Brendan O'Shea recently sat down with Pavee Point to learn more about the struggles of the Irish Travellers, and how they hope to see the community develop within Irish society.
The Pavee Point Travellers’ Centre in Dublin’s north inner city is the focal point of the group’s works in promoting equal rights for the Traveller community, a longstanding group that has experienced discrimination within Ireland for decades.
Stereotypes and misconceptions have long plagued the community, so much that even their title alone prevents them for accessing most of the opportunities that the ‘settled’ Irish are free to enjoy, such as a viable education, fair employment, and even access to everyday amenities like shops and pubs.
When asked what he feels needs to happen in order to begin to put an end to such misconceptions, the group’s co-director Martin Collins cites education of both the Travellers and settled Irish as the most important factor.
“I think Travellers need to start to stay in school longer and integrate more with settled Irish,” he says, explaining that education for Travellers would open up greater opportunities of employment for their population, which is currently dealing with a staggering 84.3 per cent unemployment rate.
Collins feels the media has a large part to do with Travellers’ issues as well, as settled Irish tend to receive the wrong message about the community. He warns of the need to ignore the media’s projection of Travellers because they typically portray a very narrow view of genuine Traveller life.
“Don’t judge Travellers by the media,” he says, “the media never promotes a positive story.”
Youth worker Johnny McDonagh echoes those sentiments, taking a stand against the media’s misconceptions in an attempt to explain the better side of Traveller life that rarely gets an airing.
“We have traditions that aren’t the likes of bare-knuckle fighting; that’s a very rare thing but is always talked about,” he says. “There are Travellers that do want to get employed; there are Travellers that want to go to school.”
Despite their pleas for equality, Travellers say they continue to be stripped of their human rights. Collins shares a story about a Traveller girl who got a job as a cashier at a local supermarket, having hidden the fact that she was a Traveller. However, she says the instant her employer learned the truth about her background, she was demoted to mopping the backroom.
“The trust was broken right away,” says Collins, alleging that the humiliating move had nothing to do with the woman’s working abilities and skills, but rather the mere fact of the culture she comes from.
The way of life that the Travellers lead unfortunately can result in tragic consequences far too often. Travellers commit suicide at a rate of 6.3 times greater than that of settled Irish – a consequence of a life depleted of education, employment, and rights.
Collins, McDonagh and activist Kathleen McDonnell stressed the importance of speaking to a Traveller before judging them based on the media.
“Look into Traveller organisations to find out more information,” says McDowell. “Don’t believe what the television and papers say about us.”
