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Irish Travellers are a nomadic or itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States. They are also often referred to as 'gypsies', 'pikeys', 'tinkers' or 'knackers' but these names are now considered to be offensive, and in the case of gypsy are technically incorrect, as that word more specifically refers to another travelling community, the Roma, who originated in India. They refer to themselves as The Pavee.

Language and customs

Irish Travellers are distinguished from the settled communities of the countries in which they live by their own language and customs. Shelta is the traditional language of Travellers but they also speak English with a distinct accent and mannerisms. The historical origins of Travellers as a group has been a subject of dispute. Some argue that the Irish Travellers are descended from another nomadic people called the Tarish. It was once widely believed that Travellers were descended from landowners who were made homeless in Oliver Cromwell's military campaign in Ireland, but evidence shows that they have dwelt in Ireland since at least the Dark Ages. The estimated numbers of Irish Travellers in the countries in which they live are¹:

Ireland: 25,000
Great Britain: 15,000
United States: 10,000

Several known groups in the United States include the Northern and Southern Travellers (each of which have their own subcategories) and the Western Travellers. The Traveller language (Shelta) is dying out and only the older Travellers still know the language completely.

Some of the marriage customs, at least in the Southern Travellers (Memphis and "Georgies"), 11 year old girls are engaged to be married to 20+ year old men. Weddings occur as young as 12 or 13, often to a first or second cousin. Because in Traveller culture men are the ones who provide for the wife and family, a girl's main goal is to marry. The bride's parents pay the groom's parents up to 500,000 dollars for this arrangement.

Travellers in the U.S. live in trailer parks, and travel every summer to work. They are close-knit and in general are poorly educated, leading to much racism and bigotry due to ignorance.

Information comes from an interview with an Irish Traveller in the United States.

Friction with the community

The Traveller lifestyle often produces friction with settled communities, especially in urban areas. Some Traveller communities have been accused of leaving behind large amounts of litter in temporary halting sites and are engaging in criminal activity against the local settled community. Also heavily criticised is the alleged Traveller technique of buying land, building amenities without planning permission, and then avoiding eviction by claiming it would be an abuse of human rights to remove them from their homes. The families apply for retrospective planning permission whilst they are living on their land. This tactic received much media attention during the British 2005 General Election, after it was brought up by Conservative Party leader Michael Howard.

The use of retrospective planning permission arose after the 1994 Criminal Justice Act, which Michael Howard brought through the commons, started closing down many of the sites originally provided for the community. Howard advised that Travellers should buy their own land instead and assurances were made that the Travellers would be allowed to settle it.

However, a heavy unofficial legal block to Travellers' attempts to follow this advice has emerged since, with a 2003 government survey finding that 96% of Travellers who apply for planning permission to settle on their land have permission refused, comparing to figures of less than 30% for the general population. Travellers have said that unless they use the retrospective technique, the closure of the caravan sites leaves them effectively homeless and unable to settle. Support networks have also pointed out that the number of retrospective planning applications brought by Travellers is dwarfed by both commercial and settled applications.

Travellers are often known to settled people by a number of names generally considered pejorative, such as gypsy, tinker and knacker and pikey (in Great Britain). The terms gyppo and gypolata are also used widely in Great Britain but is most definitely derogatory. Tinker and knacker are based on the historical occupations of some Travellers, whereas pikey is a generic term used for all travellers, regardless of origin.

Travellers are widely seen as synonymous with robbery, crime and general delinquent behaviour. However this has been true only in some cases, and there is no proven link between higher crime rates and Traveller proximity.

Traveller advocacy groups insist that Travellers are a distinct ethnic group with a history of many centuries and that negative treatment of Travellers thus amounts to racism. This assertion is not widely accepted. The Irish Traveller Movement was established in 1990 as "a national network of organisations and individuals working within the Traveller community" and it campaigns for full equality for Travellers in Irish society.

Films

Travellers have been portrayed on a number of occasions on film. Examples include the film Into the West which tells the story of two Traveller boys running away from home. The film Snatch features Brad Pitt as a stereotypical Traveller who is an undefeatable bareknuckle boxing champion. Traveller is another film, starring Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, and Julianna Margulies.

The documentary, SOUTHPAW: The Francis Barrett Story, won the Audience Prize at the 1999 New York Irish Film Festival. It followed Galway boxer Francis (Francie) Barrett for three years and showed Francie overcoming discrimination as he progressed up the amateur boxing ranks to eventually carry the Irish flag and box for Ireland at the age of 19 during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Francie turned professional in August 2000 and now fights at light welterweight, out of Wembley, London.

Quotes

They form a separate social group and are distinguished by mainstream Irish society even when the Travellers are settled in houses. About a third live in caravan camps run by local councils while the others nomadize or are on unofficial sites. Their main occupation is recycling waste material (The Travellers of Ireland).

Travellers are a small indigenous minority, documented as being part of Irish society for centuries. Travellers have a long shared history and value system which make them a distinct group. They have their own language, customs and traditions (Pavee Point website).

Footnotes

Source: Irish Travellers' Movement website.

External links

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	~~Happening Mush stall yer manging the flatty chavys listening ,The stewarts are the real gypsy fighting family....~~'''Irish Travellers''' are a [[nomad\|nomadic]] or itinerant people of Irish origin living in [[Ireland]], [[Great Britain]] and the [[United States]]. They are also often referred to as ''''gypsies'''', ''''pikeys'''', ''''tinkers'''' or ''''knackers'''' but these names are now considered to be offensive, and in the case of [[gypsy]] are technically incorrect, as that word more specifically refers to another travelling community, the [[Roma_people\|Roma]], who originated in [[India]]. They refer to themselves as '''The Pavee'''.		'''Irish Travellers''' are a [[nomad\|nomadic]] or itinerant people of Irish origin living in [[Ireland]], [[Great Britain]] and the [[United States]]. They are also often referred to as ''''gypsies'''', ''''pikeys'''', ''''tinkers'''' or ''''knackers'''' but these names are now considered to be offensive, and in the case of [[gypsy]] are technically incorrect, as that word more specifically refers to another travelling community, the [[Roma_people\|Roma]], who originated in [[India]]. They refer to themselves as '''The Pavee'''.

	==Language and customs==		==Language and customs==