merrion street

The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration, and Integration, David Stanton TD, today launched the West of Ireland Traveller History Project at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life, Castlebar, Co. Mayo.

The Traveller History Project seeks to support the members of the Traveller community who wish to collect and archive Traveller folklore and history. Acknowledging the invisibility of the Traveller community in Irish history and the impact of this on their self-esteem, the Minister said, “the project that we are launching here today is a great initiative to help address that invisibility, that gap in knowledge, for the wider population in Ireland...The richness of your Traveller history and heritage must not be forgotten.”

The Minister addressed the stereotypes that exist in Irish society of the Traveller community and said, “sharing more of your history will help to eliminate stereotypes and fear of the unknown; instead, the shared knowledge of your storytelling, music, language, folklore, traditions, culture and customs will help to ensure that Travellers are more included in society as a community with a proud and dignified Traveller and Irish heritage.”

The new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy is currently in its final phase of development and the final draft of the Inclusion Strategy will be submitted to the Government before the end of 2016. An additional €1 million was obtained in funding in Budget 2017 to support Traveller initiatives which brought the total fund available to some €3 million. This funding will support the advancement of the new Inclusion Strategy.