Political silence undermines our status and standing in Irish society - Ireland

From the Irish Traveller Movement

Travellers protest outside Dáil and look for political leaders to take action against members on racism towards Travellers


(1.30pm Wednesday March 13th 2013)

Today the Irish Traveller Movement, the National membership organisation for over 40 Traveller groups throughout Ireland convened a protest outside the Dáil in response to the rise in anti-Traveller racism among politicians and judges particularly in recent months and culminating with the burning of a house allocated to a Traveller family in Ballyshannon, Donegal in February 2013.


The protest which comprised Travellers from throughout Ireland heard from Traveller leaders who expressed concerns on the impact of recent events on their lives and the lack of political action in taking public representatives to task on inflammatory incitement towards Travellers. The groups presented letters to the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the leaders of all the Irish political parties stating that “to take no action against party members who had made racist remarks towards Travellers undermines our status and standing in Irish society”.


Recent events involving Donegal Fianna Fáil Councillor Sean Mc Eniff and Fine Gael Councillor Eugene Dolan have caused deep upset, to the Traveller family involved and to Travellers nationwide who have voiced their concerns to their National organisations. Travellers see these incidents as amplified examples of the hatred they experience on a daily basis.


Brigid Quilligan Director of the Irish Traveller Movement spoke to Travellers and said: “When hatred is instigated by the beacons of public opinion and leadership: elected public representatives and the judiciary it sends a clear message to Irish society that hatred, prejudice and racism directed toward Travellers is acceptable and in some instances to be applauded. Anti Traveller Racism is at an all time high.”

She continued: “Recent events have caused a significant upsurge of incitement to hatred against us in social media and on the Internet generally. In fact, just over a month ago the Irish Traveller Movement website was violently hacked by right wing extremists, necessitating an investigation by the Gardai. Everywhere Travellers turn we experience racism, that racism affects the totality of our lives - now we live in fear of being attacked and burnt out of our homes while our political leadership is silent'”

The backdrop to recent events which culminated in the Traveller protest began with comments made by District Court Judge, Seamus Hughes in September and December 2012 in relation to Travellers during court hearings, which included "like Neanderthal men abiding by the 'laws of the jungle'", September 2012 and in December 2012 a reference to the actions of a woman guilty of assault causing harm as the actions of a “tinker” associating her ethnicity with her criminal actions

Following these remarks the Irish Traveller Movement raised the matter with the President of the District Court, the Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Irish Human Rights Commission and the National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee.

On the 17th January 2013 Donegal Fianna Fáil Councillor Sean Mc Eniff made anti Traveller comments when speaking on Ocean FM regarding the housing of a local Traveller family and stated that Travellers should be “housed away from settled communities" There should be a community of themselves together”.

Speaking in an interview on Morning Ireland he also said “those Traveller families should be “segregated” saying that this would not exclude them from getting” first-class housing”. While he condemned the burning down of the proposed house he said: [it was an] “unacceptable fire” but argued that the house should not have been made available for the purposes of housing the Traveller family. “I believe they should be housed in a community of their own,” he said. “It’s very unfair to put them into a very settled community for a lot of retired people… to the residents of Parkhill in Ballyshannon.”

Given the nature of those comments and the grave offence caused both locally in Donegal and nationally for Travellers, the Irish Traveller Movement met with Fianna Fáil party leader Micheál Martin (20th February) to determine what action could be taken against the councillor and to seek a public apology on the matter. Deputy Martin reiterated that the comments made were unacceptable to Fianna Fáil and that he had asked him to “desist” from making any further comments.

In Donegal complaints were been made under the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, 1989 against Councillor McEniff and Fine Gael Councillor Eugene Dolan who made similar ant Traveller remarks at that time. Over 40 complaints were made to the Donegal County Council’s Racist and Sectarian Incident Reporting Scheme since the controversy began. A public apology remains outstanding

On the 25th January 2013 Judge Geoffrey Browne used the word “Knacker” when sentencing two members of the Traveller community for burglary in Tuam, County Galway. The Irish Traveller Movement called on Judge Browne to retract his statement and apologise to the Traveller community and urged Minister Shatter for the establishment of a Judicial Council on a statutory footing with the powers to discipline and censure Judges making racist and inflammatory comments from the bench.

Earlier on March 6th 2012 Fine Gael Councillor Paddy Kavanagh in the latest of a series of anti Traveller remarks made over many years aired complaints about the behaviour of Travellers in the Marconi Park of Enniscorthy on RTE 1’s Liveline radio show - repeating his contention that the settled community is being ethnically cleansed from Drumgoold Villas.

The farmer and public representative called Joe Duffy to take part in a discussion relating to anti- social behaviour, complaining about ongoing ' problems' with Travellers over the past 20 years. ‘It is intimidation,' he stated on the RTE airwaves. He predicted that, in due course, settled people will move out of Gort na Silíni. He pointed to the experience in Drumgoold Villas where, according to his figures, 20 of the 36 houses are owned by Travellers. 'Anyone selling a house there has no option but to sell to the Travelling community,' insisted Paddy Kavanagh who described this as a form of ethnic cleansing of the settled community. Challenged by the programme presenter, he said: 'There is such a thing as being racist and there's such a thing as calling it as it is.'


The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM) established in 1990, is a national network of over 40 organisations and individuals working within the Traveller community throughout Ireland. In a partnership of Travellers and settled people the Irish Traveller Movement are committed to seeking full equality for Travellers in Irish society

For further information please contact Jacinta Brack, Public Relations Co-ordinator (01) 679 6577 /) publicrelationsitm@gmail.com or brigidquilligan@gmail.com