All posts tagged Social Documentary

The talented Doyle family are absolutely amazing, father, Simon has kept Irish Traveller musical traditions alive for future generations through his talented children playing the uileann pipes, fiddle and banjo.  The  family tour all over the UK and have produced a cd of their music and when asked what motivates them, mother Margaret said ‘ Irish Traveller Music is very important to me …. I want to keep the Travellers tradition of music going’

To obtain a copy of the audio transcripts, or share your memories, thoughts and stories please get in touch and we will send you a copy.

‘We are all human if you cut us we all bleed the same’ , Simon Doyle, musician and Moving Voices participant.

Perhaps because so little is known about the Irish Traveller community, many members are subjected to racism on a systematic basis due to institutionalized racism and racial prejudice. As a cultural group, Irish Travellers have a long shared history and values system, making them a distinct ethnic group. They have been recorded as separate within Irish society for thousands of years, all of which leads to restricted opportunities within a wider society, where rules and laws are increasingly jarring with the traditions within the Traveller community. The mechanisation of agriculture in post-war Britain and the introduction of plastic rendered much of the work traditionally undertaken by Travellers, as obsolete. Many Travellers were forced to migrate to towns and cities where they faced economic and social marginalization from the settled community.  As with Aboriginal and Native American communities, when the culture is challenged and removed through laws, and impacts are felt from a more powerful other, this has a detrimental effect upon the community.  Tragically family member Johnny Delaney was killed in a racist attack, to learn more click here.

To obtain a copy of the audio transcript or share your own memories, thoughts and stories please get in touch

Irish Travellers are one of the largest ethnic minority groups in Britain with figures varying from 300,000 to 500,000. It is estimated that one quarter are living continuously on unauthorised encampments as there are no other places for them to reside. There is very little record of Irish Traveller Heritage as there is very little statistical information available. Moving Voices, Irish Travellers aims to redress this imbalance by giving a unique insight into Irish Traveller Heritage on Merseyside.

Irish Travellers have a long history in Ireland. There are nomadic peoples mentioned within pre-Christian oral stories such as Táin Bó Cuailnge. Some Irish Travellers call themselves Minciers, or Pavees, and the Cairds or Nawkins are said to be descended from the Ancient Picts, the earliest known inhabitants of Ireland.  The Irish Traveller community have their own oral language called ‘Gammon’ Cant or Shelta, and this has been passed down through the generations and is still used today within the community.

The Irish Traveller community has links with Liverpool stretching back to the beginnings of Liverpool’s 800 year history. Liverpool City Council set up the present Irish Traveller site in 1974. There were 21 pitches created in Tara Park, Liverpool. Some of the same families who resided there in its infancy are still resident there today and many of the Irish Travellers who came and moved on to different locations around the country in the intervening years, have come to reside again in Tara Park

To obtain a copy of the audio transcripts, or to share your memories, thoughts and personal stories please get in touch.