The theme for this year’s Traveller Pride is “Embracing a modern Traveller culture, with creativity in our roots.” This week will highlight the contemporary changes within the Traveller community and Traveller life in general while celebrating and embracing traveller heritage with pride.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Senator Eileen Flynn, who in 2020 became the first Traveller to be in the Oireachtas, said: “It’s a week of celebration, we’ve got a lot to be proud of as a community. We’re still here, we’re still standing, we’re still a very strong community.”
Senator Flynn blamed discrimination for the fact that suicide rates among the traveller community are six times higher than the general population. She explains that everyday discrimination is prominent in the education system, something she felt while studying an access course at Trinity College, she didn’t feel that trinity was a place where she had the opportunity to be successful,
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“I failed the course at Trinity. I didn’t get the support I needed. When I did get support, they went through the alphabet with me and that was pure intimidation, I felt horrible after it. I never went back for the extra support after that,” she laughs.
Senator Flynn said that all travellers are used to discrimination in all walks of life. She described constant rejection in her life saying: “Going on dates or going on nights out wasn’t always easy, sometimes you’d be refused entry and have to lie about your identity. I was once that person, and that’s a horrible person to be. If I was to tell my younger self one thing, I would say accept yourself and let society deal with who you are.”
One issue that Eileen feels is being overlooked entirely is LGBTQ+ rights within the traveller community, “obviously, there are gay travellers and obviously there are trans travellers. I think a lot of people are in denial about this. A lot of work and training needs to be done within our community. Half the time, we put it down to ignorance, but now we know if people want to educate themselves, they can,” she said.
Since becoming a senator, Flynn has been the victim of online abuse, something which most, if not all Traveller activists, are used to, “I’ve seen the nasty side of social media. I could spend ten years speaking about the hate and racism on social media but what am I changing on the ground?”
Flynn believes that social media is changing activism, but perhaps for the worst, “we can all say things on social media but we’re not doing the work on the ground. I see a lot of activists online that haven’t spent one minute with the communities. You need to get out and know the people. Social media is not real life, social media is not going to spit at you in the face for being different,” she said.
Flynn says that the biggest issue facing the traveller community now is the government’s lack of action in key areas, she said: “We have the solutions, we have the answers – we need hate crime legislation, racism training for those working closely with travellers in education settings or elsewhere, repealing the trespass legislation, we have had the answers for the past 30 years and there’s no implementation.”
Senator Flynn will be making a speech tomorrow [Tuesday] in the Seanad.
Events have been organised across the country including the 11th Traveller Pride Awards which will be held in Lighthouse Cinema. The ceremony will be hosted by Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh. Rose Marie Maughan is one of the nominees for her Celebrate Autistic Travellers campaign. In a tweet, Maughan said that she was “humbled.”
A “Tree of Hope” has also been organised in Mallow, Cork on July 19th in remembrance of those affected by suicide. The 2017 Traveller Community National Survey showed that 82% of Travellers have been affected by suicide. It also showed that Suicide is six times higher among Travellers than in the general population.
Traveller Pride Week is funded by The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth.
In launching Traveller Pride Week, Minister of the department, Roderic O’Gorman said: “Traveller Pride Week is a fantastic opportunity to come together and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the Traveller Community and their ongoing contribution to Irish society. This celebration of Traveller heritage and creativity brings both younger and older generations of Traveller and settled communities together and enriches us all. I am very pleased that my Department has provided funding to support, strengthen and expand Traveller Pride Week.”
Information on Traveller Pride events can be found here, Local Traveller Pride runs from 18th until 24th July.
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