In fairness, there are Travellers who make trouble ... it’s hard to convince people that we’re not all like that - Ireland

From the Irish Sun

AS a former European boxing champion and world title challenger, Willie ‘Big Bang’ Casey should be a household name.

Yet the proud Traveller hasn’t enjoyed the same exposure as other Irish champion boxers.

And while he would like to think otherwise, he knows his background might have something to do with it.

He told the Irish Sun: “I’ve seen people achieve less than I have and become more famous.

“I know people who have achieved less and have received big sponsorship deals.

“I suppose there’s always going to be a question, is that because I’m a Traveller?”

He added: “Look at Kenny Egan. After he won silver at the Beijing Olympics he became a superstar, and he deserved it.

“But how often have we seen John Joe Nevin since he won his silver?”

Now 31, Limerick man Willie has been a proud ambassador for the Traveller community throughout his life — in and out of the boxing ring.

However, he feels that, while discrimination is decreasing, Travellers are still getting a raw deal.

He said: “If you look at the world in general, things are changing. Barack Obama has just been re-elected for another four years.

“There are gays and lesbians walking down the road holding hands, and rightly so.

“Every man and woman should be accepted for who and what they are, but Travellers don’t get that same acceptance.

“If someone goes on radio and slags a coloured person, there is uproar. But, if someone says something negative about a Traveller, it’s OK. That’s the difference between being accepted and not accepted, and hopefully it will change.”

One of a family of 22, Willie was born into a trailer but his parents moved into a house in Southill when he was just a few months old.

He revealed: “I’ve no memory of the trailer and as a Traveller it would have been nice to have those memories.

“It was the way people lived and they managed fine, so you’d have to give them respect for it.

“You can be sure that if Travellers had their way now, there are some who would take to the roads again.”

Unfortunately, the general population in Ireland has failed to accept nomadism as a part of Traveller culture, so those who chose to go on the road were forced to camp on roadsides with no facilities.

Life on the move has always been difficult, but the introduction of the Housing Act in 2002 effectively put an end to the roaming life of Travellers.

Willie believes this is partly responsible for the shockingly high suicide rate among the Traveller community.

He said: “If you look at the culture that’s dying away, there’s a feeling of not being able to move around, of being confined to one space.

“I suppose 90 per cent of people can cope with that, but there’s always a few who can’t and I’ve always thought the suicide rate was in some way connected with that.”

Growing up, Willie’s older brothers and sisters went to a Traveller-only school, a situation he calls “a load of crap”.

He added: “I was the first in my family to go to an integrated school.

“The separate schools were the biggest load of crap ever and that’s why people found it so hard to get to know and respect Travellers, because they didn’t mix.” Ambitious Willie was the first in his family to complete his Junior Cert, but left school at 16 to train as a welder.

He counts himself luckier than most as he secured a job without any problems.

He married his childhood sweetheart Mary — who comes from the settled community — when he was 17.

The couple live in Southill with their four young children — Myles, 11, Willie, eight, Kerry, six, and Ellie May, three. He revealed: “I live in a settled community and the people there have great respect for me, as I do for them.

“I’m known and accepted around Southill but that doesn’t mean I’m accepted everywhere else. I’m in the public eye a lot more and people would have a bit more respect for me because of that.

“They’d see you on TV and on talk shows and think, ‘He’s a nice lad’, so people are more understanding of me than they are of other Travellers.”

As a professional boxer, Willie has also enjoyed great respect from his trainers, explaining: “They’ve brought me into their homes. I’ve met their families, stayed overnight.”

He is also well aware that his boxing exploits have won him huge support among the settled community. He recalled: “When I was fighting for the world title against Guillermo Rigondeaux 5,000 people came to cheer me on, and they weren’t all Travellers.”

The sports star knows that education is important, insisting: “There’s not a hope in hell that my kids will leave school early.”

Despite his positivity, he admits that discrimination is still alive and well.

But he conceded that sometimes criticism of some people in the Traveller community is justified. He explained: “To be fair, a lot of Travellers don’t make it easy for the rest of us.

“There are people who cause trouble and it’s hard to convince people then that we’re not all like that.

“People in the settled community cause trouble too.”