Anthropologists George and Sharon Gmelch have been studying the quasi-nomadic people known as Travellers since their fieldwork in the early 1970s, when they lived among Travellers and went on the road in their own horse-drawn wagon. In 2011 they returned to seek out families they had known decades before—shadowed by a film crew and taking with them hundreds of old photographs showing the Travellers' former way of life. Many of these images are included in this book, alongside more recent photos and compelling personal narratives that reveal how Traveller lives have changed now that they have left nomadism behind.
This book contains historical accounts of the Irish American Travellers as seen through their eyes and the eyes of their ancestors. It is a glimpse into a people that have isolated themselves from conventional America. It uses facts and reality to discredit lies and propaganda. If you are ready for the truth, open your mind, and turn the page.
A haunting collection of twenty stories rooted in the oral tradition of the Irish Traveller community. Brave vixens, prophetic owls and stalwart horses live alongside the human characters as guides, protectors, friends and foes while spirits, giants and fairies blur the lines between this world and the otherworld. Collected by Oein DeBhairduin throughout his childhood, retold in his lyrical style, and beautifully illustrated by Leanne McDonagh.
Thrilling and romantic, Once a Gypsy starts a brand new series from award-winning author Danica Winters. “A haunting and fresh voice in paranormal romance. Be prepared for Danica Winters to ensnare you in her dark and seductive world.”—Cecy Robson, author of the Weird Girls series and 2016 Double-Nominated RITA® Finalist Even for a clairvoyant, the future is never a sure thing. Helena has always struggled to fit in with her Irish Traveller family. It’s not just her opposition to getting married or her determination to attend university; Helena also has one talent that sets her apart from the rest of her clan—the gift of the Forshaw, the ability to see the future. Graham is the groundskeeper at a manor in Adare, Ireland. Though the estate appears idyllic, it holds dark secrets, and despite his own supernatural gifts, Graham can’t solve Adare Manor’s problems by himself. Desperate for help, Graham seeks out a last resort: Helena, whose skills are far greater than even she knows. When he promises to teach her to control her powers, Helena resists, afraid both of the damage her abilities might do and her increasing attraction to the handsome groundskeeper. Her entire way of life is at risk: Any involvement, especially romantic, with non-Travellers like Graham is forbidden. But Helena’s future is anything but certain, and fate has other plans for her family, her powers, and her relationship with Graham.
Margaret Mead Award finalist! Nan Donohoe was an Irish Travelling woman, one of Ireland’s indigenous gypsies or “tinkers.” Traditionally, they traveled the countryside making and repairing tinware, sweeping chimneys, selling small household wares, and doing odd-job work. Over time, they came to live on the roadside in trailers and in government-built camps. Told largely in her own voice, Nan’s saga begins in 1919 with her birth in a tent in the Irish Midlands; it follows her life in Ireland and England, in countryside and city slums, through adversity and adventure. Gmelch brings to her task not only the resources of anthropology, but the skill of a sensitive writer and a warmth that allows her to see Nan as a person, not a subject. What emerges is a human story, filled with cruelty and compassion, sorrow and humor, bad luck and good.
This dictionary identifies over 6000 British and Irish travellers who toured in Italy in the 18th century. Compiled from the archive accumulted by Sir Brinsley Ford, it provides brief formal biographies of these travellers, their Italian itineries and selective accounts of their experiences.
This book traces a number of common themes relating to the representation of Irish Travelers in Irish popular tradition and how these themes have impacted on Ireland's collective imagination. A particular focus of the book is on the exploration of the Traveler as "Other," an "Other" who is perceived as both inside and outside Ireland's collective ideation. Frequently constructed as a group whose cultural tenets are in a dichotomous opposition to that of the "settled" community, this book demonstrates the ambivalence and complexity of the Irish Traveler "Other" in the context of a European postcolonial country. Not only has the construction and representation of Travelers always been less stable and "fixed" than previously supposed, these images have been acted upon and changed by both the Traveler and non-Traveler communities as the situation has demanded. Drawing primarily on little-explored Irish language sources, this volume demonstrates the fluidity of what is often assumed as reified or "fixed." As evidenced in Irish-language cultural sources the image of the Traveler is inextricably linked with the very concept of Irish identity itself. They are simultaneously the same and "Other" and frequently function as exemplars of the hegemony of native Irish culture as set against colonial traditions. This book is an important addition to the Irish Studies canon, in particular as relating to those exciting and unexplored terrains hitherto deemed "marginal" - Traveler Studies, Romani Studies, and Diaspora/Migration Studies to name but a few.
This book addresses the culture, history, ethnicity, language and nomadism of the Irish Travellers, who may be compared to the Gypsies of other nations.
This edited volume offers an interdisciplinary perspective on the history of Irish Travellers. Scholars from anthropology, history, literary studies and socio-linguistics explore the methodological problems that arise when a marginalised minority is portrayed by an established and powerful majority population. Each chapter addresses how different sources illuminate settled and Traveller history alike. With new research and perspectives from a number of disciplines, Irish Travellers: Histories and Representations is a welcome consideration of a neglected aspect of Irish society; the relationship between Irish Travellers and the majority, settled population. Although Irish Travellers are a conspicuous minority in contemporary Irish society, their past existence is often ignored. The contributors to this volume demonstrate a range of sources and approaches that prove Travellers deserve a place in the narrative of Ireland. This book will appeal to scholars interested in majority-minority relations generally, and the example of Ireland in particular.
