A two-day conference will take place at the University of Galway this weekend exploring the experience of Irish Travellers’ experience of the State from 1922 to 2022. The event, running as part of the Decade of Centenaries Programme, will also examine the impacts of that experience and the lessons to be learned from it.
The event will run on campus tomorrow (Friday ) and Saturday.
The conference was proposed by Patrick Nevin and Elaine Martin and will be run in conjunction with the Irish Centre for the Histories of Labour and Class at the University of Galway.
It will examine Irish Travellers’ experience of discrimination since the foundation of the State, paying particular attention to the State’s role in perpetuating disadvantage.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media Catherine Martin said this week that the conference is an important contribution to the inclusive ethos of the Decade of Centenaries Programme.
“I am pleased to support this important conference reflecting on the experiences of Irish Travellers/Mincéirs since the foundation of the independent Irish State,” said Minister Martin, whose Department oversees the Decade of Centenaries Programme. “Events such as this, grounded in original research and scholarship, have been welcomed by the Expert Advisory Group on Centenary Commemorations. The multi-disciplinary and participative conference will feature some 70 speakers, a play, a living exhibition, two further exhibitions, and a number of performances, with presentations in a variety of formats and featuring local, national, and international perspectives. There will be contributions from Traveller/Mincéir activists and advocates, historians, folklorists, psychologists, sociologists, artists, cultural theorists, and others.
Contributors include Patrick Nevin, Elaine Martin, Rosaleen McDonagh, Mags Casey, Dr Sindy Joyce, Dr Aoife Bhreatnach, Vincent Browne, and Owen Patrick Ward.
The conference will also involve the participation of members of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on Roma and Traveller Issues, which is being hosted on campus to discuss policy issues around inclusion, women’s rights, and education among other topics.
Psychologist Elaine Martin, who will speak at the event, has pointed to a “blind spot” in the Irish psyche concerning Irish Travellers. “We denigrate Irish Travellers in the same way as Irish people were ‘othered’ throughout history,” she said. “The shoe is merely on the other foot.”
Helen Maher, vice president for equality diversity and inclusion at University of Galway, said: “Hosting such important engagement on the issues affecting the daily lives of Traveller and Roma communities today is hugely significant and symbolic for our university. It is also key that we are endeavouring to learn from the past and it show our commitment on the unfinished journey of embedding equality, diversity, and inclusion in education and society.”
Owen Patrick Ward, University of Galway’s equality, diversity and inclusion manager – race equality, added: “This conference highlights the many social, economic, and cultural contributions made by Irish Travellers since the foundation of the Irish State; contributions that for so long have been ignored and erased from public discourse. I want to commend all involved in this conference, including the guest speakers and panellists, but particularly to the University of Galway for continuing to play a leadership role in this area.”
For further information visit mooreinstitute.ie/event/irish-travellers-minceirs-the-state-1922-2022
