irish travellers in nederland

Irish traveller gang being hunted by Dutch police after scamming hundreds of families

The gang have been ripping off pensioners for carrying out household renovations

• 12:02, 10 APR 2018
• Updated 10:04, 11 APR 2018

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Dutch police have began a hunt to track down an Irish traveller gang allegedly involved in a series of building scams.

It is believed that hundreds of families across the Netherlands have been ripped off by Irish conmen.

Authorities in Holland have said that the gang have been charging families, including pensioners, greedy rates for refurbishments.

The criminals are intimidating people into paying up, if they have any issue with the price.

A spokesman for police in Amsterdam said: "We have a lot of problems with Irish travelling crime gangs.

"They are making good offers for maintenance and building work but when the work is completed the price has multiplied to an extortionate amount.

"We have quite a lot of that all over Europe and they use the tactic of intimidation."

He added: "Amsterdam will not be a safe location for criminals from Ireland."

Shoddy trade deals isn't the only form of criminal activity by Irish people being monitored by Dutch police.

Cops in the Netherlands are probing the use of fake passports by Irish citizens.

An investigator told the Irish Sun: "The issue of crime gangs, including those from Ireland travelling on fake passports, is a concern for us because it undermines our system.

"We are also talking about fraudulently obtained passports and if we have intelligence Irish criminals are travelling through Holland with these documents we will act on it."

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Politie waarschuwt voor Ierse klusjesmannen die je komen oplichten

Aanbiedingen voor klusjes tegen lage prijzen

Rondtrekkende levensstijl maakt hen moeilijk te pakken, wees alert op te mooie aanbiedingen.

• Werkwijze van Ierse klusjesmannen: Ze verschijnen onverwacht aan je deur en bieden aan om klusjes te doen, zoals het schoonmaken van gevels of dakgoten.Met een vriendelijke benadering en geloofwaardige verhalen over de crisis in Ierland proberen ze je te overtuigen.Voordat je het weet, staan ze met ladders en apparatuur in je tuin en beginnen ze aan het werk.
• Ze verschijnen onverwacht aan je deur en bieden aan om klusjes te doen, zoals het schoonmaken van gevels of dakgoten.
• Met een vriendelijke benadering en geloofwaardige verhalen over de crisis in Ierland proberen ze je te overtuigen.
• Voordat je het weet, staan ze met ladders en apparatuur in je tuin en beginnen ze aan het werk.
• De valstrik:Ze geven je een initiële prijs, bijvoorbeeld €10 per vierkante meter.Na het werk vragen ze echter veel meer geld dan afgesproken, vaak tot wel duizenden euro’s.Ze wijzen op extra problemen (scheve dakpannen, losse voegen, etc.) die meer werk en dus meer geld vereisen.
• Ze geven je een initiële prijs, bijvoorbeeld €10 per vierkante meter.
• Na het werk vragen ze echter veel meer geld dan afgesproken, vaak tot wel duizenden euro’s.
• Ze wijzen op extra problemen (scheve dakpannen, losse voegen, etc.) die meer werk en dus meer geld vereisen.

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When ITM talks about ethnicity, we often use the terms identity or culture instead- ethnicity is often used in more academic discussions. So when we discuss ethnicity or identity, we are really looking at the collective set of beliefs, attitudes, values, norms and language that Travellers share that make them Travellers.

What is an ethnic group? Everyone is part of an ethnic group which shapes their identity. It isn’t the same as nationality (the country where you are born) but is about your culture. Defining someone’s ethnicity is difficult, as every culture changes over time. But even though ethnicity changes, there are some things that define what ethnicity is:

• To be part of a specific ethnic group, you must be born into the group. For instance, some Travellers may hide their identity and chose not to recognised as Travellers, but no one can ever become a Traveller unless they are born into it.
• Travellers have a shared history, culture and language.
• Travellers acknowledge themselves s as being of a group different to settled people and settled people acknowledge us as being a separate group.

As Traveller Activist Brigid Quilligan said at a conference on ethnicity “We may not be able to describe easily and for all Travellers what makes us Traveller but we know in our hearts we are. We feel it. It really is in our soul.

Why is ethnicity and culture so important? Culture is a series of values and norms that is acquired by learning (mostly non-consciously) at an early age and is adapted differently by each individual within the group over their lifetime, which is then passed on in a changing process from generation to generation. Culture has a profound influence on how people think, feel, act and process information. Culture is more than traditions, music, language and religious beliefs. It also provides us with a series of frameworks for how we view the world and shapes our values, how we interpret information and define boundaries.

Where does Culture come from? Cultural is transmitted from members of the same cultural group, usually by young children from parents, their peers and their social group, with the basic components of culture acquired at early ages (with children internalising key cultural values and norms). Culture is learned by hearing, seeing and unconsciously adopting or copying actions of those children grow up with. Culture is actively generated and created, in attempts to modify or protect or expand existing norms in face of internal and external challenges- culture is not static and solely based in the past, but an interplay between tradition and emerging new ideas.

Traveller culture and identity is constantly changing and adapting. Some aspects of change happen as society changes globally. Other changes are forced upon the community- for example, legislative changes that have had huge negative impacts on Traveller culture: nomadism effectively criminalised through the Trespass legislation, changes laws governing market trading and laws covering horse ownership. These laws have meant that traditional aspects of Traveller culture are almost impossible to express. Despite these policies, which have had serious impacts on the community, Travellers continue to see themselves as Travellers and show pride in their identity and heritage (link to Traveller Pride)

Why is ethnicity Recognition so important? The Irish Traveller Movement was founded in 1990 on the principle that Travellers are an Ethnic Group and recognition of Traveller Ethnicity has been at the core of our Movement. Central to our analysis of the issues that Travellers face is that denial of Traveller identity and policies of assimilation have created vast inequalities for Travellers in health, accommodation, employment, education and participation in Irish society. ITM’ vision has always been that in order for real change for Travellers, ethnicity needs to be recognised.

Traveller ethnicity recognition is at the heart of the question of how Travellers might become less unequal in Irish Society. The report of the Task Force on the Traveller community highlighted the importance of recognition of Traveller culture:

“The recognition of Travellers’ culture and identity has an importance for Travellers and their status in Irish society. Identity and belonging is vital to everybody and is equal to physical wants and needs. Identity and sense of community cannot be ignored because identity is fiercely cherished by everyone and community is vital for everyone’s sense of belonging.”

In addition, the publication of the Equality Authority report Traveller Ethnicity in 2006 also highlights the contradictions in the Irish Government’s position. The report establishes a clear case for the acknowledgment of Traveller ethnicity:

“An understanding and recognition of Traveller ethnicity is central to the effective promotion of equality of opportunity for the Traveller community.”

Why is ethnic recognition important? The recognition of Traveller ethnicity is a matter of huge significance for Travellers. Recognition of Traveller ethnicity would finally create an opportunity for a sustainable relationship between Travellers and non-Travellers and the institutions of the State. It would mean that Travellers could build on the pride and esteem they have in their identity with the realisation that the State will no longer try to undermine, deny or destroy centuries of culture.

As our former Director Brigid Quilligan said in 2012 at a conference on Traveller ethnicity:

“While we talk of the recognition of us for the people we are would result in increased self esteem and pride amongst our people. We all know of Travellers who are struggling with their identity. We see the effects this has on people. Some people look as if they are thriving, they are principals, doctors, lawyers, teachers, guards, but how must it be for them to live and work in a society where Travellers are openly spoken about in degrading terms? How must it be for them if they feel someone they teach or a client of theirs recognises they are Travellers? Could their whole world fall apart if their identity is revealed? The unfortunate answer is yes. So while we have some really positive role models who are open about their identity, we have many more that conceal it”

At our AGM in 2009, former CEO of the Equality Authority gave the keynote address called “ Ethnicity – the Key to Equality ” concluded that “equality encompasses a range of different objectives. These include:

• Equality in the distribution of resources in society, resources such as incomes, jobs, health, education and accommodation. Travellers experience serious inequalities in this regard with high levels of unemployment, a low presence in third level education, low life expectancy and many families still living on the side of the road with basic facilities.
• Equality in relation to who holds power or has influence in Irish society. There are no Travellers in the Dail, Seanad, or judiciary for example. Traveller organizations are represented in social partnership but express increasing frustration at their lack of influence within social partnership.
• Equality in access to relationships of care, respect and solidarity with the wider society. Travellers’ experience is one of relationships characterized by tension, disrespect, abuse and conflict with the wider settled society.
• Equality in the status and standing afforded to different groups in society. The denial of Traveller ethnicity undermines any status and standing for Travellers in Irish society.

It is important to understand that these different equality objectives are interlinked. Where a group does not have status or standing it will not enjoy relationships of respect with the wider society, it will find it hard to exercise any influence over decisions and it will experience barriers in seeking to access resources. In this way the recognition of Traveller ethnicity can be seen as a key to unlocking the struggle for equality for Travellers. The recognition of Traveller ethnicity will secure a new status and standing for Travellers that will shape new terms on which resources are made available to Travellers, that will shape new relationships of mutual respect with the settled community and that will underpin a new influence for Travellers in their dealings with the state. The recognition of Traveller ethnicity won’t secure equality for Travellers. However it provides a new and solid foundation from which to pursue equality for Travellers.”

ITM’s ethnicity Campaign The ITM formed to campaign for Traveller ethnicity recognition- it was one of the central aims and reasons for our formation. Analysis of what ethnicity meant, what recognition would mean, lobbying nationally and internationally for that recognition has been part of all our work. However, after a motion at our AGM in 2008 by Blanchardstown Traveller Development Group, a specific petition and campaign began. Launched on the 10th December 2008 (as part of ITM Celebration of UN International Human Rights Day ) Traveller organisations began conversations among the community on ethnicity, identity and getting Travellers to sign petitions calling for their ethnicity to be recognised.

Based on this, we began a specific lobbying campaign, and in conjunction with other Traveller groups, have built political allies to the point where in 2014 a joint party Oireachtas Committee agreed that Traveller ethnicity should be recognised and set out steps for how this should happen. ITM and other national Traveller groups continued to work with Government Departments to strengthen this call, including ensuring a second Joint Oireachtas Committee report at the end of 2016 would generate further momentum. ITM and others ensured that the Council of Europe and European Commission were lobbied to add their voices for ethnicity recognition.

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• Current: Traveller culture, crafts and traditions

Traveller culture, crafts and traditions

Explore a selection of material related to the culture, traditions and crafts of the traveller community in ireland..

Museum staff, working in partnership with Traveller community representatives and others, have worked on special projects and initiatives to make Traveller community history and heritage better known. It is a critical value of the National Museum of Ireland that its collections are reflective of all of the people of Ireland and our shared experiences. It is also crucial to our values as an organisation that the Traveller community, a community that is marginalised, is consulted and engaged in the development of Museum exhibitions and programmes exploring their culture. The Museum continues to seek additional objects for this collection. Irish Travellers, or  Mincéirí , have a shared history, culture and language. They are a distinct ethnic minority group, as well as being a part of Irish society for centuries. The distinct ethnicity of Travellers was officially recognised in Ireland on 1 March 2017.

Exhibition: Crown beoir

The mincéirí archives, online gallery: traveller culture, discover the craft of the tinsmith, film: tinsmith at work, 1965, step-by-step: making a lidded tin can, exhibition: travellers' journey/minceir misl’d, film: this giant tent, film: 'tinsmith' by merchants gate films, learn about: tin lanterns, learn about: beady pockets.

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Hidden World Of Girls

For traveller women in ireland, life is changing.

The Kitchen Sisters

Second of a yearlong series

Helen Connors (right), who is part of a Traveller family, says she started school when she was 4 years old. But the community didn't take Traveller girls very seriously — and she says she was called a "knacker" and a "pikey." Nikki Silva hide caption

Helen Connors (right), who is part of a Traveller family, says she started school when she was 4 years old. But the community didn't take Traveller girls very seriously — and she says she was called a "knacker" and a "pikey."

Travellers, "the people of walking," are often referred to as the Gypsies of Ireland. Mistrusted for the most part, their traditions and lifestyle are not well understood within the larger culture. Historically, they were nomads who moved in caravans and lived in encampments on the side of the road. Their tradition as "tinkers" or tinsmiths, and as the breeders and traders of some of Ireland's best horses, goes back hundreds of years.

As times change in Ireland and the notions of private and public space change and contract, the culture no longer accepts the Travellers on public and private lands and has begun to create "halts" where they can settle.

Helen Connors, 21, lives in Hazel Hill, a new government experiment in Traveller housing on the lower slopes of Dublin Mountain, with her husband and two children.

"Travellers got their name because they're so fond of traveling around the world in a caravan," she says. "They'd have their wagons and their horses. You'd see them along the roadside. You could be in Dublin today; you could be in Cork tomorrow. That's how Travellers got their name. We call you 'settled people.' "

"Travelling girls don't really mix much with settled girls," says Shirley Martin, a 23-year-old mother of three. "The way of living, caravans, by the side of the road. A come and go thing. My family is a Travelling family."

Life In School Hard For Travellers

There are similarities between Traveller and Romany Gypsy culture, but Travellers do not define themselves as Romany, says Mary Burke, associate professor of Irish literature at the University of Connecticut.

For many generations, Travellers -- the nomadic, indigenous Irish minority -- provided services to an Ireland that was predominantly agricultural: seasonal farm labor, tinsmithing, horse-trading, hawking, music and entertainment.

The Irish government is experimenting with housing for Travellers — the Gypsies of Ireland — on the lower slopes of Dublin Mountain. The houses are called "halts." Today, the majority of Travellers either live in houses permanently or live in houses at certain times of the year. Gerry O'Leary hide caption

The Irish government is experimenting with housing for Travellers — the Gypsies of Ireland — on the lower slopes of Dublin Mountain. The houses are called "halts." Today, the majority of Travellers either live in houses permanently or live in houses at certain times of the year.

In the early days Travellers moved from place to place with horses and carts. British Romany introduced Travellers to wagons. The wagons were overtaken by caravans, and the caravans were overtaken by mobile homes. But today the majority of Travellers either live in houses permanently or live in houses at certain times of the year.

"But that doesn't mean that prejudice or identity disappear when they settle in houses," Burke says.

Connors started school when she was about 4 years old. She says the community didn't take educating Traveller girls very seriously.

"I didn't learn very much in school because I was bullied a lot," Connors says. "You were a 'knacker' or a 'pikey.' That's all you'd hear every day. You'd be in trouble nearly every day for fighting. If I said to the teacher, 'I can't do that; can I have some help?' she'd say, 'Here's paper; just go down to the back of the class and draw whatever you want.' I had one teacher that said to me, 'Well, a Traveller won't do nothing with their life. Why would you want to know how to read and write? You're going to go off and marry young and have loads of children.' So I was just put down to the end of the class and everyone else was up on top."

Because school in Ireland is set up for kids who live in a house year-round, Burke says, a cultural attitude developed toward Traveller kids who moved around a lot for not being capable of -- or interested in -- learning.

"And that carries over into today," Burke says.

Traveller Girls Marry Young

Traveller families are especially strict with girls, according to Martin.

"Some mothers and fathers is too strict where you wouldn't be allowed to go anywhere," she says. "This is why most Travelling girls get married young, because they want to get away from that. Travelling girls, most of them today would be 16, 17, 18, which will want marriage."

Tell Us Your Stories

This year, NPR and The Kitchen Sisters will bring you stories of girls and the women they become. You can follow them on Twitter by going to @kitchensisters. You can send suggestions to our listener comment line at (202) 408-9576.

We want to hear from you — Click Here For Instructions

The girls travel in a pack, promenading.

"They look very glamorous," Burke says. "Lot's of makeup and heels and long hair."

Terry McCarthy, 16, was recently married.

"When I was 13, I met my husband at a festival," she says. "And the minute I met him, I knew I was in love. I got engaged when I was 15. I had a big do for that. I had a big engagement party. Just went from there then. I got married last month. I had a lovely big huge white dress."

"Whatever you want on your wedding day you have to get," Connors says. "When I got married, I got to design my own wedding dress -- my dream dress. It had a 50-foot train. It was all diamonds and lace. Travellers, too, they have a mini-bride. That's a girl you just dress up to look just like yourself for the day. Your mini-bride has to look like you."

Theresa Hughes and daughter Jennifer have been sewing wedding dresses for Traveller girls for more than 10 years.

"The Travelling community, they come over to us to get their outfits made for going to weddings -- even the mothers and grannies want bling," Theresa says. "Thick pink satin, sequins, beads, glitter. They go all out."

Jennifer shows off a white miniskirt with beads on it.

"I just go all out; I go for extremes," she says. "I kind of used Elvis as an inspiration -- Elvis' white Lycra suit, the flared one that he wears to his last concert."

There is a lot of money involved in Traveller weddings, both in terms of substantial dowry payments and in terms of putting on a good show.

Traveller Women Gain Power

As women age in Traveller culture, they gain power. They often outlive the men. They can become matriarchs in the culture, particularly if they have a large family. And there's prestige attached to being the mother of many.

Shirley Martin, 23, a resident at Hazel Hill, says that Traveller families are especially strict with girls — and that's why they marry young. Nikki Silva hide caption

Shirley Martin, 23, a resident at Hazel Hill, says that Traveller families are especially strict with girls — and that's why they marry young.

"When I was a kid, the Travellers, they used to come around our houses making pots and pans and doing odd jobs," says Paul Connelly, the caretaker of the Hazel Hill halting site. "And in return for that, they may get milk and bread and potatoes. People will not tolerate Travellers living on the side of the roads now. It's dangerous for themselves. The country's trying to get them settled. Set up halting sites and trying to get them to live in them."

Traveller life has changed, Helen Connors says.

"My mother and father had 17 children -- nine boys and eight girls," she says. "Myself, I left school when I was 11, but then I started a trainer course where I learned how to read and write. Then I did a child care course, and I passed all my exams. Now I can read and write what I never learned in school. I learned it by myself. Travellers are speaking up for themselves and being heard."

Produced by The Kitchen Sisters (Davia Nelson and Nikki Silva) in collaboration with Dublin producer, Nuala Macklin; mixed by Jim McKee

Web Resources

• A Brief History Of Irish...

A Brief History of Irish Travellers, Ireland’s Only Indigenous Minority

After a long battle, Irish Travellers were finally officially recognised as an indigenous ethnic minority by Ireland’s government in early March 2017. Here, Culture Trip takes a look at the origins of the Irish Travelling community and how the historic ruling came about. At the time of the 2011 census , there were around 29,500 Irish Travellers in the Irish Republic , making up 0.6% of the population. The community was found to be unevenly distributed across the country, with the highest number living in County Galway and South Dublin. Although – as the name suggests – Irish Travellers have historically been a nomadic people, the census showed a majority living in private dwellings.

Throughout Irish history, the Travelling community has been markedly separated from the general Irish population, resulting in widespread stereotyping and discrimination. The same year as the census, a survey conducted by Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute found that Irish Travellers suffer widespread ostracism; this and other factors have been shown to contribute to high levels of mental health problems among Irish Travellers. Indeed, the 2010 All Ireland Traveller Health Study found their suicide rate to be six times the national average, accounting for a shocking 11% of Traveller deaths.

Through the 2011 census, members of the Travelling community were also found to have poorer general health, higher rates of disability and significantly lower levels of education as compared to the general population, with seven out of 10 Irish Travellers educated only to primary level or lower.

Because of a lack of written history, the exact origins of the Irish Travelling Community have been difficult to clarify. Although it had been hypothesised, until relatively recently, that Irish Travellers may be linked to the Romani people, a genetic study released in February of this year revealed this connection to be false.

The study found that Travellers are of Irish ancestral origin, but split off from the general population sometime around the mid-1600s – much earlier than had been thought previously. In one widely quoted finding, the DNA comparisons conducted in the course of the research found that while Irish Travellers originated in Ireland, they are genetically different from ‘settled’ Irish people, to the same degree as people from Spain.

The results of the study, conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin, the University of Edinburgh and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, contributed significantly to Irish Travellers being officially designated an ethnic minority, defined as a group within a community with different national or cultural traditions from the main population.

Speaking to RTE on the day of the ruling, former director of the Irish Traveller Movement Brigid Quilligan said, ‘We want every Traveller in Ireland to be proud of who they are and to say that we’re not a failed set of people. We have our own unique identity, and we shouldn’t take on all of the negative aspects of what people think about us. We should be able to be proud and for that to happen our State needed to acknowledge our identity and our ethnicity, and they’re doing that today.’

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Irish Travellers

Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced formal recognition for Travellers as a distinct ethnic group within the State on 1st March 2017, thus giving formal recognition to Travellers unique heritage, culture and identity.

Travellers are particularly disadvantaged in terms of health status and access to health services. Further information and resources can be found below:

Traveller Projects and Resources

The National Traveller Mental Health Service

Health Inequality

The health inequalities that lead to such poor health status are highlighted in the findings of the All Ireland Traveller Health Study (2010) . These include:

• Traveller women live on average 11.5 years less than women in the general population;
• Traveller men live on average 15 years less; and
• the number of deaths among Traveller infants is estimated at 14.1 for every 1,000 live births compared to 3.9 for every 1,000 live births among the general population;
• The study also showed that deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and suicides increased in Travellers compared to the general population. 

The strategic direction of Traveller health care is outlined in the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy .                                              

Primary Health Care Projects

We provide support to a range of primary care projects and other initiatives for Travellers. This includes the ongoing work of the HSE Traveller Health Units. The Traveller Health Units work to:

• enhance Traveller health status;
• improve the capacity of mainstream health services to respond to Traveller needs; and
• respond to the social determinants that impact Traveller health.

Primary Health Care for Travellers Projects (PHCTPs) established a model for how Travellers could take part in developing health services. Travellers work as community health workers, and this allows primary health care to be developed based on the Traveller community’s own values and perceptions. This helps to achieve positive outcomes with long-term effects.

For information about the National Social Inclusion Office call: 01 778 5168, or Email: [email protected].

A Brief History of Irish Travellers, Ireland’s Only Indigenous Minority

Learn about the heritage of irish travellers, and how this ethnic minority was found to have a far different origin story to what experts thought..

After a long battle, Irish Travellers were finally officially recognised as an indigenous ethnic minority by Ireland’s government in early March 2017. Here, Culture Trip takes a look at the origins of the Irish Travelling community and how the historic ruling came about.

At the time of the 2011 census , there were around 29,500 Irish Travellers in the Irish Republic , making up 0.6% of the population. The community was found to be unevenly distributed across the country, with the highest number living in County Galway and South Dublin. Although – as the name suggests – Irish Travellers have historically been a nomadic people, the census showed a majority living in private dwellings.

Throughout Irish history, the Travelling community has been markedly separated from the general Irish population, resulting in widespread stereotyping and discrimination. The same year as the census, a survey conducted by Ireland’s Economic and Social Research Institute found that Irish Travellers suffer widespread ostracism; this and other factors have been shown to contribute to high levels of mental health problems among Irish Travellers. Indeed, the 2010 All Ireland Traveller Health Study found their suicide rate to be six times the national average, accounting for a shocking 11% of Traveller deaths.

Through the 2011 census, members of the Travelling community were also found to have poorer general health, higher rates of disability and significantly lower levels of education as compared to the general population, with seven out of 10 Irish Travellers educated only to primary level or lower.

Because of a lack of written history, the exact origins of the Irish Travelling Community have been difficult to clarify. Although it had been hypothesised, until relatively recently, that Irish Travellers may be linked to the Romani people, a genetic study released in February of this year revealed this connection to be false.

The study found that Travellers are of Irish ancestral origin, but split off from the general population sometime around the mid-1600s – much earlier than had been thought previously. In one widely quoted finding, the DNA comparisons conducted in the course of the research found that while Irish Travellers originated in Ireland, they are genetically different from ‘settled’ Irish people, to the same degree as people from Spain.

The results of the study, conducted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, University College Dublin, the University of Edinburgh and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, contributed significantly to Irish Travellers being officially designated an ethnic minority, defined as a group within a community with different national or cultural traditions from the main population.

Speaking to RTE on the day of the ruling, former director of the Irish Traveller Movement Brigid Quilligan said, ‘We want every Traveller in Ireland to be proud of who they are and to say that we’re not a failed set of people. We have our own unique identity, and we shouldn’t take on all of the negative aspects of what people think about us. We should be able to be proud and for that to happen our State needed to acknowledge our identity and our ethnicity, and they’re doing that today.’

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Census 2022 Profile 5 - Diversity, Migration, Ethnicity, Irish Travellers & Religion

• Irish Travellers

Census 2022 Results

This publication is part of a  series of results  from Census 2022. More thematic publications will be published throughout 2023 as outlined in the Census 2022  Publication Schedule .

The number of Irish Travellers living in the State and counted in Census 2022 was 32,949, an increase of 6% from 30,987 in the 2016 census. Irish Travellers make up less than 1% of the population so, for comparison purposes, it can be helpful to use rates per 1,000 of the population. This shows that in Census 2022, six out of 1,000 people in the State were Irish Travellers. The proportion of Irish Travellers in the population varied from county to county.

In Galway City, 21 out of every 1,000 people were Irish Travellers, in Longford, the rate was 20 per 1,000 of the population and in Offaly, it was 14 per 1,000.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown had the lowest number of Irish Travellers per 1,000 of the population with just under two Irish Travellers for every 1,000 people.

In Kildare and Dublin City, there were just under four Irish Travellers for every 1,000 people.

The Irish Traveller population increased in most counties, the largest rise being recorded in Offaly, up 30% to 1,174.

The Traveller population also increased by more than 200 in Cork (up 11% to 2,376), Fingal (up 17% to 1,545) and Tipperary (up 17% to 1,434).

There were drops in the number of Irish Travellers in some counties; the largest were recorded in Longford (down 13% to 913) and South Dublin (down 12% to 1,943).

Note: The analysis of Irish travellers is based on the usually resident population. The corresponding de facto figures in 2022 and 2016 were 33,033 and 31,075, respectively.

The figure for Irish Travellers has a pyramid shape as opposed to the hourglass shape of the figure for the total population. This reflects higher fertility rates and lower average life expectancy among the Irish Traveller population than in the overall population.

Children under the age of 15 made up 36% of Irish Travellers compared with 20% of the total population. At a national level, 15% of the total population was aged 65 years and over while for Irish Travellers, the equivalent figure was just 5%.

Marital Status of Irish Travellers

Overall, 45% of Irish Travellers aged 15 years and over were single, up from 40% in 2016. The proportion of married Travellers dropped from 49% in 2016 to 44% in 2022.

Irish Traveller men were more likely to be either single (47%) or married (46%) than Irish Traveller women (42% single and 42% married).

Around 10% of Irish Traveller women were separated or divorced compared with 5% of Irish Traveller men.

Irish Traveller women were also more likely to be widowed (5%) than Irish Traveller men (2%).

Over 85% of Irish Travellers aged 15 to 24 years were single while 13% were married.

The proportion that were married increased to 49% for 25 to 34 year olds.

Among Irish Travellers aged 55 to 64 years, 14% were separated or divorced compared with 8% of Travellers aged 65 and over.

Overall, 25% of Irish Travellers aged 65 and over were widowed; the figure for Traveller women aged 65 and over was 35% and 15% for Traveller men.

Long-Lasting Conditions and Difficulties

There were 8,577 Irish Travellers who reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent, accounting for 26% of the Traveller population. In comparison, 22% of the total population living in the State reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent.

Breaking this down further, 15% of Irish Travellers (4,952 people) reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent or a lot compared with 8% of all people living in Ireland.

Another 11% of Irish Travellers (3,625 people) reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to some extent or a little while the comparable figure for the total population was 14%.

The overall proportion of Irish Travellers experiencing a long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent was slightly higher for men (27%) than women (25%). Looking at the total population, women (22%) were more likely to experience a long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent than men (21%).

Of all children under the age of 15 living in the State, 4% reported experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent compared with 7% of Traveller children.

The proportion of 15 to 29 year old Irish Travellers experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent (13%) was more than twice that of all people in the same age cohort (6%).

Between the ages of 30 and 59, the proportion of the population experiencing at least one long-lasting condition or difficulty to a great extent was over three times higher for Irish Travellers (21%) than the total population (6%).

Among the older age cohorts, the differences were less pronounced, and Irish Travellers over the age of 80 were slightly less likely to experience a long-lasting condition or difficulty to any extent than would be expected in the overall population.

General Health

The question on general health shows that 22,050 Irish Travellers reported their general health as being good or very good (67%) while a further 3,899 Irish Travellers reported fair health status (12%).

There were 1,350 Irish Travellers reporting their health as bad or very bad, 4% of the Traveller population. This is twice as high as the proportion of the total population who reported their health as bad or very bad (2%).

The level of non-response in this question was quite high for Irish Travellers, at 17%, compared with 7% for the total population.

In the overall population, the proportion of people with good or very good health decreased slowly with age, up until the age of 70 when the decrease rate started to accelerate.

In the Irish Traveller population, the proportion of people with good or very good health decreased steadily with age up until the age of 70 at which point, the rate of decrease slowed down.

There were 5,427 Irish Travellers who were daily smokers in Census 2022, or 16% of the Traveller population compared with 9% of the total population.

Just under half of Irish Travellers had never smoked compared with 60% of the total population.

Some 9% of Travellers had given up smoking, compared with 19% for the total population.

Looking at smoking by age shows that one in three Irish Travellers between the ages of 25 and 54 were daily smokers.

Irish Traveller Households

There were 29,900 Irish Travellers living in private households in Census 2022. The majority were living in permanent housing, while 2,286 people were living in temporary housing units such as caravans and mobile homes.

The proportion of Irish Travellers living in private households who were living in caravans, mobile homes or other temporary accommodation was 8% in 2022, down from 12% in 2016.

In Fingal, 18% of Travellers were living in temporary accommodation, the highest proportion in the country in Census 2022.

In Dublin City, Kilkenny and Tipperary, 14% of Irish Travellers were living in temporary housing.

Household Size

There were 9,448 private households containing Irish Travellers. These households had an average size of 4 persons per household compared to an average size of 2.7 for the total population.

Irish Traveller households were largest in Leitrim, Roscommon and Kildare with an average size of 4.6 persons, followed by Clare with 4.5 persons per household.

The counties where the average size of Irish Traveller households was smallest were Dublin City with 3.5 persons per household and Louth, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Donegal (all with 3.6 persons per household).

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