History UsefulNotes / IrishTravellers

* One of the main characters in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's book ''Literature/{{Dragonsdawn}}'' is a Traveller named Sean Connell.

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy" (ditto for UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} people). It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what Americans would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travellers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works (and older people) might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic), not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy" (same goes for UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} people). It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what Americans would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travellers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works (and older people) might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic), not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

The fact that Irish Travellers are culturally ''different'' from most other White Europeans--including other ("Settled") Irish--is where a lot of the media bias comes from. There has historically been, and continues to be, a lot of discrimination against Travellers because of this. Though anti-discrimination laws exist, many establishments still prohibit Travellers from frequenting them. The Gardaí (Irish police force) ranked Travellers as their ‘least favorite’ ethnicity in a [[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda%C3%AD-have-negative-view-of-travellers-survey-finds-1.4334274 survey]]. Apparently, [[https://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/news/2018/06/shocking-new-research-shows-extent-police-discrimination-towards-gypsies-and British police have similar attitudes]] [[note]]source quotes a survey based on a very small sample of police officers and should be treated cautiously.[[/note]] .Politicians, including presidential candidates and ministers, have frequently used Travellers as an easy target, and play on biases of the public at large. Fates may be changing slightly, as 2020 saw the election of the first senator from the Travelling community appointed to the Seanad.

Irish Travellers are a people who share the language Shelta, commonly known as Traveller Cant, derived from a mixture of intentionally-incomprehensible Irish backslang and a few English, Romani, and other loanwords, though in the modern era they primarily speak English. They are tribal, like the UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, and share the perception in media as being "evil outsiders", and some are nomadic, and share a passion for boxing (most notably Tyson Fury, born to Traveller parents who migrated to England), but other than that, they're different from the Romani and don't appreciate being lumped into the same category.

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy". It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what Americans would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travellers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works (and older people) might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic), not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

The fact that Irish Travellers are culturally ''different'' from most other White Europeans--including other ("Settled") Irish--is where a lot of the media bias comes from. There has historically been, and continues to be, a lot of discrimination against Travellers because of this. Though anti-discrimination laws exist, many establishments still prohibit Travellers from frequenting them. The Gardaí (Irish police force) ranked Travellers as their ‘least favorite’ ethnicity in a [[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda%C3%AD-have-negative-view-of-travellers-survey-finds-1.4334274 survey]]. apparently, [[https://www.travellerstimes.org.uk/news/2018/06/shocking-new-research-shows-extent-police-discrimination-towards-gypsies-and British police have similar attitudes]] [[note]]source quotes a survey based on a very small sample of police officers and should be treated caitiously.[[/note]] .Politicians, including presidential candidates and ministers, have frequently used Travellers as an easy target, and play on biases of the public at large. Fates may be changing slightly, as 2020 saw the election of the first senator from the Travelling community appointed to the Seanad.

The fact that Irish Travellers are culturally ''different'' from most other White Europeans--including other ("Settled") Irish--is where a lot of the media bias comes from. There has historically been, and continues to be, a lot of discrimination against Travellers because of this. Though anti-discrimination laws exist, many establishments still prohibit Travellers from frequenting them. The Gardaí (Irish police force) ranked Travellers as their ‘least favorite’ ethnicity in a [[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda%C3%AD-have-negative-view-of-travellers-survey-finds-1.4334274 survey]]. Politicians, including presidential candidates and ministers, have frequently used Travellers as an easy target, and play on biases of the public at large. Fates may be changing slightly, as 2020 saw the election of the first senator from the Travelling community appointed to the Seanad.

The fact that Irish Travellers are culturally ''different'' from most other White Europeans--including other ("Settled") Irish--is where a lot of the media bias comes from. There has historically been, and continues to be, a lot of discrimination against Travellers because of this. Though anti-discrimination laws exist, many establishments still prohibit Travellers from frequenting them. The Gardaí (Irish police force) ranked Travellers as their ‘least favorite’ ethnicity in a (genuinely horrifying) survey. Politicians, including presidential candidates and ministers, have frequently used Travellers as an easy target, and play on biases of the public at large. Fates may be changing slightly, as 2020 saw the election of the first senator from the Travelling community appointed to the Seanad.

The fact that Irish Travellers are culturally ''different'' from most other White Europeans--including other ("Settled") Irish--is where a lot of the media bias comes from. There has historically been, and continues to be, a lot of discrimination against Travellers because of this. Though anti-discrimination laws exist, many establishments still prohibit Travellers from frequenting them. The Gardaí (Irish police force) ranked Travellers as their ‘least favorite’ ethnicity in a (genuinely horrifying) survey. Politicians, including presidential candidates and ministers, have frequently used Travellers as an easy target, and play on biases of the public at large. Fates may be changing slightly, as 2020 saw the election of the first senator from the Travelling community appointed to the Seanad.

The fact that Irish Travellers are culturally ''different'' from most other White Europeans--including other ("Settled") Irish--is where a lot of the media bias comes from.

Irish Travellers are a people who share the language Shelta, commonly known as Traveller Cant, derived from a mixture of intentionally-incomprehensible Irish backslang and a few English, Romani, and other loanwords, though in the modern era they primarily speak English. They are tribal, like the UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, and share the perception in media as being "evil outsiders", and some are nomadic, and share a passion for boxing (most notably Tyson Fury, born to a Traveller family that migrated to England), but other than that, they're different from the Romani and don't appreciate being lumped into the same category.

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy". It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what Americans would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travelllers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works (and older people) might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic), not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

* In ''The Field'', a Traveller woman shows up at a village dance and dares a man to "dance with the Tinker's daughter". She evenutally becomes the love interest of Tadgh.

The traveling people are a common theme in Irish music. The gypsies are often portrayed romantically, making off with a lord's daughter or otherwise getting the better of their fellow men.

* Ewan [=MacColl=]: "The Forty-Foot Trailer", "(I'm a) Freeborn Man", "Go, Move, Shift" (about the mistreatment that Travellers and other itinerant peoples receive from society).

Irish Travellers are a people who share the language Shelta, commonly known as Traveller Cant, derived from a mixture of intentionally-incomprehensible Irish backslang and a few English, Romani, and other loanwords, though in the modern era they primarily speak English. They are tribal, like the UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, and share the perception in media as being "evil outsiders", and some are nomadic, and share a passion for boxing (most notably Tyson Fury, born in England to a Traveller family), but other than that, they're different from the Romani and don't appreciate being lumped into the same category.

Irish Travellers are a people who share the language Shelta, commonly known as Traveller Cant, derived from a mixture of intentionally-incomprehensible Irish backslang and a few English, Romani, and other loanwords, though in the modern era they primarily speak English. They are tribal, like the UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, and share the perception in media as being "evil outsiders", and some are nomadic, and share a passion for boxing, but other than that, they're different from the Romani and don't appreciate being lumped into the same category.

You might notice that this article doesn't say anything about the origin of the Irish Travellers. That's because nobody's really sure about it...not even Travellers themselves. Genetic analysis has verified that they're native Irish, but no record exists for the origin of their distinct cultural traditions. How, why, and when they separated from the rest of the Irish people is a subject of speculation, but the lack of evidence means [[RiddleForTheAges it'll almost certainly never be answered]].

** James May once scolded one of the other hosts for using a hammer to fix a car, saying that a hammer is "a pikey's tool".

* In ''The Field'', a traveller woman shows up at a village dance and dares a man to "dance with the Tinker's daughter". She evenutally becomes the love interest of Tadgh.

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy". It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what we would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travelllers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works (and older people) might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic), not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

* ''Series/ThePrisoner'' has Number 6 escape the village and encounter a group of what could be assumed as Travellers unaware of what they're saying. They give him food and part ways.

You might notice that this article doesn't say anything about the origin of the Irish Travellers. That's because nobody's really sure about it...not even Travellers themselves. Genetic analysis has verified that they're native Irish, but no record exists for the origin of their distinct cultural traditions. How, why, and when they separated from the rest of the Irish people is a subject of speculation, but the lack of evidence means it'll almost certainly never be answered.

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy". It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what we would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travelllers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic), not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

[[folder: Fan Fiction ]]

* ''Fanfic/TheMadScientistWars'' suggests that one of Andrew Tinker's MadScientist grandfathers, Dr. Io, is an Irish Traveller. It hasn't been gone into too much, but Dr. Io is presented as a kind, good person, so it's a positive portrayal.

[[/folder]]

* ''Series/LoveHate'' has Patrick, a settled traveller who works as an ArmsDealer and bomb maker. When Nidge comes gunning for him [[HeKnowsTooMuch because he made the pipe bomb Nidge used to injure Fran's wife]], he takes refuge in a halting site with his fellow travellers and, [[AssassinOutclassin having survived several assassination attempts]], takes the fight to Nidge, [[spoiler: eventually killing him in the series 5 finale]]. It's worth noting that [[ActorSharedBackground the actor playing him is also a traveller]].

First off, don't call a Traveller a "Gypsy". It's a derogatory word, and just about the most offensive way you can possibly refer to an Irish Traveller. In its negative sense, it can refer to someone who makes a living by theft or dishonest practices, but not necessarily Romani. Only the word "pikey" might be worse,[[note]]Referring to blue-collar, lower-class working people who may be from the wrong side of the tracks, or what we would call "trailer trash" with connotations of theft or abusing the welfare system[[/note]] but that only happens in Britain. "Knacker"[[note]]Meaning a horse too old or sick for work, or a person who buys such animals for slaughter[[/note]] is another well known derogatory term; some Travellers today are significantly more offended by "knacker" than "gypsy". Another derogatory term which the Travelllers are sometimes called is "itinerants". Older works might call them "Tinkers", from the fact that a lot of them used to be itinerant tinsmiths. This is also considered offensive, if not so much. The terms by which they refer to themselves are "Pavee" and "Minceir" (Lucht Siúli, "The travelling people" in Irish Gaelic) and not that you'll hear it used much. [[NWordPrivileges "Pavee" can, however, be considered offensive when used by someone outside of the Travelling community.]]

Irish Travellers are a people who share the language Shelta, commonly known as Traveller Cant, derived from a mixture of intentionally-incomprehensible Irish backslang and a few English, Romani, and other loanwords. Though in the modern era they primarily speak English. They are tribal, like the UsefulNotes/{{Romani}}, and share the perception in media as being "evil outsiders", and some are nomadic, and share a passion for boxing, but other than that, they're different from the Romani and don't appreciate being lumped into the same category.

** Fairly sure those are Romani gypsies rather than Irish Travellers, but willing to be proved wrong...

* "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E18UpTheLongLadder Up the Long Ladder]]", an infamous episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', had Irish Travelers [[RecycledInSpace in SPACE]] via a group of "neo-transcendentalist" colonists known as the Bringloidi (Bringlóid being Irish Gaelic for "dream"). They're about as stereotypical as you can get: slovenly, ignorant, and disruptive, led by a drunkard trying to marry off his nagging daughter. The script was approved by an Irish-American, but plenty of other Irish folks weren't amused.
** The Bringloidi aren't really based on Travellers, more on stereotypes of rural Irish people in general. The accent is all wrong, for one thing.

* The Pilgrims in ''Film/WingCommander'' are a group of Space Nomads, notable for their ability to navigate without the help of computers. They suffer from prejudice and persecution from most of the society.

* In ''Film/TheGoldenCompass'' (aka ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials''), an alternate universe counter-part of the Irish Travellers are called gyptians (derived from the word "Egyptian," and oddly their lingo is referred to as "fen-Dutch," so presumably their ethnicity is a blend, half of the Gyptian characters have Greek names, the other half have Dutch-sounding ones). They spend their time traveling the waterways of the British Isles and play a large role in helping the protagonist Lyra as she searches for her lost friend (many of their own children having been taken as well). Some Travellers take such a shine to her that she is generally considered an unofficial member of their people. The word "[[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Gypsy]]" is derived from a mistaken belief that the Romani people were descended from Egyptians. Thus, "gyptian" is probably an alternate-universe derivation along much the same lines. This has some basis in our reality as well, as many Medieval Histories of Ireland and Scotland traced the Gaelic Peoples as a whole ultimately back to an Egyptian Princess [Scoti] in much the same way Britain was traced back to Brutus of Troy.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'' series has the "Tinkers" or Traveling People. They are a FantasyCounterpartCulture to these as they might have existed in Medieval/Renaissance times, but with the addition that they are {{actual pacifist}}s whose highest value is ThouShallNotKill. [[spoiler: This is the group the original [[ProudWarriorRace Aiel]] people splintered off from.]]

You might notice that this article doesn't say anything about the origin of the Irish Travelers. That's because nobody's really sure about it...not even Travelers themselves. Genetic analysis has verified that they're native Irish, but no record exists for the origin of their distinct cultural traditions. How, why, and when they separated from the rest of the Irish people is a subject of speculation, but the lack of evidence means it'll almost certainly never be answered.

* ''Pavee Lackeen'' (which is Cant for ''The Traveller Girl'') is a pseudo-docu-drama about a family of Travellers, the Maughans, who play versions of themselves coping with the everyday reality of being Travellers. It portrays them as well rounded people, but is by no means rose-tinted: it shows, among other things, children sniffing petrol, stealing clothes from charity bins, fighting in the street, etc. Alas, it's held back from being engaging by a complete lack of plot.''Film/HotFuzz'', a group of Travellers is what ruins the original Village Of The Year contest for Sandford and drives Inspector Butterman's wife to suicide. [[spoiler:[[DisproportionateRetribution The townspeople then kill them for that]]]].