DOCSLIB.ORG

Irish Travellers: an Exploration in Criticism and Fiction

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Irish Travellers: an Exploration in Criticism and Fiction Provided by the author(s) and NUI Galway in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite the published version when available. Title Irish Travellers: An Exploration in Criticism and Fiction Author(s) Holmes, Mary Patricia Publication Date 2012-09-28 Item record http://hdl.handle.net/10379/3557 Downloaded 2021-09-28T03:13:30Z Some rights reserved. For more information, please see the item record link above. Irish Travellers: An Exploration in Criticism and Fiction Mary Patricia Holmes This dissertation is submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Supervisor: Dr John Kenny School of Humanities Department of English National University of Ireland, Galway September 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements. ............................................................................................ i Abstract……………………………………………………………………… .. ii Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 SECTION I Chapter 1 Socio-Cultural History ................................................................. 7 Chapter 2 Ideologies of Representation ..................................................... 22 A. Photography ........................................................................... 23 B. Television and Film ................................................................ 28 C. Literature and Drama .............................................................. 43 Chapter 3 Shelta, Orality and the Representation of Ideology ................... 54 A. Third-Person Omniscience: The Honey Spike ......................... 63 B. First-Person: Paveewhack ...................................................... 70 C. Dramatic Dialogue: A Whistle in the Dark ............................. 77 SECTION II Run Over: A Draft of a Novel .................................................................. 93 SECTION III Reflections on Research and Practice.. .................................................. 233 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 252 Acknowledgements During the course of this work my mother was diagnosed with a serious illness and had to be placed in a care institution in Toronto. She has been a consistent support throughout my life and this work would not have been possible without her love and selflessness. On top of her many wonderful maternal qualities, she encouraged me and my brothers and sisters to make stories, to dream and always to dance. I am forever grateful to her for her dreams and her love. Thank you to my uncle, Dr James Walsh, and my brother Andrew and his family who have all generously encouraged me. Thank you to my wonderful friends for their advice, support and faith, in particular: Celine Horner and Colin Kelleher, who believed in me even when I’d lost hope; Paul Gleeson, who through his own example has helped me to be courageous; Kate O’Boyle without whose support and gentle guidance I would not have finished; Ciara Griffin and Rebecca Downes for their continual and reliable friendship and last minute help; Leo Keohane, whose immense generosity, kindness and intellectual engagement have enabled me to become more kind, critical and focused in my anger; and to Fathers Diarmuid Hogan and Patrick O’Donohue, Alice-Mary and all the Higgins family for their kindness, advice and assistance. Professionally, thank you to James Ryan, Harry Clifton, Mark Haugaard, Adrian Frazier, John McAuliffe, the James Hardiman Library staff and to the BA CONNECT programme who funded this work for four years with a generous fellowship. To John Kenny, who may have got more than he bargained for in supervising me, thank you for your patience, kindness and solidity. Your creative, intellectual and professional guidance has been most appreciated. And a final thank you to my young nieces, Felicia and Helena Holmes, who at the time of this writing are on the cusp of adolescence and whose confidence, intelligence, curiosity, compassion and exuberance inspire me and fill me with great love and hope. It is to them, and to my mother, that this work is dedicated. i Abstract This dissertation examines the construction of the Irish Traveller character in fiction. Traveller marginalisation has been perpetuated in literature through stereotypical representation and subjugation of their world-view. This thesis aims to investigate the predominant Irish Traveller stereotypes in art and fiction, and the strategies for innovative representations. This study is tripartite: discursive, creative and reflective. The discursive section provides an overview of Traveller culture and a history of relations between the group and the settled community in order to explore how representations have evolved for better or worse. Representations within photography, film and literature present an overview of the dominant depictions of Travellers in popular culture; these include the victim, the fool and the criminal. Depictions that engage the Traveller perspective or world-view are rare. Using a stylistics approach, three innovative representations, Bryan MacMahon’s The Honey Spike, Peter Brady’s Paveewhack and Tom Murphy’s A Whistle in the Dark are analysed to reveal the choices these respective writers have made A particular focus is placed on the Travellers’ specific argot, Shelta, and the oral nature of their community. Section II of this thesis is the creative application of the best of these ideas in a draft of a novel entitled Run Over. The intention is to create a polyphonic chorus of voices, in which the Traveller voice is equal among many. Section III is a reflective essay, which chronicles the interaction of the critical and creative work throughout this Ph.D. The praxis orientation of this work fosters the interaction of critical and creative work, cultivating inquiry, awareness and innovation. ii Introduction Praxis, the interaction of theory and practice, is the fundamental motivation of a practice-based Ph.D. dissertation. The structure of a practice-based Ph.D. takes its shape from a question (or a problem) emerging from a creative work, which becomes the basis for an academic research project, whose findings then feed back into the creative construction. How these processes relate is important, and in the third section of this thesis a reflective essay details these interactions. Together the discursive, creative and reflective sections of this thesis explore the construction of a three-dimensional Irish Traveller character in long fiction. Irish Travellers are a semi-nomadic oral community who choose to remain separate from the settled (non-Traveller) community. Currently the accepted term by which to denote the group is Traveller, but many people still refer to ‘tinkers’ or ‘itinerants’. As of 2010, the Traveller population was estimated at 40,000 in the Republic and Northern Ireland. For many, inadequate housing, poor living conditions and poverty contribute to low life expectancy. Infant mortality and suicide rates are also high. Beyond these physical concerns and perhaps because of them the group is marginalised within Irish society. Their lifestyle choices, which are often the antithesis of contemporary settled society’s objectives, have separated them from the wider community. How exactly the group came to be a separate community is unknown, but there is evidence that this separation has been intact for at least two hundred years. All the while, the relationship between the Traveller and the settled community has been coloured with animosity and suspicion. Common depictions of Travellers in the media and art include that they are dirty, diseased, illiterate, violent and misogynistic.1 This has been the framework for relations between the Traveller and settled communities and has besieged Traveller representations. The majority of Traveller characters in literature have been minor and typecast on the wrong side of typical oppositions such as good and evil, victim and perpetrator, love and hate. These depictions rely on structural conventions that 1 Kevin Myers, ‘I’m Irish, I Know About the Gipsy Problem,’ The Telegraph 3 Oct. 2004, Web, 14 Nov. 2008 < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3611584/Im-Irish-I-know-about-the-gipsy-problem.html>. 1 invoke social and cultural stereotypes from the world outside the text and reinforce the audience’s expectations. Audience expectations were at the heart of the Abbey Theatre’s decision to reject JM Synge’s 1907 drama The Tinker’s Wedding. The directors of the Abbey thought that the play was too dangerous and that Irish audiences were not ready for the controversial plot in which the despised ‘tinkers’ outwit a Catholic priest. Although the play was first produced on 11 November 1909 in London, it was not until the 1960s that The Tinker’s Wedding was performed in Ireland by an amateur theatre company and only in April of 1971 did it debut at the Abbey Theatre, sixty- four years after initial publication. Synge’s representations found meaning and purpose in new and unsettling ways to re-present, and in doing so challenged both literary and social expectations and conventions. As in Synge’s time, Traveller representations today are essentially a struggle between archetype and innovation on one side and stereotype and repetition on another. Many depictions of Travellers in the popular media rehash similar ideas, which include the thug, the scapegoat, the victim and the fool: essentially highly
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Behind the Mask: My Autobiography
    Contents 1. List of Illustrations 2. Prologue 3. Introduction 4. 1 King for a Day 5. 2 Destiny’s Child 6. 3 Paris 7. 4 Vested Interests 8. 5 School of Hard Knocks 9. 6 Rolling with the Punches 10. 7 Finding Klitschko 11. 8 The Dark 12. 9 Into the Light 13. 10 Fat Chance 14. 11 Wild Ambition 15. 12 Drawing Power 16. 13 Family Values 17. 14 A New Dawn 18. 15 Bigger than Boxing 19. Illustrations 20. Useful Mental Health Contacts 21. Professional Boxing Record 22. Index About the Author Tyson Fury is the undefeated lineal heavyweight champion of the world. Born and raised in Manchester, Fury weighed just 1lb at birth after being born three months premature. His father John named him after Mike Tyson. From Irish traveller heritage, the“Gypsy King” is undefeated in 28 professional fights, winning 27 with 19 knockouts, and drawing once. His most famous victory came in 2015, when he stunned longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko to win the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles. He was forced to vacate the belts because of issues with drugs, alcohol and mental health, and did not fight again for more than two years. Most thought he was done with boxing forever. Until an amazing comeback fight with Deontay Wilder in December 2018. It was an instant classic, ending in a split decision tie. Outside of the ring, Tyson Fury is a mental health ambassador. He donated his million dollar purse from the Deontay Wilder fight to the homeless. This book is dedicated to the cause of mental health awareness.
    [Show full text]
  • London 2012 Olympic Games Declared Best Ever
    Boxing NewsJuly - December 2012 | No. 10 LONDON 2012 OlYMPIC GAMES DECLARED BEST EVER YOUTH WORLDS ANNOUNCED STARS WSB SEASON III APB RECRUITMENT OF TOMORROW DELIGHTS CONTINUES Offi cial AIBA equipment provider since 1989 You can’t beat tradition Our history includes 3 Olympic games and more than 50 European championships, World cups and World championships. BOXING GLOVE AND HEAD GUARD The heart of the TOP TEN gloves has been revised in col- laboration with athletes from all over the world. The well- known Bayfi ll padding curved even more and the thumb area has been changed. The new shape allows a more com- fortable fi t and a simple set up for the fi st. TOP TEN The research and The technological Know How from existing TOP TEN prod- development com- ucts was used to develop a head guard made of leather, pany, a name with as the demand for a TOP TEN leather head guard has been reliability built in. overwhelming. BUDOLAND Sportartikel Vertriebs GmbH Am Grießenbach 8 · 83126 Flintsbach Tel. +43 (0) 80 34 / 90 990-0 · www.budoland.com TT Image.indd 1 03.11.11 09:34 AIBA President’S Message LOOKING TOWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE CONTENTS Dear members, athletes and fans, 1 President’s Message Welcome to this new issue of Boxing News magazine, the official publication of the International Boxing Association (AIBA). 2 APB / WSB R&Js and Supervisors Workshop About a year ago, I was sharing with you my excitement about the future holds for our sport. Following the resounding success of the London 2012 Olympic Games, AIBA’s duty is now to 6 AIBA Annual Awards capitalise on what we achieved so far in order to bring the sport of boxing to the next level.
    [Show full text]
  • Irish Travellers, the Cinema and (Anti-)Traveller Racism
    GRUNERT FILM JOURNAL 1 (2010) Between discrimination and glorification: Irish Travellers, the cinema and (anti-)Traveller racism Andrea GRUNERT University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany “There’s a bit of a Traveller in everybody of us,” says John Riley, the male protagonist in Mike Newell’s Into the West (UK/IRL, 1992), to his twelve-year-old son Tito, who has asked him whether the Travellers are Cowboys or Indians. This evasive answer is matched by the film’s happy ending, which masks the fact that the film presents the Travellers as Ireland’s Indians: an excluded and forgotten minority living on the social margins. Today an estimated 23,000 Travellers live in the Republic of Ireland, 15,000 in Great Britain and 7,000 in the United States of America. Their Irish origins have been the object of speculation. Some writers trace them back to landowners made homeless during Cromwell’s campaign in Ireland or during the Great Famine of the mid-nineteenth century; others argue that Travellers have dwelt in Ireland since the Middle Ages. These nomads have their roots in Ireland and must be distinguished from Gypsies, even if they share many similar customs. In the past, they played an important role as messengers in isolated rural areas. The term “tinker,” which today has negative connotations, refers to one of their main occupations, tinkering. Industrialisation and modern technology have destroyed this economic basis of their life. Having been forced to adapt to new social Page 1 GRUNERT FILM JOURNAL 1 (2010) and economic conditions, Irish Travellers or Pavee1, as they now call themselves, have found new occupations such as collecting scrap.
    [Show full text]
  • Irish Traveller Movement in Britain
    Irish Traveller Movement in Britain The Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA Tel: 020 7607 2002 Fax: 020 7607 2005 [email protected] www.irishtraveller.org Gypsy and Traveller population in England and the 2011 Census An Irish Traveller Movement in Britain Report August 2013 About ITMB: The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB) was established in 1999 and is a leading national policy and voice charity, working to raise the capacity and social inclusion of the Traveller communities in Britain. ITMB act as a bridge builder bringing the Traveller communities, service providers and policy makers together, stimulating debate and promoting forward-looking strategies to promote increased race equality, civic engagement, inclusion, service provision and community cohesion. For further information about ITMB visit www.irishtraveller.org.uk 1. Introduction and background In December last year, the first ever census figures for the population of Gypsies and Irish Travellers in England and Wales were released. In all 54,895 Gypsies and Irish Travellers in England and 2,785 in Wales were counted.1 While the Census population is considerably less than previous estimates of 150,000-300,000 it is important to acknowledge that tens of thousands of community members did identify as Gypsies and Travellers. In the absence of a robust figure as a comparator to the census, the ITMB undertook research to estimate a minimum population for Gypsies and Travellers in England, based on Local Authority Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Assessments (GTAA)2 and the Department for Communities and Local Government bi-annual Caravan Count. Definitions of Gypsies and Travellers For the purposes of this report it is important to understand the varying definitions of Gypsies, Irish Travellers and other Travelling groups in official data sources.
    [Show full text]
  • Travelling to Better Health
    Travelling to Better Health Policy Implementation Guidance for Healthcare Practitioners on working effectively with Gypsies and Travellers July 2015 © Crown copyright 2015 WG25805 Digital ISBN 978 1 4734 4082 1 Travelling to Better Health Policy Implementation Guidance for Healthcare Practitioners on working effectively with Gypsies and Travellers Contents Page Introduction 2 Why do we need this guidance? 2 The Value of Joint Working - Who is this guidance for? 3 What does this guidance do? 4 Outcomes from using the guidance 4 Effective Practice in Service Design and Delivery 5 Overcoming barriers to access and participation 5 GP and other Primary Care Services 5 Health Improvement 6 Prudent Healthcare 7 Unauthorised Encampments 7 Training in Cultural Competency 8 Cultural Awareness 9 Practice which could encourage participation in health services 11 The Value of Peer Support - Training for Gypsies and Travellers 14 Ethnicity Monitoring 14 Health Needs Assessment and Service Development Questions 15 Examples of Effective Practice 16 Evidence Base 19 Who do we mean by Gypsies and Travellers? 19 How many Gypsies and Travellers are there in Wales? 20 Where do Gypsies and Travellers live in Wales? 20 Caravan Accommodation 20 ‘Bricks and Mortar’ (Housing) Accommodation 20 What do we know about barriers to accessing health and healthcare? 21 What do we know about the health status of Gypsies and Travellers? 21 Gypsy and Traveller Culture 22 Accommodation and Health 23 Attitudes and Beliefs of Gypsies and Travellers regarding Health 23 1 Travelling to Better Health Policy Implementation Guidance for Healthcare Practitioners on working effectively with Gypsies and Travellers Introduction 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Students Are Revolting
    ed990121.qxd 22/01/99 10:13 Page 1 (1,1) Issue 953 - Weekly Thursday 21st January 1999 Students Are Help Kings Manor Revolting School Worldwide student protests continue into 1999 - James Buller reports tudents of Oxford gle...we expect hundreds University are contin- more first year students to in Books for Schools Suing their fight against join us next year.” the newly imposed tuition Scheme fees. 5 students are main- Oxford Student’s Union is taining their position of firmly supporting the cam- eveloped in support of refusing to pay the £1000 paign, but the powers that be the National Year of extra cost of coming to uni- are equally staunch. This week Reading, the aim of versity this year. the five students were ordered D Free Books for Schools is to return their campus and simple: to help schools to At one time the protesters library cards. They are now have many more books in numbered in the hundreds. effectively banned from using their classrooms so pupils can Over the course of the year the university facilities. read more and expand their however, they have dwin- imaginations, creativity and dled as university authorities The students attend curiosity. brought pressure to bear. Somerville and St. Hilda’s Before Christmas there were Colleges. The University plain against education In Indonesia, 14 students The range of quality titles available to schools includes 14 left. The threat of action, Registrar has left it up to the reform. Last week they threw have been killed and 60 Shakespeare plays, atlases, dictionaries, fiction and non-fic- from which the remaining 5 colleges to deal with the stones and fire bombs in wounded in a long running tion, wildlife and science books, audio and braille titles.
    [Show full text]
  • Pavee Point Fact Sheet for ICCPR
    UN Human Rights Committee 111th session: Ireland (14/15 July 2014) Factsheet: Traveller and Roma rights in Ireland ________________________________ Travellers and Roma in Ireland There are approximately 36,000 Travellers living in the Republic of Ireland. Travellers are one of the most marginalised and excluded groups in Irish society. Traveller unemployment is at 84%, life expectancy is over 10 years less than the national population and suicide rates are over 6 times the national average. There is an estimated 5,000 Roma living in Ireland. There is no official Government data in relation to the population of Roma in Ireland. Many Roma in Ireland are living in poverty due to a lack of access to work and restrictive social welfare measures. Some Roma have to beg to survive. For those who are unable to find employment or access supports, options include reliance on charities and family or ‘voluntary repatriation’ to country of origin. The Irish Government was required by the European Commission to develop a Roma and Traveller integration strategy. However, Ireland’s strategy is inadequate and was developed with no involvement of Roma or Travellers. It contains no goals, targets, indicators, timeframes or funding mechanisms and has no reference to human rights. Recommendation: Develop a progressive National Traveller and Roma Integration Strategy, in line with human rights commitments. ________________________________ Traveller Ethnicity Despite the recommendation of many UN treaty monitoring bodies and European human rights bodies, the Irish Government still does not acknowledge Travellers as a minority ethnic group. This reflects the persistence of a mindset that legitimatises flawed policies and practice, which seek to assimilate Travellers and undermine human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Radio Telefís Éireann Annual Report and Group Financial Statements 2007 Radio Telefís Éireann
    RADIO TELEFÍS ÉIREANN ANNUAL REPORT AND GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2007 RADIO TELEFÍS ÉIREANN Contents Highlights 3 Independent Auditor’s Report 39 Organisation Structure 4 Statement of Accounting Policies 40 What we do 5 Group Income Statement 44 Chairman’s Statement 6 Group and RTÉ Statement of Total Director-General’s Review 7 Recognised Income and Expense 45 Operational Reviews 8 Group Balance Sheet 46 Financial Review 26 Group Cash Flow Statement 47 Authority 30 RTÉ Balance Sheet 48 Executive Board 32 RTÉ Cash Flow Statement 49 Corporate Governance 34 Notes to the Financial Statements 50 Authority Members’ Report 37 Charter 81 Statement of Authority Members’ Other Statistical Information 92 Responsibilities 38 Financial History 95 Radio Telefís Éireann Authority Forty-seventh Annual Report and Group Financial Statements for the 12 months ended 31 December 2007, presented to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources pursuant to sections 25 and 26 of the Broadcasting Authority Act, 1960. RTÉ’s vision is to grow the trust of the people of Ireland as it informs, inspires, reflects and enriches their lives. RTÉ’s mission is to: • Nurture and reflect the cultural and regional diversity of all the people of Ireland • Provide distinctive programming and services of the highest quality and ambition, with the emphasis on home production • Inform the Irish public by delivering the best comprehensive independent news service possible • Enable national participation in all major events 2 ANNUAL REPORT & GROUP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
    [Show full text]
  • The Traveller's Newsletter Spring 2010 V7 the Traveller's Newsletter
    The Traveller Parish Newsletter Eastertide – Spring 2010 EASTER GREETINGS elcome to this edition of The Traveller Parish Newsletter which comes to you in the calendar Wseason of Spring and the Church season of Eastertide. We have come through the dark days of Winter, and yet our lives remain overshadowed by dark clouds of Church scandal, economic recession and, more recently, volcanic ash. At a personal and family level, in recent months there have been a number of tragic and very sad deaths in the community, remembered in prayer in Parish Masses, and also in this edition of the Newsletter. Having prayed through Holy Week on the Passion and Death of John McElroy Jesus in our Good Friday Liturgy and Stations, we lit the Easter fire in our Easter Vigil Mass, joyfully celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus and his final victory over sin and death. In the words of the Easter liturgy, ’Jesus Christ our Photo courtesy of Lord is truly Risen, Alleluia!’ Eastertide finds an echo in Spring with Nature’s bursting workers, priests, and bishops in Rome last month. Finally forth of new life and colour. New life and new beginnings we include, among our other features, the story of the shine through many of our features on life in the Traveller Parish Choir which was formed especially for the community around the Dublin diocese. Here in the Parish, Remembering Annette concert in Tallaght’s Civic Theatre the team has been glad to welcome Georgina Jameson for last month. The main song performed by the Choir, written her five month long placement as part of her training to by the late Annette Halpin, is called ‘Everyone’, and become a Parish Pastoral Worker.
    [Show full text]
  • Copyright by Colleen Anne Hynes 2007
    Copyright by Colleen Anne Hynes 2007 The Dissertation Committee for Colleen Anne Hynes certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “Strangers in the House”: Twentieth Century Revisions of Irish Literary and Cultural Identity Committee: Elizabeth Butler Cullingford, Supervisor Barbara Harlow, Co-Supervisor Kamran Ali Ann Cvetkovich Ian Hancock “Strangers in the House”: Twentieth Century Revisions of Irish Literary and Cultural Identity by Colleen Anne Hynes, B.S.; M.A. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2007 Acknowledgements This dissertation project would not have been possible with the support, wisdom and intellectual generosity of my dissertation committee. My two supervisors, Elizabeth Butler Cullingford and Barbara Harlow, introduced me to much of the literature and many of the ideas that make up this project. Their direction throughout the process was invaluable: they have been, and continue to be, inspirational teachers, scholars and individuals. Kamran Ali brought both academic rigor and a sense of humor to the defense as he pushed the manuscript beyond its boundaries. Ann Cvetkovich translated her fresh perspective into comments on new directions for the project and Ian Hancock was constantly generous with his resources and unique knowledge of the Irish Traveller community. Thanks too to my graduate school colleagues, who provided constructive feedback and moral support at every step, and who introduced me to academic areas outside of my own, especially Miriam Murtuza, Miriam Schacht, Veronica House, George Waddington, Neelum Wadhwani, Lynn Makau, Jeanette Herman, Ellen Crowell and Lee Rumbarger.
    [Show full text]
  • IRISH FILM and TELEVISION - 2011 the Year in Review Roddy Flynn, Tony Tracy (Eds.)
    Estudios Irlandeses, Number 7, 2012, pp. 201-233 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ AEDEI IRISH FILM AND TELEVISION - 2011 The Year in Review Roddy Flynn, Tony Tracy (eds.) Copyright (c) 2012 by the authors. This text may be archived and redistributed both in electronic form and in hard copy, provided that the authors and journal are properly cited and no fee is charged for access. Irish Film 2011. Introduction Roddy Flynn ............................................................................................................................201 “Not in front of the American”: place, parochialism and linguistic play in John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard Laura Canning .........................................................................................................................206 From Rural Electrification to Rural Pornification: Sensation’s Poetics of Dehumanisation Debbie Ging and Laura Canning .............................................................................................209 Ballymun Lullaby Dennis Murphy ........................................................................................................................213 Ballymun Lullaby: Community Film Goes Mainstream Eileen Leahy ............................................................................................................................216 The Other Side of Sleep Tony Tracy...............................................................................................................................220
    [Show full text]
  • National Traveller Accommodation Conference 2016 REPORT
    National Traveller Accommodation Conference 2016 REPORT 1 193 CTWN ACCOMMODATION report V1.indd 1 24/03/2017 15:39 Introduction The National Traveller Accommodation National Traveller & Roma Inclusion Strategy in 2017 Conference was held in University College which will lay out future state policy on Traveller Cork on 12th April 2016 as a response to the accommodation. Traveller accommodation crisis experienced by The National Traveller Accommodation conference Travellers across the Cork and Kerry region, as drew on speakers from academia, voluntary housing well as by Travellers on a national level. bodies as well as community leaders and activists The conference took place in the aftermath of the from the Traveller community. We aimed to highlight fatal Carrickmines fire at a halting site in 2015, and discuss the accommodation needs of Travellers which led to the tragic deaths of 10 people and around following key themes: history and ethnicity, in the context of ongoing state failure to provide halting sites and social housing; the private rented adequate and safe accommodation for the Traveller sector; and homelessness and the housing needs community nationally, despite massive advocacy assessment process. We also sought to explore work by Travellers and Traveller organisations. solutions to the current problems being experienced The Carrickmines tragedy led to a national by Travellers and to look at models of good practice outpouring of grief and a renewed focus on in both Ireland and the UK by consulting with those Traveller accommodation issues, but it also in attendance. highlighted the ongoing issues of extreme This report sets out a summary of these discrimination and racism faced by Travellers presentations and key points from the discussions.
    [Show full text]