Abstract
Colette Murray explores negative visibility and positive invisibility through the Irish Travellers’ tale. Traveller lives are intrinsically linked to nomadism “whether travel is still a current reality for any group or individual or whether it has become a deferred dream” (Liégeois, 2007). Traveller children’s (positive) invisibility in ECCE settings (Murray, 2017) is rationalized as protection against anti-Traveller bias. In March 2017, the Traveller community were recognized as an ethnic group in Irish society. This chapter explores the complex relationship between the Irish Traveller and the settled dominant vision of “home” and the implications for early childhood settings.
Colette would like to acknowledge the contribution of Missie Collins, Molly Collins, Mary Collins, Bridgy Collins and one young man without you this chapter would not have been possible.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Halting Sites are purpose-built accommodation for trailers (caravans) provided by the local authority. A halting site is laid out in bays and is serviced by the local authority.
- 2.
Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Center: www.paveepoint.ie Pavee Point’s mission is to contribute to improvement in the quality of life, living circumstances, status and participation of Travellers & Roma through working innovatively for social justice, greater solidarity, development, equality and human rights.
References
Ahlstrom, D. (2017, January 13). Traveller cures could help reduce HSE costs, student finds: Ian McDonagh carries out survey of herbal cures and healers used by Traveller community. Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/traveller-cures-could-help-reduce-hse-costs-student-finds-1.2935892
Brayboy, B. (2006). Towards a tribal critical race theory in education. The Urban Review, 37(5). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-005-0018-y
Central Statistics Office. (2016). Census 2016 profile 8 – Irish travellers, ethnicity and religion. Central Statistics Office
Community Foundation Ireland. (2017). National Traveller survey. https://www.communityfoundation.ie/insights/news/national-traveller-survey-funded-by-the-communityfoundation-for-ireland
Coxhead, J. (2007). The last bastion of racism: Gypsies, Travellers and policing. Trentham Books.
D’Arcy, K. (2016). Using counter-stories to challenge stock stories about Traveller families. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 4(12). https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2016.1191701
Derman-Sparks, L., Olsen Edwards, J., & with Goins, C. M. (2020). Anti-bias education for young children and ourselves (2nd ed.). National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Eurochild. (2012). Giving a voice to European children in vulnerable situations. Eurochild.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). (2020a). Roma and Travellers in six countries: Roma and Traveller survey. Publications Office of the EU.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). (2020b). Roma and Travellers survey: Europe needs to break the vicious circle of poverty and discrimination against Roma and Travellers. https://fra.europa.eu/en/news/2020/roma-and-travellers-survey-europe-needs-break-vicious-circle-poverty-and-discrimination
Galway Traveller Support Group. (2002). Traveller remedies from nature. Galway Traveller Support Group.
Gilbert, E., Carmi, S., Ennis, S., Wilson, J. F., & Cavalleri, G. L. (2017). Genomic insights into the population structure and history of the Irish Travellers. Scientific Reports, 7, 42187. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep42187#auth-Edmund-Gilbert
Hammarberg, T. (2012). Human rights of Roma and Travellers in Europe. Council of Europe.
hooks, b. (2009). Belonging: A culture of place. Routledge.
Houses of the Oireachtas. (2002). Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002. https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/bill/2001/64/
Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002. Perhaps it needs to be reference as Houses of the Oireachtas 2002 Apologies
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. (2021). Commission accounts of the local authority review on provision of Traveller-specific sccommodation. https://www.ihrec.ie/our-work/equality-review/
Joyce, S. (2018). Mincéir Siúladh: An ethnographic study of young Travellers’ experiences of racism in an Irish city. PhD thesis, unpublished. University of Limerick.
Kenny, M., & Binchy, A. (2009). Irish Travellers, identity and the education system. In P. A. Danaher, M. Kenny, & J. R. Leder (Eds.), Traveller, nomadic and migrant education (pp. 117–131). Routledge.
Laird, H. (2019). What are the roots of the Irish obsession with property? RTE Brainstorm. https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2019/0321/1037676-what-are-the-roots-of-the-irish-obsession-with-property/uiy
Liégeois, J. P. (1994). Roma, Gypsies, Travellers. Council of Europe.
Liégeois, J. P. (2007). Roma in Europe. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Liégeois, J. P. (2008). Roma in Europe. Council of Europe.
Mac Gréil, M. (2011). Pluralism and diversity in Ireland. Columba Press.
Mac Laughlin, J. (1995). Travellers and Ireland: Whose country, whose history? Cork University Press.
McColl, E. (1964). Moving on song. [Song]. https://mainlynorfolk.info/ewan.maccoll/songs/movingonsong.html#ewanmaccoll
Mc Ginnity, F., Grotti, R., Kenny, O., & Russell, H. (2017). Who experiences discrimination? Evidence from the QNHS equality modules. Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and Economic and Social Research Institute.
McDonagh, M. (1994). Nomadism in Irish Travellers’ identity. In M. McCann, S. Ó. Síocháin, & J. Ruane (Eds.), Irish Travellers: Culture and ethnicity. Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University.
McVeigh, R. (1999). Theorising sedentarism: The roots of anti-nomadism. In T. Acton (Ed.), Gypsy politics and Traveller identity (pp. 7–25). University of Hartfordshire Press.
Murray, C. (2012a). Why working with diversity and equality in early childhood education and care matters. In M. Mhic Mhathúna & M. Taylor (Eds.), Early childhood education and care: An introduction for students in Ireland (pp. 277–290). Gill and MacMillan.
Murray, C. (2012b). A minority within a minority? Social justice for Traveller and Roma children in ECCE. European Journal of Education, 47(4), 569–583.
Murray, C. (2017). Conscious Noticing: Anti-Bias from Policy to Practice. In Farago, F., Murray, C., & Swadener, B. B. (2017). International Critical Childhood Policy Studies Journal, 6(1), 22–37.
Murray, C. (2020). Beyond recognition: Persistent neglect of young Traveller children’s rights in Ireland. In J. Murray, B. B. Swadener, & K. Smith (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of young children’s rights (pp. 276–290). Routledge.
Ó hAodha, M. (2006). Irish Travellers: Representations and realities. Liffey Press.
Ó hAodha, M. (2020). Ortha an ghreama: As a lesser-known Irish Traveller narrative: Symbolic inversion and resistance. Study Irlandesi. A Journal of Irish Studies, 10(10), 167–192. https://doi.org/10.13128/SIJIS-2239-3978-11759
O’Connell, J. (1994). Ethnicity and Irish Travellers. In S. Ó. Síocháin et al. (Eds.), Irish Travellers: Culture and ethnicity. Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University.
Okely, J. (1983). The Traveller-gypsies. Cambridge University Press.
Ombudsman for Children. (2021). No end in site – An investigation into the living conditions of children living on a local authority halting site. Ombudsman for Children.
Pavee Point. (2018). Civil society monitoring report on the implementation of the national Roma integration strategy 11. European Commission. https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/cps.ceu.edu/files/attachment/basicpage/3034/rcm-civil-society-monitoring-report-2-ireland-2018-eprint.pdf
Pavee Point. (2021, October). The Traveller community and homelessness. Advocacy paper. Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre. https://www.paveepoint.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Pavee-Point-Traveller-Homelessness-Advocacy-Paper-Oct2021.pdf
Quinlan, M. (2021). Out of the shadows. https://www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/531ef5-co-ordination-of-traveller-education/#out-of-the-shadows-traveller-roma-education-voices-from-the-communities-published-november-2021
Rorke, B. (2023). Racism the root cause for crisis suicide rate among Travellers in Ireland. European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) retrieved from Center https://eproofing.springer.com/ePb/books/qaeVEpyw7dMYd6mUWP1VgyHCKrvDL9krf6Xolgp7TXE0-KhwIOIgckc6jsQ6zYtf25ldu3NRrxjfGLcfWhyZC97P18kx6DAJkWjBVYJOraTsQLu5ZhXIucq1-c_PyDuZ5rhfrWnEyuuU4FxoWsPzbgz0CYBmc68SqX004DdaKEM=
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). (1989). https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx
Ward, A. (2022). Structural racism and the Irish Traveller suicide epidemic. Belfast Leftbloc. https://leftbloc.ie/structural-racism-and-the-irish-traveller-suicidepidemic/
Acknowledgements
All photos in this chapter have been reproduced with the courtesy of Derek Speirs and Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre. Photographs by Derek Speirs, Figures: 1–18 and 20–25 and Julien Behal, Figure: 19.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Murray, C. (2023). Heart(h)less: Negative Visibility and Positive Invisibility: An Irish Travellers’ Tale. In: Gibbons, A., et al. Home in Early Childhood Care and Education. Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43695-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43695-6_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-43694-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-43695-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)