause for dispute between the county council and local Travellers. video: Kathleen Harris

Sr Cait Gannon, a retired member of the Sisters of Mercy nuns who lives in Thurles, still works with Travellers following decades of involvement with the community as a teacher and social worker.

This week, she has spoken a lot about them, after Peter Casey's second-place finish in the presidential race against Michael D Higgins, where Casey received 342,727 votes – or 23 per cent of all votes cast.

"Peter Casey verbalised what people think in their hearts," she says, "I know it is, because people phoned me up and told me they would be voting for him because of what he said about Travellers."

Last weekend, signs declaring “Stop the hatred. Stop the lies”; “Blame the people causing the problem, not the victims”, or “Casey, Trump, tear down those walls” hung from fencing at the entrance to a housing estate at Cabragh Bridge, a couple of kilometres outside of Thurles.

Miriam Lord: Áras openness, Michael D and seven more years

EU and British ‘very close’ to reaching deal on Irish border

Contract signed for €300m Waterford city Saudi development

GP body to hold Egm on abortion services

There is one law for one section of the community and one law for another. Travellers need to be a little bit more considerate to the wider community

It was here at this as yet unoccupied estate of six houses that Casey visited on October 18th. There, before a crowd of assembled media, he refused to withdraw the criticisms he had made of Travellers.

The local Travellers who had been offered the houses were selfish and unreasonable for turning them down because they did not have grazing land for horses.

Basically, Casey said, Travellers are “people camping on someone’s else’s land”. More generally, he refused to accept they are a different race, despite being formally recognised by the State as an ethnic minority last year.

Ratings boost

The controversy boosted his ratings, from 2 per cent beforehand. Throughout, Casey denied he is a racist.

Casey secured his highest number of first-preference votes in Tipperary – all 20,149 of them. In Thurles Shopping Centre earlier this week, people were curt when asked their views on Travellers, and whether they agreed with Casey.

“Peter Casey told the truth,” says Paddy O’Reilly. “People living in the countryside are terrified of robberies. People are afraid of Travellers.”

Despite this, however, O’Reilly says he voted for Michael D Higgins.

"I was very surprised at the result, but I could understand why Peter Casey got so many votes," says Margaret Lawson. "There is one law for one section of the community and one law for another. Travellers need to be a little bit more considerate to the wider community. They should never be allowed to be above the law."

Photograph for Rosita Boland story - Ballinasloe travellers. The site near Ballinasloe, where Martin Cawley lives. Photograph: Joe O’Shaughnessy. 1/11/2018

"I personally have nothing against them," John Doherty says. "But judging by the size of the vote Peter Casey got, I don't think it says anything great about how most people view Travellers. Here in Thurles, the feeling around town is that when they go out to socialise, they tend to be rowdy in the extreme."

Questioned about the disconnection between Travellers and the settled community, Sr Cait Gannon says: “I think bitterness started to arise when Travellers started to be housed, because people didn’t want to live beside them.

“They blamed them for the value of their houses going down. There is a fear of Travellers; an ingrained fear. And so they [the settled community] keep their distance, and so too do the Travellers. That doesn’t help integration.”

Two decades ago, secondary school education was seen as the solution: it would offer equality to a new generation of Travellers, better integrating them with settled neighbours. Two decades on, it has not worked.

“Children only used to get as far as primary school. Now we’ve seen the generation who are in secondary school. But it hasn’t made the difference it was thought it would, because people won’t employ Travellers.

“I myself have tried to get them jobs on stud farms. They are brilliant with horses; they grew up with them, and some of the men are horse-whisperers. But none of them got jobs,” the nun said.

“I had people tell me it wasn’t because of the particular young person themselves, but because of who they might know: that they might give them information, and then there might be a robbery. I think there is now an anger building up in young Traveller men. They see the pals they had in school getting jobs, but they don’t have jobs.”

In the 2016 census, the number of Travellers recorded was 30,987, which represents just 0.7 per cent of the total population. Eight out of every 10 who could work in the community are unemployed. Out of the entire Traveller population, just 932 of them were aged 65, and over.

Your horse is your friend; a family member; a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Horses give a purpose to stay alive

Margaret Casey, a Traveller herself, leads the Tipperary Rural Travellers' Project in Tipperary town, which works with 162 families in south Tipperary. Interestingly, she sees some positives in Casey's actions.

"Of course, Peter Casey said those things on purpose to get votes, but in a way, he has done us a favour," she says. "We've had the conversation in Ireland about same-sex marriage and abortion. Now this – the Travelling community – is the last taboo to be tackled.

“If Peter Casey had taken that platform about any other ethnic group in Ireland, there would have been an outcry, but because it’s Travellers he targeted, that is okay.”

Brian Dillon is development officer at the project. "The most liberal people in Ireland who have glasses of wine at dinner parties and who would never dream of using the 'N' word have no problem calling Travellers 'knackers' in private. It's racism for liberals," he says. "The liberal veneer in Ireland doesn't allow people to actually come forward publicly with their very serious prejudices. Casey knew that. People will feel a little more courage now to voice what they really think."

“People’s perceptions of us is that we are not intelligent or educated. That we are spongers off the State. That we are dirty and we are criminals,” says Margaret Casey.

“There is no communication between us and settled people, because communication is based on respect. We should respect differences. Society has to accept we are Travellers and we need to respect settled people, but I don’t think there is any foundation of respect from either side. Settled people are the people who have the power, and they can decide whether they want to be racist. We need to access their services, so we are at their mercy.”

Photograph for Rosita Boland story - Ballinasloe travellers. Martin Cawley (left) with his cousin Jim Ward, at the site where Martin lives near Ballinasloe. Photograph: Joe O’Shaughnessy. 1/11/2018

Casey talks about the part horses play in Traveller culture. “The last little bit of tradition and culture is our horses. Your horse is your friend; a family member; a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Horses give a purpose to stay alive, and they are a little bit of status in society. That’s all we have left of our culture and we want to hold on to it. Travellers are very connected to horses, especially men.”

There are horses, a sulky, and several dogs at the three-caravan camp I visit at a concealed rural location outside Ballinasloe, Co Galway, the following day. Thurles-based Paul Harrison, who has been photographing members of the Travelling community for years, has invited me to meet his friend, Jim Ward.

Ward, who lives in a privately rented house in Ballinasloe, has in turn brought us out to the encampment to meet his cousin Martin Cawley, and Martin's wife Rose.

Ward, who also has horses, has just explained to me why the term “knacker” is considered by Travellers to be the most offensive of all insults directed at them. “A knacker is a horse going to the factory. It’s a horse that is no good to anybody and is going be killed,” he says.

Then the caravan door opens and one of the Cawley children comes in and hands something to her mother. Minutes before, she took it out of the post-box located at the entrance to the site, a kilometre’s distance from where the caravans are grouped together.

The note is not a greeting, or something welcome. Instead, it is anonymous, handwritten, with poor grammar. Inside, there are two blue shotgun cartridges. Jim Ward cannot read, so I end up being asked to read out the note to everyone. This is part of what it says:

“Final warning to you and your family. We have recently found your camp . . . Stay of [sic] your horse and traps. We know what roads your [sic] going everyday we’ll ram you off the road till we get one of you . . . We’re not stoping [sic] till one of you are dead We’ll run you out of your camp . . . Your time is near at end”

The guards are called. Shaken, we restart the interview while waiting for them to come. Rose Cawley is visibly upset. There are two newborn babies in the caravans. Now she is afraid for their safety and that of everybody else, including the animals.

“We saw Peter Casey on the TV,” Martin Cawley says. “We were shocked at what he said. He didn’t say anything good at all about us. He is definitely a racist.”

“He came second, so if Michael Higgins hadn’t got it, Peter Casey could have been president. I didn’t think he would get that far,” says Rose Cawley. “Why would anyone have respect for Travellers now when someone running to be president said those things?”

“He said exactly what most settled people are thinking,” says Ward. “When you have a man running for president who is saying those things about us, what hope is there?”

Interestingly, the Wards and Casey have an equally low opinion of the ethnic status now offered by the State to Travellers: “They say we are an ethnic group now. But what difference does it make? We are being treated worse than ever now. That ethnic thing means nothing to me,” Martin Cawley says. “We are just being treated the same as we have always been treated. It didn’t change anything.”

If Travellers are disconnected from the settled community, many appear, too, to have little faith in the groups set up to represent them, most particularly Pavee Point: “I have no interest in Pavee Point,” Ward states. “They’re only a waste of time. Anything we have done, we have done ourselves.”

“None of them have ever helped us, ever,” says Rose Cawley.

“We did ask for help from Pavee Point once. But we didn’t get it,” Martin Cawley says.

Frustration

Later, I spoke with Martin Collins, co-director of Pavee Point: "I think what that is reflecting is a deep, deep frustration with the system and the State and how the State and local authorities in particular have failed Travellers," he said.

“I think there is a misunderstanding among some Travellers whereby they think that organisations like Pavee Point and other local Traveller support groups have the power to make things happen. To get local authorities to build sites. To end inequality and discrimination. We unfortunately don’t have that power or that level of influence, and I think some Travellers somehow or another have that view that we do. If we did have that power and influence, we would create a much better society for Travellers.”

After they arrived at the camp, gardaí took away the note and the two cartridges, promising to make sure their cars would patrol the road at night. They arranged to return to take a statement the next day. The Cawleys voiced their suspicions about who might be responsible.

Back in Tipperary, Imelda Reidy is the co-ordinator of the Traveller programme with the North Tipperary Leader Partnership in Roscrea, which works with 200 families. Among others, it employs six Traveller women, who work as health workers within their own community.

Photograph for Rosita Boland story - Ballinasloe travellers: Jim Ward at his home in Ballinasloe. Photograph: Joe O'Shaughnessy. 1/11/2018

“What Peter Casey said isn’t new. He is a rehashed version of something that has been there all the time. Discrimination against the Travelling community has been an issue for the last 50 or 60 years,” she says. “I’m not surprised he did so well. I am aware of the levels of discrimination in the settled community against Travellers.

“But this needs to be put in a context of world events. I do believe there is a push towards picking on the marginalised and on ethnic minorities, because it is very easy to blame them, and they are people with very little power. People like Peter Casey legitimise racism. Public figures have a responsibility in what they say. People who are divisive like him never contribute anything positive. The discrimination has always been bad, but social media has made it worse. People have greater access to express themselves publicly now.”

In her years experience of working with Travellers, what misconceptions has she heard about them from the settled community?

Reidy rolls her eyes. She has heard everything. “People have an immediate response about what they think Travellers are. That they have no interest in school. That they all have a learning disability. That they are to be feared. It’s a nonsense, this perception people have that they are to be feared. It is not based in reality.

There is also a general assumption is that all Travellers are the same. The Travelling community is not a homogenous community. It is made up of different individuals and it is a gross mistake to say they are all the same and need the same things.”

Criminality

What about the proven element of criminality among some members of the community?

“It does happen, but when one Traveller does something wrong, the whole community is blamed for it. Criminality is a policing job, so why are Travellers expected to take on all the responsibility, and to do the job of the guards?”

Reidy is clear that she considers discrimination against Travellers was always present. “We have a tendency to see things through rose-tinted spectacles. There is a myth that in the 1930s and 1940s, when they were providing a service by ‘tinkering’ and mending things that Travellers were welcomed into settled communities.

They were only welcomed when they had a purpose, and when that purpose was gone, they were not so welcome. There is a long history of mistrust on both sides.”

Reidy urged settled people not to support derogatory remarks about Travellers, and to challenge such views when they are made: “Whether you are sitting at your kitchen table or in the pub, challenge people and ask them: ‘Why are you saying that?’.”

Sighing and shaking her head, Reidy goes on: “I despair sometimes at how we treat each other. It would be so much easier if people could be a little nicer and kinder to each other.”

Back in Thurles, one settled local, who used to work with Travellers in education, agrees to talk, but only anonymously. She is horrified by the support Casey received.

Many neighbours have made a point since of telling her that they had voted for him: “His comments are not new, but I think what they have done is to stir the shit again,” she says.

Travellers always want to live together, in multi-generational family settlements and that doesn't suit most county councils

“There is a tendency by both sides to romanticise the old days, when men fixed pots and were tinkering and they lived in barrel-top wagons. The summers were grand and they could move around when they wanted, but in my opinion that is really romanticising what was extreme poverty.”

Today, little has changed, particularly for women: “They do the washing and cleaning and look after the kids. Most men don’t have any intention of working, ever. From our point of view, their whole life is wrong.

“There are no opportunities for girls, and they are people who don’t value what we value. I used to be upset the girls would get married so early, because it is a kind of vicious circle, but the girls themselves don’t see it like that.”

For decades, Ireland’s settled population has wanted Travellers to integrate, but only on its terms, she argues: “Which is why it hasn’t worked. Travellers always want to live together, in multi-generational family settlements and that doesn’t suit most county councils. From the perspective of the council and the settled people already living there, it is creating a ghetto.”

Relations between the sides have never been worse, she believes. This week, many others agree. “Communication is the key to solving most problems, but how that comes about, I don’t know,” she says.

Rosita Boland

Rosita Boland is Senior Features Writer with The Irish Times. She was named NewsBrands Ireland Journalist of the Year for 2018

Dún Laoghaire baths contractor to clear plastic from nearby beaches

Europe has become britain’s intractable ‘irish issue’ of the 21st century, academic says, team from dit wins esb inter colleges challenge for 2018, mother in direct provision denied food at night for sick child, coveney says strong uk-irish friendship more important than ever, howlin contacts sdlp over potential fianna fáil merger, in this section, fine gael candidate verbally abused in north dublin downplays incident, man’s body found after car goes into co donegal water, how to make the most of the leaving cert run-in: study tips, social media and taking breaks, your top stories on monday: iranian president dies in crash; rise in number of children growing up in poverty, my 19-year-old college-going son is depressed and anxious, bruce springsteen in croke park review: blockbuster performance closes irish tour on an emotion-filled evening, iran declares five days of mourning after president ebrahim raisi (63) killed in helicopter crash, ireland’s two-tier cancer drug system: ‘i can give one drug to one lot of patients, not to another’, moving back to ireland would mean working till 10pm, no home of my own and bad coffee, teenager hospitalised after stabbing in dublin city centre, latest stories, ‘what a night of pure joy’ – bruce springsteen fans give their verdict on ‘corker’ croke park gig, raisi’s death is a shock blow to iranian regime, cork bring their summer back from the dead, mcgrath may be missing the point on etf tax changes.

• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Information
• Cookie Settings
• Community Standards

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.

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.

Sign up to IrishCentral's newsletter to stay up-to-date with everything Irish!

Related: Immigration

Celtic Thunder sets sail on ODYSSEY: A North American Tour, tickets on sale next week

50 beautiful Irish girls names and their meanings

US leprechauns versus Irish fairies - a St. Patrick’s Day death match

GIVEAWAY: Win VIP trip to the largest Celtic festival in the world, Milwaukee Irish Fest!

The best places in Ireland to go for a fishing vacation

Murders show savagery of day-to-day life during Great Hunger

Faces of the Titanic: John Horgan, lost at sea, remains a mystery man

Irish businessman and Ireland Funds founder Tony O'Reilly dies aged 88

Celebrate summer with these delicious Irish strawberry recipes

With the IrishCentral Newsletter you decide the stories

Entire interior of former Dublin pub to go under the hammer

National Famine Way Commemorative Walk to begin on Monday

Irish Slang and Phrases You Need to Know Before You Visit

The Irish accent is one of my all-time favourites. I love the musicality of it and the fact that it varies across the country. But, I’ll admit, when I first visited I found that, sometimes, it could be hard to understand. Especially with all the funny Irish slang and phrases. More than once someone would ask me something or say something to me and I’d just stare at them with a dumb look on my face wondering what the hell they were talking about.

Thankfully, by now, I have them (mostly) figured out. So I thought I should share so that when you arrive and someone asks ‘What’s the craic’ your mind doesn’t automatically revert to street drugs. Here are some common Irish slang and phrases that you need to know before your visit.

PS: Planning a trip to Ireland? Check out my itineraries.

Top Irish Slang and Phrases

What’s the Craic: What’s up or what’s going on (craic is pronounced as ‘crack’).

Ex: Hey, Hannah! What’s the craic?

Deadly: Awesome or fantastic.

Ex: That movie was deadly.

Fair Play: Good on you, well done, or good job.

Ex: You got the job? Fair play to you!

Yer Man/Yer Woman: That guy/that girl

Ex: I used to work with yer man over there with the blue coat. 

Grand : great.

Ex: Steak for dinner? That’s grand.

I’m Knackered:  I’m tired/exhausted.

Ex: I’m totally knackered after last night.

That’s Savage: That’s great/ brilliant.

Ex: Did you read that book? It’s savage.

Class: Excellent/ really good.

Ex: You’re going on holiday for a week? That’s class.

I’m Shattered: I’m exhausted.

Ex: I can’t right now, I’m completely shattered.

Gas: Funny or entertaining.

Ex: Have you talked to Jimmy yet? He’s gas!

Slag: Either to make fun of someone. Also, a slang word for a prostitute.

Ex: Aw, don’t worry. He’s just slagging you. Or She’s a total slag.

Thick : An idiot, someone who is stupid.

Ex: He’s just thick in the head.

Leg It: To run away really quickly.

Ex: The rain is coming, better leg it.

The Black Stuff: Guinness.

Ex: Can I have a pint of the black stuff.

On the lash: Go out drinking.

Ex: I was on the lash last night.

A Knacker: Basically the Irish equivalent of a redneck.

Ex: Stay away from that area, it’s full of knackers.

Feck Off: Fuck off.

For more funny Irish slang and phrases, check out this book.

If you have any more Irish phrases you think should have a spot on this list let me know in the comments below!

Ready to Book Your Trip?

Don’t forget travel insurance!

Please do not travel without travel insurance! I’ve had to use it multiple times throughout my travels and it has saved me thousands of dollars. You can learn more about travel insurance  here . If you are looking for a provider I love and recommend  SafetyWing . For Canadian readers, take a look at  SoNomad.

Book your accommodation

I love and recommend  booking.com  for accommodation. They have a range of hostels, guesthouses, hotels, and resorts. Plus, the platform has a great loyalty program that means the more you book, the more you can save. 

Book your tours

My go-to tour provider that I love to recommend is  GetYourGuide . They have options all over the world and partner with local companies for everything from day trips to food experiences and even airport transfers. 

Get connected

If you want to have data while travelling for online maps or any other needs, an esim is one of the easiest solutions. I’m a big fan of Airalo and have used their sim cards around the world from Brazil to Uzbekistan, Greece to the USA. It’s really easy- you download the app, pick what country you want an esim for, and after you purchase it follow the installation instructions. You can use promo code HANNAH3326 to save $3USD on your next esim purchase. 

Not sure what to pack?

I have destination-specific guides for some countries but you can also check my  travel essentials  and  camera gear  if you are looking for some ideas. 

Looking for a travel buddy?

Check out my group trips!

Culchie is a redneck. Knacker is white trash.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

By leaving a comment you agree with the storage and handling of your name and email address by Eat Sleep Breathe Travel. *

Dreaming of Adventure?

Sign up to the Eat Sleep Breathe Travel mail list and stay up to date with all the latest travel tips and stories.