Editing Irish Travellers

{{Short description|Traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin}}
{{About|the ethnic group |the UK census classification|White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller|Roma people living in Ireland, also known as "Gypsy"|Romani people in Ireland|other uses|Traveler (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Irish Travellers
| native_name      = {{Plainlist|
*''Mincéirí'' 
*''An lucht siúil''
}}
| native_name_lang = 
| flag             = <!-- (image filename) -->
| flag_caption     = 
| image            = Travellers Decorated Caravan (6136023633).jpg
| image_caption    = Irish Travellers in 1954
| total            = 
| total_year       = <!-- year of total population -->
| total_source     = <!-- source of total population; may be ''census'' or ''estimate'' -->
| total_ref        = <!-- references supporting total population -->
| region1          = [[Republic of Ireland]]
| pop1             = 30,987 (2016)
| ref1             = <ref>{{cite web |title=6. Ethnicity and Irish Travellers 
|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/population/2017/Chapter_6_Ethnicity_and_irish_travellers.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/population/2017/Chapter_6_Ethnicity_and_irish_travellers.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=31 July 2019 |page=60}}</ref>
| region2          = [[Northern Ireland]]
| pop2             = 2,609 (2021)
| ref2             = <ref>{{cite web |title=Census 2021 main statistics ethnicity tables 
|date=7 September 2022 |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/census-2021-main-statistics-ethnicity-tables |access-date=11 December 2022}}</ref>
| region3          = [[United States]]
| pop3             = 10-40,000 (2010s-20s estimate)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-07-10 |title=Who are the Irish Travellers in the US? |url=http://www.irishcentral.com/culture/who-are-irish-travellers-us |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=IrishCentral.com |language=en}}</ref>
| ref3             = 
| region4          = [[United Kingdom]]
| pop4             = 65,000|ref4
| genealogy        = 
| regions          = Throughout Ireland, especially in [[County Galway|Counties Galway]], [[County Mayo|Mayo]], [[County Longford|Longford]], and [[County Limerick|Limerick]], and [[Dublin]] • [[Northern Ireland]] • [[London]], [[United Kingdom|UK]] •
| languages        = [[Hiberno-English]], [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Shelta]]
| philosophies     = 
| religions        = Predominantly [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]
| related_groups   = [[Irish people|Irish]], [[Irish Traveller Americans]]
| footnotes        = 
}}
{{Irish people}}
'''Irish Travellers''' ({{langx|ga|an lucht siúil}}, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as '''Mincéirs'''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Joyce |first1=Sindy |date=11 December 2018 |title=A Brief History of the {{as written|Insitu|tionalisation [sic]}} of Discrimination Against Irish Travellers |url=https://www.iccl.ie/equality/whrdtakeover/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607211749/https://www.iccl.ie/news/whrdtakeover/ |archive-date=2022-06-07 |access-date=28 September 2020 |website=Irish Council for Civil Liberties}}</ref> ([[Shelta]]: '''''Mincéirí''''') or '''Pavees''',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mayock |first1=Breda |date=15 April 2020 |title=The Role of Hair in Traveller Culture |url=https://educationmatters.ie/the-role-of-hair-in-traveller-culture/ |access-date=15 September 2020 |website=Education Matters.ie}}</ref> are a traditionally [[List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic|peripatetic]] [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Ireland : Travellers |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d0541.html |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref> [[Ethnic group|ethno-cultural group]] originating in Ireland.<ref name="Wolniak 2019">{{cite book |author-last=Wolniak |author-first=Michal |date=2016 |origyear=2016 |chapter=Travelling through Shades of Whiteness: Irish Travellers as Inferior Whites |editor-last=Kirkland |editor-first=Ewan |title=Shades of Whiteness |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |pages=119–131 |doi=10.1163/9781848883833_011 |isbn=978-1-84888-383-3 |s2cid=201423395}}</ref><ref>Ethnicity and the American cemetery by Richard E. Meyer. 1993. "...&nbsp;though many of them crossed the Atlantic in centuries past to play their trade".</ref><ref name="QuestioningGypsy">''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic narratives in Britain and America'' by Brian Belton <!-- ISBN#? --></ref>

They are predominantly English-speaking, though many also speak [[Shelta]], a language of mixed [[English language|English]] and [[Irish language|Irish]] origin.<ref name="Wolniak 2019"/> The majority of Irish Travellers are [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], the [[Religion in the Republic of Ireland|predominant religion in the Republic of Ireland]]. They are one of several groups identified as "[[Itinerant groups in Europe|Travellers]]" in the UK and Ireland. Irish Travellers have distinctive artistic traditions, some of which have influenced the broader cultural tapestry of Ireland. Irish Traveller music, known for its lively and virtuosic melodies, is a significant and influential part of Ireland’s musical landscape.{{fact|date=February 2025}} Irish Travellers have certain clothing traditions which are distinct from those of the wider Irish population. [[Beady pockets]] for example are a feature of traditional Irish Traveller attire—flat, pocket-sized pouches characterised by intricate embroidery and beadwork.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beady pocket |url=https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Collection/Traveller-Culture/Artefact/Beady-pocket/2ccf8ca6-7027-43fd-9245-5e248c35e28a |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=National Museum of Ireland |language=en}}</ref>

Despite sometimes being incorrectly referred to as "[[Names of the Romani people|Gypsies]]",<ref name="Wolniak 2019"/> Irish Travellers are not genetically related to the [[Romani people|Roma people]], who are of [[Indo-Aryan peoples|Indo-Aryan]] origin.<ref name="Griffin" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/traveller-community-study-rcsi-3231070-Feb2017/|title=Study on ancestry of Irish Travellers details genetic connection to settled community|website=[[TheJournal.ie]]|first=Cliodhna|last=Russell|date=9 February 2017}}</ref> Genetic analysis has shown Irish Travellers to be of [[Irish people|Irish]] extraction, and that they likely diverged from the settled Irish population in the 1600s, probably during the time of the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland]]. Centuries of cultural isolation have led Travellers to become genetically distinct from the settled Irish.<ref name="Gilbert">{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=Edmund |last2=Carmi |first2=Shai |last3=Ennis |first3=Sean |last4=Wilson |first4=James F. |last5=Cavalleri |first5=Gianpiero L. |date=9 February 2017 |title=Genomic insights into the population structure and history of the Irish Travellers |url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/35314239/srep42187.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Scientific Reports]] |publisher=[[Nature Research]] |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=42187 |bibcode=2017NatSR...742187G |doi=10.1038/srep42187 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=5299991 |pmid=28181990 |s2cid=16756740 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513214944/https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/35314239/srep42187.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2022 |access-date=13 May 2022}}</ref> Traveller rights groups have long advocated for ethnic status from the Irish government, succeeding in 2017.<ref name="UKnumber">{{cite news |last1=Kennedy |first1=Jason |last2=White |first2=Gavin |date=1 March 2017 |title=Hundreds of Irish Travellers left outside Leinster House as Taoiseach formally recognises ethnic status |newspaper=The Independent |url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/hundreds-of-irish-travellers-left-outside-leinster-house-as-taoiseach-formally-recognises-ethnic-status-35494069.html}}</ref>

Irish Traveller communities are located in [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], the [[United Kingdom]], the [[United States]] and [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paveepoint.ie/pav_faq_a.html|title=Questioning Gypsy|website=paveepoint.ie|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001000038/http://www.paveepoint.ie/pav_faq_a.html|archive-date=1 October 2011}}</ref> As of 2016, there were 32,302 Travellers within Ireland.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rieder|first=Maria|date=2018|title=Irish Travellers' view on Cant: what folk criteria of languageness tell us about the community|journal=Language Awareness|volume=27|issue=1–2|pages=41|doi=10.1080/09658416.2018.1431242|hdl=10344/6618|s2cid=148599552|hdl-access=free}}</ref> They represent 0.7% of the total population of the Republic of Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Irish Travellers - Demographics - CSO - Central Statistics Office|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp8iter/p8iter/p8itd/#:~:text=The%20total%20number%20of%20usually,on%20the%20usually%20resident%20population.|access-date=2020-08-25|website=www.cso.ie|language=en}}</ref> There are different estimates about the size of the total population of people with Traveller ancestry, because many people of Traveller descent do not declare themselves Travellers. The United Kingdom alone is believed to be home to up to 300,000 Roma and Traveller people (including [[Romanichal]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-05 |title=Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/360/report-files/36005.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307143800/https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmwomeq/360/report-files/36005.htm |archive-date=2022-03-07 |website=www.parliament.uk}}</ref> The British Government considers Travellers resident in the UK to form part of the [[Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people (UK)|Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community]].<ref name="radical stats">{{cite journal |last1=Acton |first1=Thomas |last2=Acton |first2=Jennifer |last3=Cemlyn |first3=Sara |last4=Ryder |first4=Andrew |title=Why we need to up our Numbers Game: A non-parametric approach to the methodology and politics of the demography of Roma, Gypsy, Traveller and other ethnic populations |journal=Radical Statistics |date=2016 |issue=114 |url=https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/99977/1/Acton%202016%20rad%20stats.pdf |access-date=7 January 2024}}</ref>

==Nomenclature==
Travellers refer to themselves in [[Shelta]] as ''Mincéirí''<ref>{{Cite web |title=29 April 2024: The Mincéiri Archives A growing collection of stories that celebrates Irish Travell {{!}} Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann |url=https://www.museum.ie/ga-IE/Press-and-Media-Information/Latest-Media-Releases/The-Minceiri-Archives-A-growing-collection-of-stor |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=National Museum of Ireland |language=ga}}</ref> or in Irish as {{lang|ga|an lucht siúil}} ("the walking people").<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ireland |first=The Educational Company of |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PzeMyvxbUMUC&pg=PA163 |title=Irish-English/English-Irish Easy Reference Dictionary |date=2000-10-10 |publisher=Roberts Rinehart |isbn=978-1-4616-6031-6 |pages=163 |language=en}}</ref>

==Origins==
There are numerous theories and oral histories surrounding the origins of Irish Travellers as a distinct group.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kenrick |first=Donald |year=2010 |title=The A to Z of the Gypsies (Romanies) |language=en |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9781461672272 |page=[https://archive.org/details/atozofgypsiesrom0000unse/page/128 128] |url=https://archive.org/details/atozofgypsiesrom0000unse/page/128}}</ref><ref name=Helleiner-2003-05/> Research has been complicated by the fact that the group appears to have no written records of its own,<ref name="Solidaritywith">{{cite book |last=Ó&nbsp;Riain |first=Seán |year=2000 |title=Solidarity with Travellers: A story of settled people making a stand for Travellers |location=Dublin, IE |publisher=Roadside Books |isbn=978-0-9539384-0-7}}</ref>{{page needed|date=May 2016}} with [[oral tradition]] through storytelling being the primary method through which the Traveller community disseminates its own history and culture.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ó Haodha |first=Mícheál |date=2011-06-30 |title=Travellers and communal identity: Memory, trauma, and the trope of cultural disappearance |journal=Études Irlandaises |language=en |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=43–57 |doi=10.4000/etudesirlandaises.2126 |issn=0183-973X |url=http://journals.openedition.org/etudesirlandaises/2126|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Deeper documentation of Shelta and the Travellers dates to the 1830s, but knowledge of Irish Travellers has been seen from the 1100s, as well as the 1500s&ndash;1800s. Many decrees against begging in England were directed at Travellers, passed by King [[Edward VI]] around 1551; for example the "Acte for tynckers and pedlers".<ref name=Gmelch-1975-10>{{cite book |last=Gmelch |first=Sharon |year=1975 |title=Tinkers and Travellers |publisher=The O'Brien Press |isbn=0-905140-69-9 |location=Dublin, IE |pages=10}}</ref> The culture of Irish Travellers resembles the culture of other itinerant communities with regard to self-employment, family networks, birth, marriage, and burial rituals, taboos, and folklore.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rieder |first=Maria |year=2018 |title=Irish Travellers' views on Cant: What folk criteria of languageness tell us about the community |journal=Language Awareness |volume=27 |issue=1–2 |pages=41 |s2cid=148599552 |doi=10.1080/09658416.2018.1431242 |hdl=10344/6618 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> They worked with metal and travelled throughout Ireland working at making items such as ornaments, jewellery, and horse harnesses to earn a living. As a result, they (along with other itinerant groups) were referred to as "[[tinker]]s" or "tinklers" (meaning "[[tin smith]]s"), terms regarded in later years as derogatory.<ref name=Gmelch-1975-10/>

===Origin theories===
Many different theories have been put forward to explain the origins of Ireland's itinerant population. It has been suggested Travellers are related to [[Romani people|Romani]] due to a similarly itinerant lifestyle,<ref name="Griffin">{{cite book |last=Griffin |first=Rosarii |year=2014 |title=Education in Indigenous, Nomadic and Travelling Communities |language=en |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=9781472511195 |page=50}}</ref> but [[genetic testing]] has shown no evidence for a recent ancestral component between Irish Travellers and Romani Travellers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=Edmund |last2=Carmi |first2=Shai |last3=Ennis |first3=Sean |last4=Wilson |first4=James F. |last5=Cavalleri |first5=Gianpiero L. |date=2017-02-16 |title=Genomic insights into the population structure and history of the Irish Travellers |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=42187 |doi=10.1038/srep42187 |doi-access=free |pmid=28181990 |pmc=5299991 |bibcode=2017NatSR...742187G |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> There is also a theory that an indigenous, itinerant community of craftsmen are the ancestors of Travellers, who never settled down.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ní&nbsp;Shúinéar |first=Sinéad |year=1994 |title=Irish Travellers, Culture and Ethnicity |publisher=W & G Baird Ltd. |isbn=0-85389-493-0 |location=Belfast |pages=70–72}}</ref> Other speculations on their origin are that they were descended from those Irish who were made homeless during the [[Cromwellian conquest of Ireland|Cromwellian conquest]] in the 1650s, or made homeless in either the 1741 or the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|1840s famine]], or due to [[Highland Clearances|eviction]].<ref>{{cite book |last=McCaffery |first=Juliet |title=Education in Indigenous, Nomadic and Travelling Communities |chapter=Education as Cultural Conflict: Gypsies and Travellers in Southern England |year=2014 |editor-last=Griffin |editor-first=Rosarii |series=Education as a humanitarian response |location=London, UK |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4725-1119-5 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4gK2AwAAQBAJ |doi=10.5040/9781472593337.ch-003}}</ref><ref name="Keane2005">{{cite journal |last=Keane |first=David |year=2005 |title=International law and the ethnicity of Irish Travellers |journal=Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice |volume=11 |issue=1 |issn=1942-5732 |url=http://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/crsj/vol11/iss1/4}} {{open access}}</ref>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 43, 56}}

According to Helleiner (2003),<ref name=Helleiner-2003-05/> current scholarship is investigating the background of [[Gaelic Ireland]] before the [[Tudor conquest of Ireland|English Tudor conquest]]. The mobile nature and traditions of a Gaelic society based on [[pastoralism]] rather than land tenure before this event implies that Travellers represent descendants of the Gaelic social order marginalised during the change-over to an English landholding society.<ref name=Helleiner-2003-05>{{cite book |last=Helleiner |first=Jane |date=May 2003 |title=Irish Travellers: Racism and the politics of culture |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-8628-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zr6VRPmZjV8C&pg=PA29 |page=29}}</ref> An early example of this mobile element in the population, and how displacement of clans can lead to increased nomadism within aristocratic warrior societies, is the displacement of the [[Clan Muircheartaigh Uí Conchobhair|Clan Murtough O'Connors]] after the [[Norman invasion of Ireland|Norman invasion]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Simms |first=Katharine |year=2001 |title=A Lost Tribe: The Clan Murtagh O'Conors |journal=Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society |volume=53 |pages=1–22 |jstor=25535718}}</ref>

=== Population genetics ===
Genetic evidence reported in 2000 regarding Irish Travellers supported Irish ancestry; several distinct subpopulations; and the distinctiveness of the midland counties due to Viking influence.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">{{cite journal |last1=North |first1=Kari E. |last2=Martin |first2=Lisa J. |last3=Crawford |first3=Michael H. |date=September–October 2000 |title=The origins of the Irish travellers and the genetic structure of Ireland |journal=Annals of Human Biology |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=453–465 |doi=10.1080/030144600419297 |issn=1464-5033 |pmid=11023116 |s2cid=1663372 }}</ref> In 2011, researchers at the [[Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland|Royal College of Surgeons]] in Dublin and the [[University of Edinburgh]] analysed DNA samples from 40&nbsp;Travellers. The study provided evidence that Irish Travellers are a genetically separate Irish ethnic minority which has been distinct from the settled Irish community for at least 1,000&nbsp;years: The report claimed that Travellers are as distinct from the settled community as [[Icelanders]] are from [[Norwegians]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Hough |first=Jennifer |date=2011-05-31 |title=DNA study: Travellers a distinct ethnicity |website=irishexaminer.com |location=Blackpool, IE |publisher=Irish Examiner |url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/health/dna-study-travellers-a-distinct-ethnicity-156324.html |access-date=2016-05-17 |quote=Separated from the settled community between 1,000&nbsp;and 2,000&nbsp;years ago.}}</ref>

In 2017 a further genetic study using profiles of 50&nbsp;Irish Travellers, 143&nbsp;European Roma, 2,232&nbsp;settled Irish, 2,039&nbsp;British and 6,255&nbsp;European or worldwide individuals, confirmed ancestral origins from within the general population of Ireland. An estimated time of divergence between the settled population and Travellers was set at a minimum of 8&nbsp;generations ago, with generations at 30&nbsp;years, hence 240&nbsp;years and a maximum of 14&nbsp;generations or 420&nbsp;years ago. The best fit was estimated at 360&nbsp;years ago, giving an approximate date in the 1650s.<ref>{{cite news |title=Travellers as 'genetically different' from settled Irish as Spanish |newspaper=[[Irish Times]] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/travellers-as-genetically-different-from-settled-irish-as-spanish-1.2969515}}</ref>

Irish Travellers are not an entirely homogeneous group, instead reflecting some of the variation also seen in the settled population. Four distinct genetic clusters were identified in the 2017 study, and these match social groupings within the community.<ref name=Gmelch-1991-1986>{{cite book |last=Gmelch |first=Sharon |year=1991 |orig-year=1986 |chapter=Preface |title=Nan: The life of an Irish Travelling woman |type=Biography |edition=Reissue with changes |location=Long Grove, IL |publisher=Waveland Press |isbn=978-0-88133-602-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9foVAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 |pages=11–14}}</ref>

Irish Travellers, particularly those that experienced a life of nomadism prior to the 2002 Irish legislation that altered living conditions, exhibit distinct gut microbiota compared to other Irish citizens, which is comparable to gut microbiomes observed in non-industrialized societies.<ref name="Keohane-2020">{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/s41591-020-0963-8 |title=Microbiome and health implications for ethnic minorities after enforced lifestyle changes |journal=Nature Medicine |volume=26 |issue= 7|pages=1089–1095 |year=2020 |last1=Keohane|first1=David M. |last2=Ghosh|first2=Tarini Shanka |last3=Jeffery|first3=Ian B. |last4=Molloy|first4=Michael G. |last5=O’Toole|first5= Paul W. |last6=Shanahan|first6=Fergus|pmid=32632193 |s2cid=220376175 |doi-access=}}</ref>

====Genetic disease studies====
Genetic studies by Miriam Murphy, David Croke, and other researchers identified certain genetic diseases such as [[galactosemia]] that are more common in the Irish Traveller population, involving identifiable [[allele|allelic]] mutations that are rarer among the rest of the community.

Two main hypotheses have arisen, speculating whether:
* the prevalence resulted from marriages made largely within and among the Traveller community,
or
* suggesting shared descent from an [[Founder effect|original Irish carrier]] long ago with ancestors unrelated to the rest of the Irish population.<ref name=Murphy-McHugh-etal-1999-07>{{cite journal |last1=Murphy |first1=Miriam |last2=McHugh |first2=Brian |last3=Tighe |first3=Orna |last4=Mayne |first4=Philip |last5=O'Neill |first5=Charles |last6=Naughten |first6=Eileen |last7=Croke |first7=David T. |date=July 1999 |title=Genetic basis of transferase-deficient galactosaemia in Ireland and the population history of the Irish Travellers |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=549–554 |pmid=10439960 |issn=1476-5438 |s2cid=22402528 |doi=10.1038/sj.ejhg.5200327 |doi-access=free |url=http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v7/n5/pdf/5200327a.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v7/n5/pdf/5200327a.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In their conclusion Murphy, McHugh, ''et al''<ref name=Murphy-McHugh-etal-1999-07/> write that:
:The fact that Q188R is the sole mutant allele among the Travellers as compared to the non-Traveller group may be the result of a [[founder effect]] in the isolation of a small group of the Irish population from their peers as founders of the Traveller sub-population. This would favour the second, endogenous, hypothesis of Traveller origins."<ref name=Murphy-McHugh-etal-1999-07/>{{rp|style=ama|p=553}}

More specifically, they found that Q188R was found in 100% of Traveller samples, and in 89% of other Irish samples, indicating that the Traveller group was typical of the larger Irish population.<ref name=Murphy-McHugh-etal-1999-07/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 552 §discussion}}

==Language==
Irish Travellers speak English and sometimes one of two dialects of [[Shelta]] — Gammon (or Gamin) and Irish Traveller [[Cant (language)|Cant]]. Shelta has been dated back to the 18th century but may be older.<ref>Sharon Gmlech, op. cit., p. 234</ref> Cant, which derives from [[Irish language|Irish]], is a combination of English and Shelta.<ref name="Andereck1996"/>

{{Interlanguage link|Jean-Pierre Liégeois|fr}} writes that the Irish Traveller Gammon [[vocabulary]] is derived from pre-13th-century Gaelic [[idiom]]s with ten per cent Indian origin [[Romani language]] vocabulary.<ref name="liegeois">{{cite book |last=Liégeois |first=Jean-Pierre |year=2007 |title=Roma in Europe |language=en, fr |location=Strasbourg |publisher=Council of Europe Publishing |isbn=978-92-871-6051-5 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3A2bGG3_NAYC&pg=PA43}}</ref> Since Shelta is a mixture of English and Irish grammar, the etymology is not straightforward. The language is made up mostly of Irish lexicon, being classified as a grammar-lexicon language with the grammar being English-based.<ref name="Velupillai 2015 381">{{Cite book |title=Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages |last=Velupillai |first=Viveka |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |year=2015 |isbn=978-90-272-5271-5 |location=Amsterdam |pages=381}}</ref> Gaelic language expert [[Kuno Meyer]] and Romani language linguist [[John Sampson (linguist)|John Sampson]] both asserted that Shelta existed as far back as the 13th century, 300 years before the first Romani populations arrived in Ireland or Britain.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Meyer |first=Kuno |date=January 1909 |title=The secret languages of Ireland |journal=Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society |series=New Series |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=241–246 |eissn=0017-6087 |hdl=2027/inu.30000105045102}}</ref>

Shelta is a [[cryptolect]] (secret language). Irish Travellers do not like to share the language with outsiders, named "Buffers", or non-Travellers. When speaking Shelta in front of Buffers, Travellers will disguise the structure so as to make it seem like they are not speaking Shelta at all.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages |last=Velupillai |first=Viveka |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company |year=2015 |isbn=978-90-272-5271-5 |location=Amsterdam |pages=80}}</ref> There is fear that if outsiders know the entirety of the language, it will be used to bring further discrimination to the Traveller community.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Irish Travellers: Culture and Ethnicity |last=Binchy |first=Alice |publisher=W & G Baird Ltd |year=1994 |isbn=0-85389-493-0 |location=Belfast |pages=134}}</ref>

==The Irish state and Irish Travellers==

There was no specific state focus on Travellers prior to the creation of an independent Irish [[Irish Free State|state]] in 1922. Issues with traditional travelling groups came under loosely defined [[vagrancy laws]], from when Ireland was part of the [[United Kingdom]]. In 1959 the [[Government of the 17th Dáil|1959–1963 government of Ireland]] established a "Commission on Itinerancy"<ref name=ComItin-1963/> in response to calls to deal with the "itinerant problem". This was made up of senior representatives of the Irish state, judges, [[Garda Síochána|Gardaí]] (Irish police), religious organisations and numerous farming lobby groups such as [[Macra na Feirme]]. The commission had no Traveller representatives, and while attempts were made to consult Travellers, these were "bizarre" unannounced visits which resulted in little input into the report.<ref name=ITM-review>
{{cite report
 | title     = ITM Review of the 1963 Commission on Itinerancy
 | year      = 2013
 | publisher = Irish Traveller Movement
 | website   = itmtrav.ie/key-reports/
 | page = 14
 | quote =... the first policy document developed by the state that specifically looks at Travellers is not looking at methods of supporting the culture and values of Travellers, but at methods of absorbing or assimilating Travellers into the majority population and essentially ending Traveller identity.
 | language     = English
 | url = https://itmtrav.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ITM-Review-of-the-1963-Commission-on-Itinerancy.pdf
 | access-date  = 2021-05-23
 | archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20201119220357/https://itmtrav.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ITM-Review-of-the-1963-Commission-on-Itinerancy.pdf
 | archive-date = 2020-11-19
}}
</ref><ref name="imi.ox.ac.uk">{{cite report
 | last=Ruckstuhl
 | first=Ina
 | date=2015-02-23
 | title=The making of the Irish Traveller Community: Mobility discourse, settlement policies and the Irish state 1950-2010
 | series=IMI Working Paper
 | volume=109
 | url=https://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/publications/wp-109-15
 | access-date=30 October 2018
 | archive-date=31 October 2018
 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031052742/https://www.imi.ox.ac.uk/publications/wp-109-15
 | url-status=dead
 }}</ref>

The commission had the following terms of reference:<ref name=ComItin-1963>
{{cite report
 | title = Commission on Itinerancy Report
 | year  = 1963
 | publisher = [[Government of the 17th Dáil|17th Dáil]] of the [[Irish Free State]]
 | department = Commission on Itinerancy 
}}
</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p= 11}}

<ol><li>to enquire into the problem arising from the presence in the country of itinerants in considerable numbers;</li>
<li>to examine the economic, educational, health and social problems inherent in their way of life;</li>
<li>to consider what steps might be taken—<ol type=a>
<li>to provide opportunities for a better way of life for itinerants,</li>
<li>to promote their absorption into the general community,</li>
<li>pending such absorption, to reduce to a minimum the disadvantages to themselves and to the community resulting from their itinerant habits and</li>
<li>to improve the position generally; and</li>
</ol></li>
<li>to make recommendations.</li></ol>

The commission's 1963 report defined "itinerant" as "a person who had no fixed place of abode and habitually wandered from place to place, but excluding [[carny|travelling show-people]] and travelling entertainers".<ref name=ComItin-1963/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 12}} It recommended [[Cultural assimilation|assimilation]] of Travellers by settling them in fixed dwellings with the ultimate aim being that of essentially ending Traveller identity,<ref name=ITM-review/> viewing the Netherlands' approach to its travelling minority as a model.<ref name=ComItin-1963/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 28, 106}} This assimilation was to be achieved by the effective criminalisation of nomadism, and the report paved the way for an increasing state emphasis on criminal laws and penalties for trespass.<ref name="imi.ox.ac.uk"/>

At the time, about 60% of Irish Travellers lived in barrel-roofed horse-drawn wagons, with almost 40% still using tents in summer (fewer in winter).<ref name=ComItin-1963/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 40}}<ref name="heeujoc">
{{cite conference
 |last=O'Connell |first=John
 |date=27 September 1996
 |section=Policy Issues in Ireland
 |editor=Egan, Orla 
 |title=Minority Ethnic Groups in Higher Education in Ireland - Proceedings of Conference held in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, 27 September 1996
 |conference=Minority Ethnic Groups in Higher Education in Ireland
 |place=St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, IE
 |publication-date=October 1997
 |publisher=Higher Education Equality Unit
 |isbn=978-1-85918-159-1
 |section-url=http://www.ucc.ie/publications/heeu/Minority/oconnell.htm
}}
</ref>

The Travelling People Review Body (1981–1983) advocated [[Social integration|integration]] rather than assimilation,<ref name="heeujoc"/> with provision for serviced halting sites. The Body's membership included Travellers.<ref>
{{cite report
 |title  = Travelling people review body
 |date   = February 1983
 |series = Official publications
 |volume = Pl.1520
 |publisher  = [[Irish Free State]]
 |department = Stationery Office
 |location   = Dublin, IE
 |url=http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL035416.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL035416.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live
}}
</ref>
The Task Force on the Travelling Community (1993–1995) moved to an [[multiculturalism|intercultural]] paradigm.<ref name="heeujoc"/><ref>
{{cite report
 |title  = Task Force on the Travelling Community
 |series = Official publications
 |volume = Pn.1726
 |date   = July 1995
 |department = Department of Equality and Law Reform
 |publisher  = [[Irish Free State]]
 |location   = Dublin, IE
 |url=http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL029833.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL029833.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live
}}
</ref>

On 30 May 2019 the [[Oireachtas]] (Irish parliament) established a [[Joint committee (legislative)|joint committee]] "on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community".<ref>
{{cite report
 |title  = Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community
 |date   = 8 October 2019
 |department = 32nd Dáil, 25th Seanad
 |publisher = Houses of the Oireachtas
 |lang=en-ie
 |url=https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/committees/32/committee-on-key-issues-affecting-the-traveller-community/
 |access-date=10 October 2019
}}
</ref>

In May 2021, the [[Children's Ombudsman#Ireland|Ombudsman for Children]], Niall Muldoon, published a report that was highly critical of the standards of accommodation provided for Travellers, describing some accommodation issues as "deplorable".<ref>
{{cite news
 |last=Conneely  |first=Ailbhe
 |date=24 May 2021
 |title='Deplorable' conditions for children at halting site - OCO
 |agency=RTÉ
 |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/0524/1223482-traveller-children/
 |access-date=25 May 2021
}}
</ref>

==Population==
[[File:Gypsies near the Four Masters Monument, Donegal Town (geograph 3749126).jpg|thumb|Travellers near the [[The Diamond, Donegal|Four Masters monument]] in [[Donegal (town)|Donegal Town]], 1958]]
Irish Travellers have a higher [[fertility rate]] than the general Irish population; the [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office]] of Ireland recorded in 2016 that 44.5% of Traveller women aged 40–49 had five or more children, compared to 4.2% of women overall in this age group.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp8iter/p8iter/p8itd/|title=Irish Travellers - Demographics - CSO - Central Statistics Office|website=www.cso.ie|accessdate=4 April 2023}}</ref> This gap has dramatically reduced over time; in 1987 the Irish Traveller birth rate was at 5.3 children per woman compared to the general Irish population's 2.3, while in 2008 the Irish Traveller birth rate was at 2.9 children per woman compared to the general Irish population's 2.1.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2010 |title=All Ireland Traveller Health Study: The Birth Cohort Study |url=https://assets.gov.ie/18864/64cb89ab04e240e08e4f2802924cd88f.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210031657/https://assets.gov.ie/18864/64cb89ab04e240e08e4f2802924cd88f.pdf |archive-date=2020-12-10 |website=assets.gov.iet |page=101}}</ref>

=== Ireland ===
The 2016 census in the [[Republic of Ireland]] reported the number of Irish Travellers as 30,987, up from 29,495 in 2011.<ref name="2016CensusReport6">{{cite report |url-status=live |archive-date=14 April 2017 |publisher=[[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office]] |year=2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414014423/http://cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/population/2017/Chapter_6_Ethnicity_and_irish_travellers.pdf#page=3 |access-date=5 February 2018 |title=6. Ethnicity and Irish Travellers |url=http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/population/2017/Chapter_6_Ethnicity_and_irish_travellers.pdf#page=3 |page=3 }}</ref> In 2006 the number was 22,369.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://beyond2020.cso.ie/Census/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=75490|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127171400/http://beyond2020.cso.ie/Census/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=75490|url-status=dead|title=Irish Census 2006|archive-date=27 November 2014|access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> A further 1,700 to 2,000 were estimated to live in [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.community-relations.org.uk/fs/doc/shared-space-issue-chapter5-59-73-web.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718132531/http://www.community-relations.org.uk/fs/doc/shared-space-issue-chapter5-59-73-web.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 July 2011 |title='Out of Site, Out of Mind': An Historical Overview of Accommodating Irish Travellers' Nomadic Culture in Northern Ireland |last=Redmond |first=Andrea |year=2008 |publisher=Community Relations Council (CRC) |pages=1, 71 |access-date=11 June 2010 }}</ref>

From the 2006 Irish census, it was determined that 20,975 dwell in urban areas and 1,460 were living in rural areas. With an overall population of just 0.5% some areas were found to have a higher proportion, with high Traveller concentrations in Clare, Dublin, Galway and Limerick. There were found to be 9,301 Travellers in the 0–14 age range, comprising 41.5% of the Traveller population, and a further 3,406 of them were in the 15–24 age range, comprising 15.2%. Children of the age range 0–17 comprised 48.7% of the Traveller population.

Following the findings of the All Ireland Traveller Health Study (estimates for 2008), the figure for Northern Ireland was revised to 3,905 and that for the Republic to 36,224.<ref name="Abdalla2010">{{cite book|last1=Abdalla|first1=Safa|last2=Quirke|first2=Brigid|last3=Fitzpatrick|first3=Patricia|last4=Daly|first4=Leslie|display-authors=1|date=September 2010|editor-last=Kelleher|editor-first=Cecily|title=Demography & Vital Statistics Part A of Technical Report 2|series=All Ireland Traveller health study|location=Dublin|publisher=School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Population Science, University College Dublin|page=20|url=http://www.dohc.ie/publications/aiths2010/TR2/AITHS2010_TechnicalReport2_HR_PartA.pdf?direct=1|access-date=2011-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317184057/http://www.dohc.ie/publications/aiths2010/TR2/AITHS2010_TechnicalReport2_HR_PartA.pdf?direct=1|archive-date=2012-03-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The rural community of [[Rathkeale]], [[County Limerick]], has one of the largest populations of any towns percentage-wise, with around half of its residents having Irish Traveller ancestry. Traveller clans, gangs, and associations or events linked to the Traveller community and culture may often have the name Rathkeale linked with it, such as the [[Rathkeale Rovers]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rathkeale A Unique Town|url=https://www.rte.ie//archives/2020/1013/1171213-rathkeale-a-unique-town/|access-date=2020-11-25|website=RTÉ Archives|language=en}}</ref> It is sometimes considered a rural mecca of Travellers in this regard. There are other communities, including in Dublin as well. [[Tuam]] (c. 5% Traveller) and [[Longford]] both have abundant Traveller communities in rural areas as well. While not as high proportion-wise, due to its high population in general, [[Dublin]] and its suburbs have over 5,000 Travellers, whom make up a scant 0.4% of Dublin's population proper and 0.2-0.3% of the Greater Dublin population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/tuam-travellers-census/|publisher=Galway Daily|title=Tuam is town with the most Travellers in Ireland|author=Michael Malone}}</ref> [[Ballyfermot]], Dublin has a large Traveller community, mostly located in the Labre Park area.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.sundayworld.com/news/irish-news/i-dont-want-anyone-tormenting-me-i-want-peace-life-in-irelands-oldest-traveller-site/a683249269.html | title='I don't want anyone tormenting me, I want peace' – life in Ireland's oldest Traveller site | date=21 May 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://visual.cso.ie/?body=entity/ima/cop/2016&boundary=C03736V04484&guid=4c07d11e-2165-851d-e053-ca3ca8c0ca7f&theme=1 | title=Interactive Data Visualisations &#124; CSO Ireland }}</ref>

County Longford has the highest Traveller percentage rate for the 0-24 age group, of any Irish county, at 5%, followed by County Galway at 3%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.universityofgalway.ie/media/healthpromotionresearchcentre/hbscdocs/nationalreports/2020---NR---Young-Trevellers-in-Ireland.pdf|title=Figure 2: Geographic Distribution Rate of Travellers aged 0-24 in 2016|publisher=[[Central Statistics Office Census of Population]]}}</ref>

=== Diaspora ===
==== United Kingdom ====
In 2011, for the first time, the census category "Irish Traveller" was introduced as part of the broader Gypsy/Traveller section. While Irish Travellers and Romani Gypsy people are genetically distant from each other, with Travellers having Irish roots, and Roma Gypsies having alleged South Asian heritage, they are conflated in the UK Census, so the number of Travellers may be lower than what is reported in this category.

The self reported figure for collective Gypsy/Traveller populations were 63,193<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-and-quick-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-the-united-kingdom---part-1/rft-ks201uk.xls|format=XLS|title=2011 Census: Ethnic group1, local authorities in the United Kingdom|website=Ons.gov.uk|access-date=2017-08-02}}</ref> but estimates of Irish Travellers living in Great Britain range are about 15,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dohc.ie/publications/traveller_health_a_national_strategy_2002_2005.html |publisher=Irish Medical Journal |title=Traveller Health: A National Strategy 2002–2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203165600/http://www.dohc.ie/publications/traveller_health_a_national_strategy_2002_2005.html |archive-date= 3 December 2012 }}</ref> as part of a total estimation of over 300,000 Romani and other Traveller groups in the UK.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/25/truth-about-gypsy-traveller-life-women|title=The big fat truth about Gypsy life | work=The Guardian| first=Julie|last=Bindel|date=25 February 2011|location=London}}</ref> In the [[2021 United Kingdom census|2021 Census of England and Wales]], the Gypsy/Irish Traveller community numbered 67,757, or 0.1% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2022 |title=Population of England and Wales |url=https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/uk-population-by-ethnicity/national-and-regional-populations/population-of-england-and-wales/latest#by-ethnicity |access-date=11 April 2023 |website=www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk |language=en}}</ref>

The [[London Boroughs]] of [[London Borough of Harrow|Harrow]] and [[London Borough of Brent|Brent]] contain significant Irish Traveller populations. In addition to those on various official sites, there are a number who are settled in local authority housing. These are mostly women who wish their children to have a chance at formal education. They and the children may or may not travel in the summer but remain in close contact with the wider Irish Traveller community.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lloyd|first=Gwynedd|date=2008|title=Education and Gypsies/Travellers: contradictions and significant silences|journal=International Journal of Inclusive Education|volume=12|issue=4|pages=331–345|doi=10.1080/13603110601183065|s2cid=144960289}}</ref>

There are also a number of Irish Traveller communities in the [[Home counties]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2011/jun/29/gypsy-sites-england-local-authority | location=London | work=The Guardian| first=Ami | last=Sedghi | title=Every Gypsy and Traveller caravan site in England mapped and listed | date=29 June 2011}}</ref>

==== United States ====
{{Main|Irish Traveller Americans}}

An estimated 10,000 people in the United States are descendants of Travellers who left Ireland, mostly between 1845 and 1860 during the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Casey|first1=Dan|last2=Casey|first2=Conor|date=September–October 1994|title=Irish Travelers of Aiken County|journal=Irish America|volume=10|issue=5|pages=44–47|issn=0884-4240|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jXoOAQAAMAAJ |id={{ProQuest|211244286}}}}</ref> However, there are no official population figures regarding Irish Travellers in the United States as the [[United States census|US census]] does not recognise them as an ethnic group.<ref name="Andereck1992">{{cite book|author=Mary E. Andereck|title=Ethnic Awareness and the School: An Ethnographic Study|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAKfAAAAMAAJ|date=21 February 1992|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-0-8039-3886-1|pages=22–}}</ref><ref name="Andereck1996">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Andereck|first=Mary E.|year=1996|title=Irish Travelers|editor1-last=O'Leary|editor1-first=Timothy J.|editor2-last=Levinson|editor2-first=David|display-editors=1|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of world cultures|location=New York|publisher=Macmillan Reference USA|volume=1|pages=162–164|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3458000105.html|access-date=2011-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114051916/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3458000105.html|archive-date=2015-01-14|url-status=live|via=encyclopedia.com}}</ref> While some sources estimate their population in the U.S. to be 10,000, others suggest their population is 40,000. According to research published in 1992, Irish Travellers in the U.S. divide themselves up into groups that are based on historical residence: Ohio Travellers, Georgia Travellers, Texas Travellers, and Mississippi Travellers. The Georgia Travellers' camp is made up of about eight hundred families, the Mississippi Travellers, about three hundred families, and the Texas Travellers, under fifty families."<ref name="Andereck1992"/><ref name="Andereck1996"/>

The largest and most affluent population of about 2,500 lives in Murphy Village, outside of the town of [[North Augusta, South Carolina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paveepoint.ie/pav_faq_a.html |title=Who are the Irish Travellers in the United States? |date=June 2005 |publisher=Pavee Point Travellers Centre |access-date=20 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001000038/http://www.paveepoint.ie/pav_faq_a.html |archive-date= 1 October 2011 }}</ref> Other communities exist in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]; [[Hernando, Mississippi]]; and near [[White Settlement, Texas]]; where the families stay in their homes during the winter, and leave during the summer, while smaller enclaves can be found across Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.<ref>''License To Steal, Traveling Con Artists, Their Games, Their Rules – Your Money'' by Dennis Marlock & John Dowling, Paladin Press, 1994: [[Boulder, Colorado]]</ref>

Irish Travellers in the U.S. are said to speak English and Shelta, a form of Cant. The Cant spoken in the U.S. is similar to the Cant spoken in Ireland, but differs in some respects in that the language has transformed into a type of [[pidgin]] English over the generations. They typically do construction work, such as asphalting, spray-painting, and laying linoleum, or as [[Migrant worker|itinerant workers]].<ref name="Andereck1992"/><ref name="Andereck1996"/>

==Religion==
Travellers have a distinctive approach to [[religion]]; the vast majority of them are practising [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholics]], and they also pay particular attention to issues of [[Faith healing|healing]].<ref>Brownlee, Attracta, "Irish travellers and 'powerful priests'" (pp. 97–110). ''Ireland's new religious movements'' in Olivia Cosgrove, et al. (eds), Cambridge Scholars, 2011 {{ISBN|1-4438-2588-3}}</ref> Many have been known to follow a strict code of behaviour that dictates some of their moral beliefs and influences their actions.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/0528/1224297903523.html |title=Trapped by the Traveller code? |first=DENISE |last=DEEGAN |access-date=12 June 2011 |newspaper=The Irish Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021180907/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/0528/1224297903523.html |archive-date=21 October 2011 |date=28 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Irish Travellers are known to practice their Catholic faith at holy wells and shrines across Ireland. Travellers were excluded in the past from everyday parish activities in Ireland. Richard O'Brien of the Kerry diocese is a member of the Traveller community who started a groundbreaking initiative to reach out to the Irish Traveller community and help them to be more involved in parish life. The Irish Bishops Conference released a statement to every parish, asking them to welcome Irish Travellers to their towns and villages throughout Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2022/10/05/statement-of-the-autumn-2022-general-meeting-of-the-irish-catholic-bishops-conference/|title=Statement of the Autumn 2022 General Meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference &#124; Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference|website=www.catholicbishops.ie|accessdate=4 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/news/2022/07/there-was-no-representation-whatsoever-richard-obrien-speaks-out-about-prejudice-among|title="THERE WAS NO REPRESENTATION WHATSOEVER": RICHARD O'BRIEN SPEAKS OUT ABOUT PREJUDICE AMONG IRISH TRAVELLERS AND THE PARISH.|website=Travellers Times|accessdate=4 April 2023}}</ref>

== Education ==
In 2004, it was reported that Traveller children often grow up outside educational systems.<ref name="Garrett">''Social work and Irish people in Britain: historical and contemporary responses to Irish children and families'' by Paul Michael Garrett (2004). [[doi:10.2307/j.ctt1t8935r]]</ref> Traveller children were reported in 2017 to leave education at a younger age than children in the settled community, with 28% leaving the education system by age 13.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://itmtrav.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/RS56.pdf
 |title=A Social Portrait of Travellers in Ireland
 |last1=Watson
 |first1=Dorothy
 |last2=Kenny
 |first2=Oona
 |last3=McGinnity
 |first3=Frances
 |date=January 2017
 |website=Irish Traveller Movement
 |publisher=ESRI
 |access-date=2021-06-09
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119215514/https://itmtrav.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/RS56.pdf
 |archive-date=2020-11-19}}</ref>
One of the causes identified is the historical marginalisation of the community within the educational system. The segregation of Traveller children from their settled peers led to worse outcomes in regard to undertaking state examinations, and levels of numeracy and literacy.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Education|url=https://itmtrav.ie/strategic-priorities/education/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=Irish Traveller Movement|language=en-GB}}</ref> The [[Irish Traveller Movement]], a community advocacy group, promotes equal access to education for Traveller children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.itmtrav.ie/keyissues/education |title=ITM Key Issues – Education |publisher=Irish Traveller Movement |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721125129/http://www.itmtrav.ie/keyissues/education |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In the Census of Ireland 2016, 167 Travellers are enumerated as having a third level educational qualification, a rise from 89 in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Irish Travellers - Socio-economic Aspects and Housing - CSO - Central Statistics Office|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp8iter/p8iter/p8itseah/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.cso.ie|language=en}}</ref>

In December 2010, the Irish Equality Tribunal ruled in favour of a Traveller child in an anti-discrimination suit which covered the admission practices of [[CBS High School Clonmel]] in [[County Tipperary]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/1210/1224285195609.html |title=Traveller wins discrimination case over school's 'father rule' |access-date=12 June 2011 |newspaper=The Irish Times |first=Carol |last=Coulter |date=10 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313090247/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2010/1210/1224285195609.html |archive-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2011, the secondary school in Clonmel successfully appealed the decision of the Equality Tribunal that its admission criteria were indirectly discriminatory against children from the Traveller community.<ref>{{cite news| title =School wins appeal over exclusion of Traveller | publisher =Journal.ie | date =25 June 2011 | url =http://www.thejournal.ie/ruling-due-on-traveller-school-exclusion-case-185585-Jul2011/ }}</ref>

== Notable people ==
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===Sports===
Irish Travellers have a long history of [[bare-knuckle boxing]]. Toughness and the ability to fight are viewed as particularly important among Traveller men, and their involvement in boxing has extended to traditional [[Amateur boxing|amateur]] and [[professional boxing]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Henry|first1=Ian P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qzLTj3SCrHwC&pg=PA136|title=Transnational and Comparative Research in Sport: Globalisation, Governance and Sport Policy|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-40112-8|language=en}}</ref> Irish Traveller [[Francie Barrett]] represented Ireland at the 1996 Olympics, while [[Andy Lee (boxer)|Andy Lee]] fought for Ireland at the 2004 Olympics and later became the first Traveller to win a professional boxing world championship when he won the WBO middleweight title in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/boxing/andy-lee-boxer-from-same-traveller-community-as-tyson-fury-retains-leading-role-in-the-ring-a6773201.html|title=Lee retains leading role in the ring|date=2015-12-14|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2020-02-07}}</ref> [[Tyson Fury]] is an Englishman of Irish Traveller heritage and defeated long-reigning [[Wladimir Klitschko]] in 2015 to become the unified heavyweight world champion.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hughes|first=Sarah|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/dec/13/tyson-fury-traveller-faith|title=How Tyson Fury's words shine a light on Traveller faith|date=2015-12-13|work=The Observer|access-date=2020-02-07|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

In the Traveller community, bare-knuckle boxing is seen as a way to resolve disputes and uphold family honour, as shown in the 2011 documentary ''[[Knuckle (film)|Knuckle]]''. This can lead to injuries, notably "fight bite" where, when punching an opponent, a tooth may cut the hand and bacteria in the opponent's mouth may infect the wound. Such infections can lead to permanent disability if left untreated.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Patel|first1=Toral R.|last2=Bosmia|first2=Anand N.|last3=Tubbs|first3=R. Shane|date=January 2016|title=Pugilism among Irish Travelers: cultural tradition and the fight bite injury|journal=Journal of Injury and Violence Research|volume=8|issue=1|pages=63–64|doi=10.5249/jivr.v8i1.673|issn=2008-2053|pmc=4729335|pmid=26391188}}</ref>

Apart from boxing, Irish Travellers, including women, are involved in sports such as football (soccer) and [[Gaelic handball]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gmelch|first1=Sharon Bohn|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5xJtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA109|title=Irish Travellers: The Unsettled Life|last2=Gmelch|first2=George|date=2014-10-23|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-01461-0|language=en}}</ref>

==Health==
[[File:Moeder en kind voor een tent, Bestanddeelnr 191-0828.jpg|thumb|Irish Travellers in 1930]]
The health of Irish Travellers is significantly poorer than that of the general population in Ireland. This is evidenced in a 2007 report published in Ireland, which states that over half of Travellers do not live past the age of 39 years.<ref>{{cite news |date=2007-06-25 |title=50% of Travellers die before 39 - study |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052242/https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm |archive-date=2016-03-20}}</ref> (By comparison, median life expectancy in Ireland is 81.5 years.) Another government report of 1987 found:

<blockquote>From birth to old age, they have high mortality rates, particularly from accidents, [[metabolic disease|metabolic]] and [[Congenital disorder|congenital problems]], but also from other major causes of death. Female Travellers have especially high mortality compared to settled women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dohc.ie/about_us/divisions/social_inclusion/travellers_health_status_study_1987.pdf?direct=1 |title=The Travellers' Health Status Study |year=1987 |publisher=Irish Dept. of Health |access-date=15 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120045307/http://www.dohc.ie/about_us/divisions/social_inclusion/travellers_health_status_study_1987.pdf?direct=1 |archive-date=20 November 2007 }} p24</ref></blockquote>

In 2007, the [[Department of Health (Ireland)|Department of Health and Children]] in the Republic of Ireland, in conjunction with the [[Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety]] in Northern Ireland, commissioned the [[University College Dublin]]'s School of Public Health and Population Science to conduct a major cross-border study of Travellers' welfare. The study, including a detailed census of Traveller population and an examination of their health status, was expected to take up to three years to complete.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucd.ie/news/july07/100707_traveller.html|title=Minister Harney Launches All-Ireland Traveller Health Study|date=10 July 2007|publisher=UCD|access-date=15 June 2009}}</ref> The main results of the study were published in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucd.ie/issda/data/allirelandtravellerhealthstudy/|title=All Ireland Traveller Health Study|date=September 2010|publisher=UCD|access-date=11 November 2015}}</ref>

The [[birth rate]] of Irish Travellers has decreased since the 1990s, but they still have one of the highest birth rates in Europe. The birth rate for the Traveller community for the year 2005 was 33.32 per 1,000, possibly the highest birth rate recorded for any community in Europe.

On average there are ten times more driving fatalities within the Traveller community. At 22%, this represents the most common cause of death among Traveller males. Some 10% of Traveller children die before their second birthday, compared to just 1% of the general population. In Ireland, 2.6% of all deaths in the total population were for people aged under 25, versus 32% for Travellers.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/life-expectancy-of-irish-travellers-still-at-1940s-levels-despite-economic-boom-454993.html "Life expectancy of Irish travellers still at 1940s levels despite economic boom"]. ''The Independent'', David McKittrick. 28 June 2007</ref><ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm "50% of Travellers die before 39 per study"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320052242/https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0625/breaking43.htm |date=20 March 2016 }}. ''The Irish Times'', Eoin Burke-Kennedy. 25 June 2007 (subscription sometimes required)</ref> In addition, 80% of Travellers die before the age of 65.

According to the National Traveller Suicide Awareness Project, Traveller men are over six times more likely to die by suicide than the general population.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.travellersuicide.ie/userfiles/file/ourgeels2010.pdf
 |url-status=dead
 |publisher=National Traveller Suicide Awareness Project
 |title=All Ireland Traveller Health Survey
 |date=September 2010
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408221125/http://www.travellersuicide.ie/userfiles/file/ourgeels2010.pdf
 |archive-date=2014-04-08
 }}</ref>

==Marriage==
Marriage among Travellers in their late teens is common.<ref name="McElweeJacksonCharles2003">{{cite journal|last1=McElwee|first1=Niall C.|last2=Jackson|first2=Ashling|last3=Charles|first3=Grant|date=2003|title=Towards a sociological understanding of Irish Travellers: introducing a people|url=http://arrow.dit.ie/ijass/vol4/iss1/11|journal=Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies|volume=4|issue=1|page=110|issn=1393-7022}}</ref> As of the Census of Ireland 2016 58.1% of Irish Travellers were under the age of 25, with 31.9% of this age group married. As of 2016, 201 enumerated Irish Travellers aged 15 to 19 identified themselves as married, down from 250 in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Irish Travellers - Demographics - CSO - Central Statistics Office|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp8iter/p8iter/p8itd/|access-date=2021-06-08|website=www.cso.ie|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Irish Travellers|url=https://www.paveepoint.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Factsheets-Pavee-Point-IRISH-TRAVELLERS.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.paveepoint.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Factsheets-Pavee-Point-IRISH-TRAVELLERS.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=8 June 2021|website=Pavee Point}}</ref> Irish Travellers generally marry other Irish Travellers.<ref name="DOE1995">{{cite book|author=Government of Ireland. Department of the Environment|title=Report of the task force on the Travelling Community|date=July 1995|publisher=Department of the Environment|location=Dublin|pages=140, 156, 264, 275 276|hdl=10147/560365}} {{open access}}</ref>{{rp|page=156}} [[Consanguinity|Consanguineous]] marriage is common among Irish Travellers.<ref name="McElweeJacksonCharles2003" />{{rp|pages=110–111}}<ref name="DOE1995"/>{{rp|page=156}}{{efn|A 1986 study reported that 39% of marriages in the study were between first cousins.<ref name="McElweeJacksonCharles2003"/>{{rp|page=110}} According to Alison Healy in 2003, 19–40% of Irish Traveller marriages are between first cousins.<ref name="Healy2003">{{cite news|last=Healy|first=Alison|date=2003-05-01|title=Study urges genetic counselling for cousins who marry|website=Irishtimes.com|location=Dublin|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/study-urges-genetic-counselling-for-cousins-who-marry-1.357442}}</ref>}} According to [[Judith Okely]]'s work on Travellers in Britain in the 1970s, "there is no large time span between puberty and marriage", and the typical marriage age was 16–17 for females and 18–19 for males.<ref name="Okely1983">{{cite book|last=Okely|first=Judith|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WCKt0jLk3qIC&pg=PA153|title=The traveller-gypsies|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1983|isbn=978-0-521-24641-5|location=Cambridge [u.a.]|pages=153, 158}}</ref>{{rp|page=153}}

Irish Travellers lived as [[cohabiters]] who "married at one time without religious or civil ceremony."<ref name="Griffin2008">{{cite book|last=Griffin|first=Christopher|year=2008|title=Nomads under the Westway: Irish travellers, Gypsies and other traders in West London|location=Hatfield|publisher=University of Hertfordshire Press|isbn=978-1-902806-54-9|pages=246 247|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UTDwXE9YCdIC&pg=PA246}}</ref>{{rp|page=258}} Into the early 20th century about one-third of Irish Travellers were "married according to the law."<ref name="Griffin2008"/>{{rp|page=246}}

According to Christopher Griffin, sociology and anthropology lecturer at [[Edith Cowan University]], arranged Irish Traveller marriages in the early 21st century "safeguard the girl's {{interp|interests}} by securing a man who won't mistreat her."<ref name="Griffin2008"/>{{rp|page=247}} According to [[Julie Bindel]], in ''[[Standpoint (magazine)|Standpoint]]'', some Irish Traveller females in the UK are forced into marriages, but Bindel points out that data is difficult to obtain because "the line between an arranged marriage and a forced one is not always clear."<ref name="Bindel2012">{{cite journal|last=Bindel|first=Julie|date=January–February 2012|title=Forced marriages dishonour Britain|journal=Standpoint|issn=1757-1111|url=http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/4258/full|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104131836/http://www.standpointmag.co.uk/node/4258/full|archive-date=2012-01-04|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Social conflict==
===Discrimination and prejudice===
Travellers are often reported as the subject of explicit political and cultural discrimination, with politicians being elected on promises to block Traveller housing in local communities and individuals frequently refusing service in pubs, shops and hotels.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/world/europe/deadly-fire-exposes-irelands-contempt-for-traveler-minority-group.html?ref=world | title=Sympathy Is Short-Lived for Irish Minority Group After Deadly Fire | newspaper=The New York Times | date=29 October 2015 | access-date=30 October 2015 | author=DALBY, DOUGLAS}}</ref> Settled populations often misinterpret Travellers' cultural differences, which results in their marginalization across different sectors of society.<ref name="McElweeJacksonCharles2003" />{{Rp|page=105}}

A 2011 survey by the Economic and Social Research Institute of Ireland concluded that there is widespread ostracism of Travellers in Ireland, and the report concluded that it could hurt the long-term prospects for Travellers, who "need the intercultural solidarity of their neighbours in the settled community.&nbsp;... They are too small a minority, i.e., 0.5 per cent, to survive in a meaningful manner without ongoing and supportive personal contact with their fellow citizens in the settled community."<ref name=Irishtimes>{{cite news|last=Holland|first=Kitty|title=Young among the most prejudiced, expert finds|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0518/1224297221192.html|access-date=18 May 2011|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=18 May 2011|archive-date=21 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021180914/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0518/1224297221192.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The general prejudice against Travellers hinders efforts by the central government to integrate Travellers into Irish society.<ref name=NYT102915>{{cite news|author1=Douglas Dalby|title=Sympathy Is Short-Lived for Irish Minority Group After Deadly Fire|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/world/europe/deadly-fire-exposes-irelands-contempt-for-traveler-minority-group.html|access-date=30 October 2015|work=The New York Times|date=29 October 2015|quote=Such is the animus toward Travelers that almost half of the country's 31 localities returned the money allocated by the central government for Traveler accommodations this year.}}</ref> Because Travellers are a minority group within Ireland and the United Kingdom, they have always faced discrimination on the basis of their ethnicity as Travellers. They experience discrimination in not having equal access to education, being denied service in pubs, shops, and hotels,<ref name="Velupillai 2015 381"/> and being subject to derogatory language.

In 2016, the USA's [[Country Reports on Human Rights Practices]] for the United Kingdom stated that Irish Travellers reported receiving discrimination on "racial or ethnic grounds" in the country, and stated that the High Court had ruled that the [[Government of the United Kingdom|government]] had illegally discriminated against Travellers by unlawfully subjecting planning applications to special scrutiny.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper|title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016|website=State.gov|access-date=2 August 2017}}</ref>

The [[European Parliament]] Committee of Enquiry on Racism and [[Xenophobia]] found them to be among the most discriminated-against [[ethnic]] groups in Ireland<ref>Traveller, Nomadic and Migrant Education by Patrick Alan Danaher, Máirín Kenny, Judith Remy Leder. 2009, p. 119</ref> and yet their status remains insecure in the absence of widespread legal endorsement.<ref name="tinker">''Traveller, Nomadic and Migrant Education'' by Patrick Alan Danaher, Máirín Kenny & Judith Remy Leder</ref> Anti-Traveller racism and discriminatory attitudes extend to those working in social services including the Gardai, which presents additional issues to the Traveller community.<ref name="Garrett" />{{Rp|page=123}}

===Work and income===
According to the 2016 Irish census, 4,524 of 9,055 Travellers over the age of 15 (50%) were "Unemployed having lost or given up previous job".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statbank.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Statire/SelectVarVal/saveselections.asp%.|title=Irish Travellers Aged 15 Years and Over 2011 to 2016 (Number) by County and City, Sex, Principal Economic Status and Census Year|access-date=8 October 2020}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> While 10,653 Travellers were in the labour force, the vast majority, 8,541 (80.2%), were unemployed. Almost 1 in 8 Travellers (11.3%) stated that they were unable to work due to a disability, which was almost three times the rate of the general population (4.3%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/csolatestnews/pressreleases/2017pressreleases/pressstatementcensus2016resultsprofile8-irishtravellersethnicityandreligion/|title= Press Statement Census 2016 Results Profile 8 - Irish Travellers, Ethnicity and Religion |website=Cso.ie|access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref> A report from the [[Economic and Social Research Institute]] and [[Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission]] report that Irish travellers are 10 times more likely to experience discrimination when seeking work in comparison to White Irish.<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.esri.ie/publications/who-experiences-discrimination-in-ireland-evidence-from-the-qnhs-equality-modules |title=Who experiences discrimination in Ireland? Evidence from the QNHS Equality Modules |last=McGinnity |first=Frances |last2=Grotti |first2=Raffaele |last3=Kenny |first3=Oona |last4=Russell |first4=Helen |date=2017-11-09 |publisher=ESRI and The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) |doi=10.26504/bkmnext342 |language=en|hdl=11572/328026 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>  

Many Travellers are breeders of dogs such as [[lurcher]]s and have a long-standing interest in horse trading. The main fairs associated with them are held annually at [[Ballinasloe fair|Ballinasloe]] (County Galway), Puck Fair (County Kerry), Ballabuidhe Horse Fair (County Cork), the twice-yearly Smithfield Horse Fair (Dublin inner city) and [[Appleby Horse Fair|Appleby]] (England).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/smithfield-horse-fair-816055-Mar2013/|title=First 'new-look' regulated Smithfield Horse Fair on Sunday|first=Aoife|last=Barry|website=Thejournal.ie|date=March 2013 |access-date=2 August 2017}}</ref> They are often involved in dealing scrap metals, e.g., 60% of the raw material for Irish steel is sourced from scrap metal, approximately 50% (75,000 metric tonnes) segregated by the community at a value of more than £1.5&nbsp;million. Such percentages for more valuable non-ferrous metals may be significantly greater.<ref>''Recycling and the Traveller Economy (Income, Jobs and Wealth Creation)''. Dublin: Pavee Point Publications (1993)</ref>

Since the majority of Irish Travellers' employment is either [[self-employment]] or [[wage labour]], income and financial status varies greatly from family to family. Many families choose not to reveal the specifics of their finances, but when explained it is very difficult to detect any sort of pattern or regular trend of monthly or weekly income. To detect their financial status many look to the state of their possessions: their [[Travel trailer|trailer]], [[motor vehicle]], domestic utensils, and any other valuables.<ref name="Okely1983" />{{rp|page=63}}

===Social identity===
[[File:Traveller Ethnicity pin.jpg|thumb|The Traveller Ethnicity pin was created to celebrate the Irish State's formal acknowledgment on 1 March 2017 of Travellers as a distinct ethnic group in Irish society.]]
Irish Travellers are recognised in [[United Kingdom law|British]] and [[Law in the Republic of Ireland|Irish law]] as an [[ethnic group]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cre.gov.uk/gdpract/g_and_t_facts.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203055126/http://cre.gov.uk/gdpract/g_and_t_facts.html|title=Gypsies and Irish Travellers: The facts|archive-date=3 February 2007|work=cre.gov.uk}}</ref><ref name=Itmtrav1>{{Cite web |url=http://www.itmtrav.com/Legal-ResourcePack1.html |title=''Irish Travellers Movement:'' Traveller Legal Resource Pack 1 - The Irish Legal System |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070109001648/http://www.itmtrav.com/Legal-ResourcePack1.html |archive-date=9 January 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Itmtrav2>{{Cite web |url=http://www.itmtrav.com/Legal-ResourcePack2.html |title=''Irish Travellers Movement:'' Traveller Legal Resource Pack 2 – Traveller Culture |access-date=29 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108230200/http://www.itmtrav.com/Legal-ResourcePack2.html |archive-date=8 January 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> An ethnic group is defined as one whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry. Ethnic identity is also marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and by common cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioural or biological traits.<ref name=Itmtrav2/> 

Contemporary Traveller culture reflects an evolution of traditional values and practices in interaction with legislative changes and wider societal changes. Nomadism, market trading, and horse ownership are traditional features of Traveller culture and heritage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Irish Travellers |url=https://itmtrav.ie/what-is-itm/irish-travellers/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=Irish Traveller Movement |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Violence and crime===
In 1960 a government body was set up to conduct research into the Travelling Community in the Republic of Ireland. The Commission on Itinerancy operated under the auspices of the Department of Justice, the persons were appointed by the Junior Minister [[Charles Haughey]]. One finding was: that "public brawling fuelled by excessive drinking further added to settled people's fear of Travellers". Furthermore "feuding was felt to be the result of a dearth of pastimes and [of] illiteracy, historically comparable to features of rural Irish life before the Famine".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhreatnach|first=Aoife|title=Becoming conspicuous: Irish travellers, society and the state, 1922–70|publisher=University College Dublin Press|year= 2006|page=108|isbn=978-1-904558-61-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQd1AAAAMAAJ&q=+feuding}}</ref>

A 2011 report, conducted by the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain, ''Voices Unheard: A Study of Irish Travellers in Prison'' (Mac Gabhann, 2011) found that social, economic and educational exclusion were contributing factors to the "increasingly high levels of imprisonment" of Irish Travellers.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mac Gabhann|title=Voices Unheard: Irish Travellers in Prison|url=http://www.irishchaplaincy.org.uk/Publisher/File.aspx?ID=81554|publisher=Irish Chaplaincy in Britain|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901024106/http://www.irishchaplaincy.org.uk/Publisher/File.aspx?ID=81554|archive-date=1 September 2013}}</ref>

===Travellers' sites in the United Kingdom===
{{Further|Halting site}}
The passing of the [[Caravan Sites Act 1968]] safeguarded Travellers' right to a site, but the [[Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994]] repealed part II of the 1968 act, removing the duty on local authorities in the UK to provide sites for Travellers and giving them the power to close down existing sites. In Northern Ireland, opposition to Travellers' sites has been led by the [[Democratic Unionist Party]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hainsworth |first1=Paul |title=Divided Society: Ethnic Minorities and Racism in Northern Ireland |date=1998 |publisher=Pluto Press |isbn=978-0-7453-1195-1 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Divided_Society/eOCNOxvBbvIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=DUP%20politicians%20have%20been%20in%20the%20forefront%20of%20opposition%20to%20Travellers%27%20sites |language=en}}</ref>

However, Travellers make frequent use of other, non-authorised sites. These include public [[common land]] and private plots such as large fields and other privately owned lands. A famous example was the occupation of [[Dale Farm]] in Essex in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jul/27/dale-farm-essex-travellers-eviction|title=Dale Farm Travellers: 'We won't just get up and leave'|author=Rachel Stevenson|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=27 July 2010|access-date=30 August 2010}}</ref> The Travellers claim that there is an under-provision of authorised sites. The Gypsy Council estimates under-provision amounts to insufficient sites for 3,500 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4213875.stm|title=Councils 'must find Gypsy sites'|work=BBC News|date=2005-01-27}}</ref>

==List of Travellers' organisations==
[[File:Irish Traveller Movement flag.svg|thumb|The flag of the Irish Traveller Movement<ref>{{cite web|url=http://itmtrav.ie/keyissues/myview_new/46|title=ITM View Key Issue|author=Irish Traveller Movement - Unless otherwise noted|work=itmtrav.ie|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017205206/http://itmtrav.ie/keyissues/myview_new/46|archive-date=17 October 2013}}</ref>]]
[[File:Minceirs Whiden logo.jpg|thumb|logo for Minceirs Whiden Ireland, the all-Traveller Forum]]
The following are some of the Travellers' representative organisations formed since the 1960s:<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://struggle.ws/pdfs/rbr2.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://struggle.ws/pdfs/rbr2.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|year=1996|title=Racism in Ireland: Travellers Fighting Back|journal=Red and Black Revolution|issue= 2|page=23|access-date=12 August 2013}}</ref>
* Cork Traveller Visibility Group Ltd. (founded early 1990's)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvgcork.ie/ | title= TVG cork Site | access-date=20 August 2017}}</ref>
* Exchange House Ireland (1980)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Exchange House Ireland National Travellers Service |url=https://www.exchangehouse.ie/about.php |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=www.exchangehouse.ie}}</ref>
* [[Friends, Families and Travellers]]
* Irish Traveller Community (1960s)
* [[Irish Traveller Movement]] (founded in 1990)
* Itinerant Settlement Committee (1960s–1980s)
* Justice 4 All Women & Children (founded in 2015)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=Emma O. |date=30 May 2019 |title=Ceremony celebrates contributions made by Travellers |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0530/1052564-traveller-pride-awards/ |language=en |work=[[RTÉ]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Ireland's Got Talent finalist Sharyn Ward wins annual Traveller award |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/ireland-s-got-talent-finalist-sharyn-ward-wins-annual-traveller-award-1.3909995 |access-date=2023-11-14 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>
* Minceir Misli (1983–85)
* Minceirs Whiden Ireland, the all-Traveller Forum<ref>{{cite web |url=https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/32/joint_committee_on_key_issues_affecting_the_traveller_community/submissions/2019/2019-10-22_opening-statement-kathleen-sherlock-minceir-whidden_en.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/committee/dail/32/joint_committee_on_key_issues_affecting_the_traveller_community/submissions/2019/2019-10-22_opening-statement-kathleen-sherlock-minceir-whidden_en.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live | title= Minceirs Whiden make a Submission to the Oireachtas Committee| access-date=23 April 2020}}</ref> (Minceirs Whiden is Cant for "Travellers talking")
* National Traveller Money Advice & Budgeting Service (2005)<ref>{{Cite web |title=About - National Traveller MABS |url=https://www.ntmabs.org/about |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=www.ntmabs.org}}</ref>
* [[National Traveller Women's Forum]]
* [[The Traveller Movement]]
* Travellers' Rights Committee (1981–83)
* Travellers' Education and Development Group (founded in 1984)
* [[Pavee Point]] (founded 1985)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paveepoint.ie/about-us/ | title=Pavee Point 'About us' | access-date=16 November 2016}}</ref>
* Bru Bhríde (founded early 1980's)

==Depictions and documentaries==
{{Further|List of Irish Traveller-related depictions and documentaries}}
Irish Travellers have been depicted, usually negatively but sometimes with some care and sympathy, in film, radio, print, and television. Shows like ''[[The Riches]]'' (2007–2008), the American television series featuring [[Eddie Izzard]] and [[Minnie Driver]], take a deeper look into the Traveller lifestyle. The documentary series ''[[Big Fat Gypsy Weddings]]'' (2010, 2011, and 2012) has been commercially successful in the United Kingdom, offering glimpses of Traveller life as viewed at real-life weddings. A 1997 American film, ''[[Traveller (1997 film)|Traveller]]'', starring [[Bill Paxton]] and [[Mark Wahlberg]], also explored the Travellers in America. In his 1993 documentary ''Rules of the Road'' German filmmaker [[Oliver Herbrich]] portrayed the Travellers in Ireland and the UK as a nomadic ethnic group forced to adapt to a settled lifestyle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/1150ef_9aaa3c77200240c3882121341137a810.pdf|title=Press release documentary film ''Rules of the Road, 1993''|accessdate=4 April 2023}}</ref> Some of the main characters in the Irish sitcom ''[[Derry Girls]]'' encounter a group of Travellers in an episode that aired on 19 March 2019. [[Brad Pitt]] played a bare-knuckle Traveller boxer in the movie ''[[Snatch (film)|Snatch]]''. The 2005 Irish horror film ''[[Isolation (2005 film)|Isolation]]'' has Traveller characters in its plot.

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom|Ireland}}<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
* [[Environmental inequality in Europe]]
* [[Halting site]]
* [[King of the Travellers]]

; Similar groups<nowiki>:</nowiki>

* [[Camminanti]]
* [[Mercheros]]
* [[Indigenous Norwegian Travellers|Reisende/Skøyere]]
* [[Romani people]]
* [[Romanichal|Romanichal Travellers]]
* [[Scottish Travellers]]
* [[Travelling Showmen]]
* [[Itinerant groups in Europe|Voyageurs]]
* [[Kale (Welsh Roma)|Welsh Kale]]
* [[Yenish people|Yenish Travellers]]

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
* {{Cite book|last=Bhreatnach|first=Aoife|title=Becoming Conspicuous: Irish Travellers, Society and the State 1922–70|publisher=University College Dublin Press|location=Dublin|year=2007|isbn=978-1-904558-62-0}}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last= Bhreatnach |editor1-first =Ciara|editor2-last = Bhreatnach |editor2-first = Aoife| title = Portraying Irish Travellers: histories and representations | publisher = Cambridge Scholars Press | year = 2006 | location = Newcastle-upon-Tyne | isbn = 978-1-84718-055-1 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Burke|first=Mary |title='Tinkers': Synge and the Cultural History of the Irish Traveller |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-19-956646-4 }}
* Collins, Laura Angela (2019) ''The Tinker Menace; the diary of an Irish Traveller'', independently published, {{ISBN|9781091090767}} 
* {{cite book|author=Commission on Itinerancy|title=Report|url=https://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL013441.pdf|series=Official publications|volume=Pr.7272|date=26 November 1963|publisher=Stationery Office|location=Dublin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904092505/http://opac.oireachtas.ie/AWData/Library3/Library2/DL013441.pdf|archive-date=2015-09-04|url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dillon|first=Eamon |title=The outsiders: exposing the secretive world of Ireland's Travellers|publisher=Merlin Publishing |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-903582-67-1 }}
* {{Cite book| last = Drummond| first = Anthony |editor1-last= Hayes |editor1-first = Micheál |editor2-last= Acton |editor2-first = Thomas | title = Counter-Hegemony and the Postcolonial "Other" | place = Cambridge Scholars Press | publisher = Cambridge | year = 2006 | chapter = Cultural denigration: media representation of Irish Travellers as criminal | pages = 75–85 | isbn = 978-1-84718-047-6 }}
* {{Cite book | last = Drummond | first = Anthony |editor-last = Ồ hAodha |editor-first = Micheál | title = Migrants and Memory: The Forgotten "Postcolonials" | place = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge Scholars Press | year = 2007 | chapter = The construction of Irish Travellers (and gypsies) as a 'problem'{{thinsp}} | pages = 2–42 | isbn = 978-1-84718-344-6 }}
* {{Cite thesis|last=Drummond|first=Anthony|date=2007|title=Irish Travellers and the Criminal Justice Systems Across the Island of Ireland|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Ulster}}
* {{Cite book|last=Gmelch|first=George |title=The Irish Tinkers: the urbanization of an itinerant people |publisher=Waveland Press|location=Prospect Heights, Illinois |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-88133-158-5 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Gmelch|first=Sharon |title=Nan: The Life of an Irish Travelling Woman |publisher=Waveland Press |location=Prospect Heights, Illinois |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-88133-602-3 }}
* {{Cite book|last=García Grande|first=María Remedios|year=2010|title=Ni una palabra más|language=es|publisher=Bilbao Biografías Personales|isbn=978-84-614-1053-8}}
* {{Cite book | last = Joyce | first = Nan |editor-last= Farmar |editor-first= Anna | title = Traveller: an autobiography | place = Dublin | publisher = Gill and Macmillan | year = 1985 | isbn = 978-0-7171-1388-0 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Maher|first=Sean |title=The Road to God Knows Where: A Memoir of a Travelling Boyhood |publisher=Veritas Publications|location=Dublin |year=1998 |isbn=978-1-85390-314-4 }}
* {{Cite book|last=Merrigan|first=Michael |chapter=Is there a Case for Indigenous Ethnic Status in Ireland|editor-last=Stanley|editor-first=Rory J.|title=Féil-scríbhinn Liam Mhic Alasdair: essays presented to Liam Mac Alasdair, FGSI|pages=101–115|publisher=Genealogical Society of Ireland |location=Dublin |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-898471-67-7 }}
* {{Cite book |editor1-last=Ó hAodha|editor1-first=Micheál|editor2-last=Acton|editor2-first=Thomas A. |title = Travellers, Gypsies, Roma: The Demonisation of Difference |publisher = Cambridge Scholars Press |year = 2007 |location = Newcastle-upon-Tyne |isbn = 978-1-84718-127-5 }}
* {{Cite journal|last1=Relethford|first1=John H.|last2=Crawford|first2=Michael H.|title=Genetic drift and the population history of the Irish travellers|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=150|issue=2|year=2013|pages=184–189|issn=0002-9483|doi=10.1002/ajpa.22191|pmid=23180293}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sánchez Rodríguez|first=Eleuterio|year=1977|title=Camina o revienta: memorias de "El Lute"|language=es|location=Madrid|publisher=Cuadernos para el diálogo|isbn=978-84-229-6014-0}}
* {{Cite book|last=Thouroude|first=Guillaume|title=Voyage au pays des Travellers: Irlande, début du XXIe siècle|language=fr|series=Voyage au pays des&nbsp;...|publisher=Cartouche|location=Paris|year=2012|isbn=978-2-915842-84-5}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141209224959/http://www.irishchaplaincy.org.uk/Groups/160519/Irish_Chaplaincy_in/Our_Work/Traveller_Equality/Traveller_Equality.aspx Traveller Equality Project, Irish Chaplaincy in Britain]
* [http://www.travellerheritage.ie Traveller Heritage and Photo Site from Navan Travellers Workshops]
* [https://itmtrav.ie/ Irish Travellers' Movement]
* [https://www.paveepoint.ie/ Pavee Point Travellers Centre]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070205080526/http://www.involve.ie/ Involve] {{link note|note=formerly the National Association of Travellers' Centres}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081115233436/http://www.ul.ie/~library/travellers/ Traveller and Roma Collection at the University of Limerick]
* Oliver Herbrich: [https://oliver-herbrich.wixsite.com/archiv/rules-of-the-road Rules of the Road] (film website)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080806182300/http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/ireland/travellers.htm The Travellers: Ireland's Ethnic Minority]
* [http://www.londongypsiesandtravellers.org.uk/ London Gypsy and Travellers Unit, Representing Traveller's issues in North and East London]
* [https://www.gypsy-traveller.org/ Friends, Families and Travellers. Advice and Information for Gypsies and Travellers] {{link note|note=UK-based charity}}
* [https://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/24/irelands-biggest-minority-group/ "Ireland's biggest minority group"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408022509/https://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/24/irelands-biggest-minority-group/ |date=8 April 2023 }} {{link note|note=''CNN'' photo blog}}
* [https://magill.ie/society/when-i-do-taboo When is 'I do' taboo?] {{link note|note=About carrier testing to determine the risks of genetic disorders in Irish Traveller cousin marriages}}
* [http://www.tvgcork.ie/ 'The website of Cork Traveller Visibility Group Ltd'] {{link note|note=A community development organisation which works to support Travellers in their day to day lives so they can participate in Irish society as equals.}}
* [https://www.facebook.com/Spring-Lane-Site-Solidarity-Group-445847145542831/ 'The Facebook page of Spring Lane Site Solidarity Group'] {{link note|note=A group of professionals and community activists whose aim is to highlight the humanitarian crisis on Spring Lane halting site & advocate for change}}
* [https://www.rte.ie/documents/news/2021/05/no-end-in-site-final.pdf Office of the Children's Ombudsman report, ''"No End in Site - An investigation into the living conditions of children on a local authority halting site"'']
* [https://libguides.utoledo.edu/gepl-siss/GEPL4310-5310 Geography of Gypsies (Romanies) and Travelers] (A University of Toledo Library Guide for the Geography course on Geography of Gypsies (Romanies) and Travelers: GEPL 4310/5310)

{{Irish Travellers}}
{{Celts}}
{{British Isles}}
{{EuropeansinUK}}
{{UK census ethnic groups}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Ireland topics}}

[[Category:Irish Travellers| ]]
[[Category:2001 United Kingdom census]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Ireland]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Europe]]
[[Category:Culture of Ireland]]
[[Category:Irish diaspora]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]