Stories from the Edge - Volunteer Now

Those who have never met with a Traveller and his or her family must, if they are honest, admit to stereotyping.Those whohave met with Travellers through social and community work will not admit stereotyping. Nevertheless, speak to MichaelMongan, an articulate self educated man, and he will tell a different story. According to Michael the "good meaning folkwith their fancy suits" inevitably adopt a patronising attitude towards our own indigenous ‘third world’ community. In thelast decade across the north the authorities have built a half dozen Travellers halting sites, spent a cool £14 million poundsand rarely listened to the Travelling community. Where Michael lives he points out that several years ago the authoritiesprepared a new halting site. Workmen dug a hole and had to fill it in again. The site would have been on the side of BlackMountain and located directly under dangerous high tension electric cables.Michael admits that only now have more“He tells horror storiesof being told to get outof licensed premises”enlightened people come to realise that thepeople who know best about the Travellers– and you’ve guessed – are Travellersthemselves. It was the shock realisationthat, after six years in a local school his sonwas still illiterate, that lead Michael Monganto become involved in voluntarycommunity work among his family andfriends on the Monagh by-pass site. Untilnow the vast majority of Traveller childrenreceived very little education. There is discernible anger in this mild mannered man. The authorities and the settled peoplehave managed to keep Travellers isolated for the past 40 years. "They have dug a big pit and want to hide us in that hole,"he said. He tells horror stories of being told to get out of licensed premises. He describes the ‘long walk’ from the bar backto the front door. The hurt and humiliation is manifest in his expression of the word ‘hypocrites’. "A lot of people victimisethemselves and call out for equality and then sit while we have to walk that long walk," Michael spits.In contrast, many years ago Travellers were a vital part of the farming year, providing much needed labour and skills. Thathas changed with the decrease of farming population and change in farming methods. No one now requires the Travellerstrades of tin smith, farm hand and horse trainer. The younger generations are caught in limbo between the old ways andtraditions and an uncertain future. They are forced to make ends meet whatever way they can. Some take to the tarmacor the scrap metal trade. Some even make it to the big time, but they are the exceptions to the rule that the vast majoritylive in poverty. Some families live close to the absolute poverty line and suffer hunger pangs going to bed at night.Along with the stereotyping there is also mythology. Travellers were thought of as being folk dislocated by the GreatFamine of the 1840s. However Michael Mongan claims records going back to the early 1500s show that Travellers offereda valuable service to all sorts of people including the standing armies that roamed Britain and Ireland and even ContinentalEurope. Brian Boroimher (anglicised to Brian Boru) fought and defeated an alliance of Irish and Danes at the 11th CenturyBattle of Clontarf. History records that his army was made up of an Irish Confederation. As well as Irish and Danish troops,Brian’s army also contained a large contingent of Gaelic and non Gaelic-speaking warriors from south west Ireland. This