A short history of Irish Travellers

Travellers have a long, rich history on the island of Ireland. This animation, written and narrated by Traveller women, aims to dispel some of the common myths around the origins of Travellers and present Travellers’ own story of where they have come from, drawing on their strong oral storytelling tradition. The recognition of Travellers as an ethnic minority in 2017 was a landmark moment, after decades of government policies aimed at suppressing and erasing Traveller culture. We look forward to an Ireland where Traveller culture will be celebrated and taught in schools and we hope this animation will be an important resource to spark conversations about culture, identity, and belonging. Note from Hazel: I wanted to leave comments enabled on this video to allow for discussion but every day I get comments that are filled with racism, hate and negativity. This does nobody any good. For my own mental health, and out of respect for the Traveller community I’m disabling the comments. I would ask viewers to not jump in your mind to negative stories of Travellers, but to listen with empathy and a curious beginner’s mind. Education on Traveller culture is a starting point to tackling racism and discrimination against Travellers. Thank you for your support. Delighted with how many views this video is getting. We have a new animation coming soon on Traveller women’s experiences of discrimination.