Irish
Travellers: who are they? Are they tourists who wanted to discover Ireland or
travellers from Ireland ? Neither one nor the other. First of all, let’s try to
find out more about their origins, then understand their way of life as well as
their traditions and let’s end with the discrimination they often face.
Their origins:
First of
all, according to several theories, Irish travellers are a distinct ethnic
nomadic group, but their origins are still in debate because of the very few
works that were written about them. The oldest official documentation relating
to them is from the 12th century. Maybe their ancestors are a Celtic group
which invaded Ireland or a community which lived before the Celts arrived.
There are several theories like these but none of them are sure. However thanks
to genetic evidence and analyses we can prove that they are genetically Irish.
Another study undertaken by several universities, including University College
Dublin, considers them as a community split off from the main population. 
Their traditions:
Regarding
religion, the majority of them are Roman Catholics; They are all baptised, they
do their communion and they get confirmed. They all also believe in the
afterlife. Girls are not supposed to have sex before their wedding. If they do,
they are considered dirty and disregarded. Irish Travellers get married young
and the man makes all the decisions for the couple. Weddings are really important
because many people can meet during the event, and for example, men and girls
can date. We do not know many things about the laws of the Irish travellers,
but they protect and organize their community. Moreover, they barely go to the
doctor, which is why they have a lower life expectancy and women have a higher
risk of miscarriage. So they live differently than the rest of the UK
population.
Discrimination:
Finally,
Irish Travellers represent a minority in Ireland, in the US and in UK.
Consequently, they are supposed to be protected by the British law that defends
ethnic minorities, but they still have to face discrimination and racism. Being travellers, they are often on the
roads, which means that their children do not necessarily go to school. If they
do, as parents testify, they are humiliated by teachers and bullied by other
children. Travellers have to suffer job refusals based on their identity,
online hate-speech, denial of access in pubs or shops, etc. Because they are
Travellers, they are considered as dirty. As a consequence of all these issues,
a lot of them try to hide their ethnicity. Anti-Travellers racists claim that
nomadism is not an appropriate way of life and that it should disappear. This
racism began long ago. Nomadic people always considered land as a shared common
resource, but from the 16th century onwards people began to own parts of land
for personal or family use. Since then, they have been seen as parasites.
To sum
up, Irish Travellers’ origins remain unsure, but this community has its own
rituals and because of their differences they suffer from discrimination.
SOURCES
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