Voice of the Traveller February 2010

8/8/2019 Voice of the Traveller February 2010

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Traveller

voice of the

February 2010 Issue 73 4.25

A sourceof pride

MichaelCollins:Lifeinthetrailer

JoeWardonawinningstreak

Seeour2010weddingfeature!

theinauguraltrave

llerprideawards

JoinJulieNevinandahostofotherw

innersinside...

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Submissions for inclusion in the next edition ofVoice of the Traveller mbe with us on or before Friday April 2nd 2010.

Contact the Voice of the Travellerteam

Olga (Editor): [email protected] (Reporter): [email protected] (Reporter): [email protected] (Sales and Marketing): [email protected] (Sales and Marketing): [email protected]

Voice of the Traveller, NATC, Unit 1, Monksland Business Park,Athlone, Co. RoscommonEmail: [email protected]

Please note print outs of photographs are no longeraccepted. All photos must be emails as jpegs orposted directly to us at the address above. Voice of theTravellerassumes that the full permission of anyonefeatured in a photograph has been secured prior tobeing submitted.Views expressed in Voice of the Travellerdo notnecessarily reflect policies of the editor or the NationalAssociation of Travellers Centres. Some photossubmitted to the magazine may be used on our

HelloAll,

Hopeyouallmanagedtosurviveth

ecoldsnapand

hadahappyChristmasanda health

yNewYear!Asour

thoughtsturntowardsSpringwelo

okforwardtothe

newyear,thenewdecadeandallth

e

possibilitiesforTravellersinthe

yearsahead!

Onesuchpositivenew

initiativeistheTraveller

PrideAwards.Ajointproject

withseveraldifferent

Travellergroups,the

winnersarefromallwalks

oflife,celebratedfortheir

contributiontothecommunity.

Readtheirindividualstoriesonour

featurepages18to21.

Talentedactor,writerandplaywrigh

tMichaelCollins

alsoreflectsonwhatitmeanstobe

aTravellerin

2010.InfamousasthefirstmajorTr

avellercharacter

ontelevision,manypeopleidentified

withbrothers

BlackieandJohnnyConnorsinGlen

roe.Michaelgives

usaninsightintolifeonthefamou

ssoapalmost

twentyyearsagoandindeedlifeaf

terashisnewseries

ofplaysshineaspotlightonrealTravell

erlife from

insidethetrailer.

Ourregionalreportersarethrivingi

ntheirrolesandare

makingthemselvesknownintheir

localcommunities.

Ifthereissomethingyouwantcove

redinyourarea

donthesitatetogetintouchwithA

nneMarie,Luxey,

MargueriteorthetwoMartins!Wit

htheirhelpwe

compiledourdedicatedWeddingFe

atureforall

thosecoupleswhoareintheplann

ingstagesoftheir

weddings.Turntopage24fora dire

ctoryofTraveller

friendlysuppliers.

Asusualwevepackedthisissueful

lofnews,photos

andstoriesfromaroundt

hecountryandwelcome

feedbackonallaspectsofthemagazine.Untilnext

time...

Springis

intheair

Voice of the Traveller isfunded and supported bythe following:

SUBS AD

WHY NOT

SUBSCRIBE?5 issues a year costs only30Call us on 090 6498016 or

visit us on www.natc.ie

Travellervoiceofth

e

February2009 Iss

ue 67 4.25

FinbarFureyLookin

gbackonfou

r

decadesofmu

sicfrom

oneofIreland

sgreatest

musicians

win

350

BackinBusines

s:NewDVDlaun

ched

GerryRyanspe

aksout...Newsr

ound-up

Iftheshoefits:T

hework of afa

rrier

thebigdebate

Whoistheboss

ofthehouse?

FrancescoAlesi

sexhibitionof

Travellerlife

TheItal

ianPerspective

Final.indd 1

26/03/2009 1

1:51:42

In the February 2009 issue of Voice of the Traveller incorrectinformation was published regarding the circumstances surrounding

the death of Rosie Ward. We wish to apologise sincerely to her

family for any upset or hurt caused by this.

Clarification

Olga

2

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w

Regulars4 Photo of the Month

5 Beanz on St. Patrick & the drink!

6 News Round-Up

10 Memory Lane

12 Ellen

22 The Big Debate: Climbing Croagh Patrick?

27 Remembrances

28 Dear Annie

29 Letters

30 Wedding Profile

32 Out and About

14

36

AswenearSt.PatricksDayweaskisclimbingCroaghPatrickstillsomethingTravellersholddeartotheirheartsoranoutdatedtradition?FIndoutinthebigdebate.

Checkoutthephotosfromournationaltravellerartcompetitionawardsonthebackcover.

22

voicearoundthe

countryLauraGreene

meetssomeofourreadersin

Carlow,Waterford&Wicklo

Seewhatshappeningint

he

SunnySouthEastonpage14

Inthisissue

Features14 Michael Collins on being a

Traveller, writing & Glenroe

18Traveller Pride Awards - checkout the category winners.

24 Wedding Feature- tips & advice

from professionals

On the Cover

Michael Collinsonlife insidethe trailer.

3

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Photo

ofthemonth

Thismonthspho

to:

ParticipantsintheTravellerEqualtiyMarch,whichtookplaceinDublinaspartofTravellerFocusWeek,D

ecember.

2009Dublin

Emailyourphotosto

voiceofthetra

[email protected]

VoiceoftheT

raveller,

NATC,

Unit1,

MonkslandR

etailPark,

Athlone,

Co.

Roscommon

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WiTh VAlENTiNES over and emotons

st runnng g, wat ese s tere or te

irs person to ook orward to? St Patrcks

Day comng up means ony one tng to

te average irs person, drnk.

i eard somewere tat Sant Patrck

mse wasnt actuay irs at a, but

Engs. Now tat snt a dark rony idont know wat s. Te Engs owever

dont seem to ave taken te woe tng

n ke te irs dd. We ave a e s ours

and you cant ave m atttude tat

nbts anyone ese rom camng m.

Beng donned te patron sant o ireand

s aso a umorous tng. St Patrck s

probaby more cosey assocated wt

ang vers; e coud be te patron sant

o sceross! i was readng an artce n an

Engs magazne te oter day and te

pu quote read, bnge drnkng n te U.K

s atrocous, accordng to some potcan.

Now wen tey sted te average amount

o acoo consumed i ad to aug, wat

tey caed bnge drnkng, wed ca a

breakast tppe.

So out wt te samrocks and tr-

cooured rbbon badges or anoter year,

oats at 2 ocock n te parade and te

ootba neaty oowng. last Paddys

day was great because i spent t sober

and n Mancester. its odd tat te best

parades appen outsde te emerad se.

i asked some oregn natona rends o

mne recenty wat was te one tngtat sprung to mnd wen tey tougt o

ireand.

Ran, drnk, drnkng n te ran, and

drnkng te ran away tat was one

response, but e was as oregn as tey get,

comng rom Tpperary. i asked anoter

Engs rend o mne wat e tougt

was te most common tng n ireand;

Berne Was, common as

muck e answered wtout

estaton. i totay dsagree

wt m o course; i tnk se

s a cassy brd myse!

But to be onest ireand s

mosty amous or te Gunnessand te crac. Tat seems to

be te nternatona seng tag

or te green se. But anytme

i ave seen Gunness drank

n vast quanttes, suc as s

consumed ere on Paddys

day tere s no rea crac, just

fgtng and grown men gettng

sck nto a Supermacs bag.

On ts great day i tnk about a te

peope o te country mobzng to ter

oca, or n te case o us Traveers, to te

nearest pub tat w serve us. But tnkng

about t ogcay, wen peope are at te

pont o drunkenness were even Sane

McGowans voce sounds credbe, tey

are te same amount o asse to te bar

man be tey Traveer or setted! Ten

agan, te pubcans soud be damn ucky

anyone turns out to spend a cent n ts

economc cmate.

i remember wen i was a cd and gong

to te town to see te parade. Tnkng

back t was a typca irs eort, tractors

dsgused as monster trucks. And te

wnners o te parade were te same eac

year because tey unded t. Te ony

decent tng about te woe parade was

wen tey trew out te ree opops to

te crowds. So Sant Patrck snt runng

your ver ten dont worry, dabetes rom

sweets s very muc a possbty! And as

or s eorts at drvng te snakes out o

te country, t was a a e, teres st aew sterng around lenster ouse...

come on Paddy, get wt te programme.

Anyway, to a te readers o te mag, unt

next tme, appy Sant Patrcks Day, drnk

responsby and be sae.

Beanz

MartinBeanzon-

St.Pat&the

dreadeddiabetes

Thinking back theparade was a typicalIrish effort, tractors

disguised as monstertrucks...the onlydecent thing was

when they threw outthe free lollipops!

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GALWAYTRAVELLERMOVEMENT

heldaneveningofsonganddanc

e

entitledPride-ACelebrationofTravellerCultu

re.Theevent

receivedfundingfromGalway

RuralDevelopmentandranin

conjunctionwithTravellerFocus

WeekinDecember.Itcelebrated

thecontributionsTravellersmake,

bothwithintheirowncommuni-

tiesandtoIrishsocietyasawho

throughtheirculture,enterprise

sportingexcellenceandunique

historyandtadition.

TheconcerttookplaceinTemp

anceHall,Loughreaandfeatur

Travellersyoungandoldfrom

SouthEastGalway.Welldone

allinvolved!

News

ASPARTofTrave

llerFocusWeekinDecemberamarc

h

wasorganisedbyMinceirsWhiden.

StartingattheGarden

ofRemembrance,ParnellStreetand

makingitswayto

DailEireann,thepurposeofthedem

onstrationwasto

highlighttheviolationofTravellers

humanrightsandto

uniteTravellersfromallovertheco

untryasacommunity

challengingoppression.Alargeturn

outonthedayanda

peacefuldemonstrationensuredeve

ryonehadagoodtime

inaidofagoodcause.

Onthemarch...

CelebratingthebestintheWest

RosaleenMcDonagh,MinceirsWhid

entakes

timeoutfromtheTravellerEquality

Marchto

poseforapic!

Weblinks >> www.tfw.ie

MaryMcDonaghJoyce,MartinaJoyc

e,MartinJoeJoyceandAnneHyland

fromNavanproudlyreceivingtheirD

iplomasinYouth&Communitywork

fromUCCrecently.Thefourwerepar

tofalargegroupwhoundertookthet

wo

yearoutreachdiplomahostedbyNA

TC.Congrratsfolks!

Comeallyou

faithfulTHE2010Nation

alGatheringoftheCatho-

licGypsy,Roma&TravellerSuppor

tNet-

workwilltakeplaceatWistastonH

allin

CreweEngland,fromTuesday9M

archuntil

Wednesday10March.

Thenationalgatheringwillbringt

ogether

priests,religiousandlaypeoplein

volvedin

thisministry,aswellasGypsies,R

omaand

Travellersthemselvesandothersw

hoare

sympathetictotheirconcerns.

Thecostis60(sterling)forthefulleventor

25forWednesdayonly.

Tobookaplace,orforfurtherinfo

rmation,

pleasecontact:

Gypsy,Roma&TravellerSupportN

etwork,

CatholicAssociationforRacialJus

tice(CARJ),

9HenryRoad,LondonN4.

6

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Memory Lanewinnie joyce and michael collins

joe,luxeyandpauljoyceDundalk,CoLouth.

>>HERITAGE

mary-ann mcdonaghDundalk

martin quinn,marycollins,martin

mcdonagh,winniemcdonagh,arthur

mcdonaghand biddydoyleDublin..

10

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kathleen ward, laurence ward,

mary ward-sherlock Co Clare

johnjoyceDundalkinthe1970s

bridgiejoyceandhersisterkatiemcdonaghDundalkintheir20s

magoobrien,nonieharrington,nellieduckwithfriendsatpuckfaircirca1940

nonieharrington(Centre) from

Killarneywithunknownfriends.

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The continuing tale of Ellen, theyoung Traveller girl as she dreams

big dreams of the sweepstakes!

Ellen

>>HERITAGE

AN 8 YEAR old Ellen ran from where she played outside on ahot summers day to see what the big commotion was about in

the kitchen. We won! Were rich! she heard her father roar ashe jumped up and down with her mother grasping a ticket hehad bought the day before out of his pay for the Irish Sweep-stakes. Ellens mother didnt believe him and grabbed theticket; she scanned line for line to check if what she was hear-ing was true. After accepting it was (and after hitting the manwith a rolled up cleaning cloth for spending hard earned moneybehind her back on gambling) Ellens mother paced up anddown their kitchen wiping non-existent dust off every surface,as she always did when in thought.

Ellen didnt know how much money there was to be won on themonthly draw but always listened with excitement when herfather would rhyme off what hed buy the day they became rich.All Ellen knew was thered be enough money to maybe get her aroom of her own, shed even settle for a bed of her own and nolonger have to share a bed with her sister.

Within the hour, all the family had heard about the win andwere at the door to give their congratulations and advice onhow best the winnings were to be spent. There was also men-tion of which families werent to know about it Let them keepguessing, theyd only begrudge it chimed Ellens aunt ran-domly and more frequently the closer to the end of her glass ofstout she got.The next morning the family was packed into Ellens unclesold car and after checking the numbers again for good measurethey made their way on the long road to Dublin to collect themoney. No one spoke the whole journey in the small car except

for the odd outburst of laughter and sounds of excitement.

Ellens thoughts once again turned to all the things she was go-ing to get and not have to wait for Santa to bring. A doll! No, no,two dolls Ellen thought, and a new moses basket to bring themaround in, the basket she had seen through the window of asmall toy shop on weekly food shopping trips with her mother.

And a big wooden box to lock them in to keep them safe whenshed be out playing dizzy and hopscotch with her cousins. The

box would be dressed in fancy paint and stickers and wouldserve brilliantly to stop her cousin from robbing the clothes offher new dolls, she imagined as she drifted off to sleep.

Ellen woke with a start to the sound of her uncles car horn justas they arrived up outside a massive grey stone building; Getout of the way she heard him shout to an old man with a paperbag in his hand as he tried to squeeze the old car into a spotclosest to the door as possible. Her father thought it best to goin by himself and did so with his passport and ticket in hand.After what seemed to be hours the door swung open and out hearrived with a brown envelope under his arm.

The rest of the day was spent walking round the city and wewere all treated to new shoes and clothes. Ellen knew within thefew days following that her expectations of how her life mightchange was unrealistic. That year however was the first that

her family had a brand new shiny car parked outside, a blueFord Cortina that stayed with them for years and she eventuallylearned to drive in, most importantly though the following weekshe woke to find an amazing white Moses cot and a doll namedAbbey at the foot of her bed. Ellen still slept in the same bed asher sister but at least she had the company of Abbey and thedreams of the next big win!!

A doll...no, two dolls Ellen thought

and a new moses basket to bring

them round in and a big wooden box

to lock them in and keep them safe

when shed be out playing!

12

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G.J. Ginty & Sons LtdMonumental SculptorsKillala Road, Ballina, Co. MayoTel: 096 22614 or087 9014419

Headstones , statues , books , hearts and

vases in any shape or colour .

Work carried out in any part of Ireland .

25-26 Church Street,Dundalk, County Louth

Tel: 042 9331456

Fax: 042 9331502

Email: [email protected]

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Were out and about again withLaura Greene from Voice of theTraveller. This time she headed to thesunny South East of Carlow, Wexfordand Wicklow.

VOICEAROUNDTHE COUNTRY

14

TheSunnySouthEastcontinued...

All ofthese centres areactivelyworkingwith the

Travelling communityfora number ofyearsand are

involved intrainingincludingWorkProgrammes,

Educationand Personal Development.

FollowMeUptoCarlow!

The first legofmy journeytookmeto Carlowwhere

I visitedSt. CatherinesCommunity ServicesCentre.

Alongwiththelearners, ImetwithMargaret McCarthy

andBrigidMcCarthy whohavecompleted fiveyears

trainingtobecomePeerHealthWorkers forthetravelling

community. Chattingtothisdynamicduo, it is easyto see

that this programmeisavaluableasset tothe centre

Nextit was time to stepinside theCo.Carlow VEC

Educationand TrainingCentre! With many varied

programmesavailable, from intercultural activities to

linkswith LimerickUniversity,thisisa verybusyplace

andthisshort paragraphcouldntpossiblydoitjustice!

Wexford

OntoNewRossSenior TravellerTraining Centrewhere I

metwith awonderful group ofladiesin thehairdressing

salonandheardsomewonderful inspirationalstories

oftheir journey back to education. There is awonderful

atmosphere hereatthiscentre.

TheGarden ofIreland

TheWicklowSenior Travellers Centrewasa hiveof

activitywitha fantasticviewofthe sea! Agreat place

towork and learn, theseladieskeptmeentertained!

Aquickstop at Bray TravellersWomensProgramme

finishedmyjourney wherethe ladies tookthe time to

critique VOTMagazine. Somegreat input andideas to

be followed up onlater!Thanks toeveryonefortheir

hospitality!

Closeknitgroup! KathleenWall,M

aryMcCarthy,

MarthaFlynn,LizzieWall,FredaBerry

andMaryDoran.

BrayTravellersWomensGro

JulaanneMalone,BrigidOBr

Carpenter,MarieDelaney,Je

EllenMoorehouse.

No

M

C

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VoiceAroundtheCountry isa

regularfeaturesoifyouwouldlikea

representativefromtheVoiceofthe

Travellertovisityourcentre,pleasege

t

intouchwithLaura.Emaillaura.green

e@

natc.ieorphone0906498017.

ndyMoorehouse,

arieOBrien,Donna

onnors,NoreenOBrien,

SewingSisters-HelenLynchandAnne

McCarthy

SelinaOLearyalongwithhermusic

teacherEricButleratCo.CarlowVEC

Education&TrainingCentre:

AnnMurphyandLizzyConnorsenjoy

ing

beautyschool!

Cassidy,JosieCassicy,KathleenCassid

y,TheresaOBrien,

nneCassidy,WinnieCassidy,BrigidDe

rmody,Brigid

fromSt.CatherinesCommunityCentr

e,Carlow.

NanMurphyfromNewRossSeniorTr

avellerTrainingCentre

enjoyingmakingaChocolateFudgeC

akeaspartofherLCA

2ndyearcourse

FutureBeautyTherapists-KateConno

rs,AnneConnors,

JosieGoggins,AnnMurphyandinfrontLizzieConnorsand

MaryConnors

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Tales frominsidethe trailern

Its just over 10 years since the final episode of Glenroe was watched byhundreds of thousands across Ireland. At that time, actor and writerMichael Collins was probably the most familiar Traveller face on theisland playing the loveable rogue Johnny Connors. Since then, Michael

has starred in a series of plays and films. But 6 years ago he startedwriting his own plays from the inside of the trailer, from the inside ofthe Traveller community. Michael talks to Voice of the Travellerabouthis critical acclaimed productions and the rewards and struggles of lifeas a writer.

Interview by David Lynch

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LOOK ITS like this, says Michael. As aTraveller writer there is a certain amount

you can get away with. But you have achoice. You can do it either in your face or

very delicately. And my motto always was-in your face!Nobody can deny that Michael has beenbrave and in your face when it comes to

his writing. Dealing with controversialissues in the Travelling community, he haswon praise for his plays.The first Its a Cultural Thing...or is it?looked at the rapid and dramatic changesthe community has faced since the 1960s.The loss of the old trades and skills, themove to the big cities and the problems ofdiscrimination.But its all seen throughthe eyes of a young child who is becom-ing a teenager- so its funny as well, saysMichael about the favourite of his plays.

The second Mobilelooked at the divisiveproblems of feuding. Its loosely based in

feud fighting. Its about an internal conflictwithin the young man himself. Hes forcedto fight this other Traveller who is his bestfriend and first cousin and they are mar-ried to two sisters.Hes trying to come toterms with why should he fight him? Whois putting the pressure on? Who is tellinghim to stop? What will the outcome be?Because of this whole male macho bull inthe Traveller community- some males thinkit is something they have to do. It exploresthat element, those tensions.

With his most recent work, Worlds Apart,

Same Difference its domestic violenceand racism towards black people that isexplored.I know Travellers who are racisttowards black people. They would say thebig black buck or they are coming into thecountry stealing our jobs. What Travellersforget very quickly, 15 years ago settledpeople were saying that about Travellers.Obviously sometimes the trodden on, wantto trod on someone else.

Its all a long way from the gas characterof Johnny Connors in Glenroe.Johnnieand Blackie Connors were loveable rogues-

everyone loved them. Even if they donewrong people would say Ah sure they werejust having the bit of crack.

We used to shoot outside a trailer. Andsomeone said to me, why do they nevershoot inside the trailer, why do they neverbring us inside? I would love to see what isinside.That stuck me at the time. Travel-

lers are very proud of theirhome, they are the clean-est places. What I amactually doing in myplays is inviting peopleinto the trailers. I bringthe audience into theTravelling community.

Come in have a look.Hear our stories. Our problems are notmuch different than yours.

Now in his 40s, Michael like many Travel-lers of his age left school early.I left aftermy communion aged 12 and the only thingI could do was write my name because Iwas in a special segregated class.But inthe 1980s he slowly got involved in actingand caught the bug. He starred on screenand stage, including in a production ofThe Field in the Abbey. But writing wasalways in the background.People would say to me- Why dont you

write something about Travellers? Yourealways saying you would. There be moneyout there for you as well cause youd bethe only Traveller writer.Well 20 years onand I am still looking for the money! helaughs.

My first play was 6 or 7 years ago.What I done, because my literacy skill arenot great. I cant actually spell or write, Imcrap at that. So what I did was talk intothe mini disc and then it was typed up forme by others and I would then read it andgo over it. I never felt embarrassed. I was

never embarrassed about where I was fromand who I was.

The acting came at a right stage of my lifeand then the writing came at a stage of mylife that was the right time.I know people might say its a clich, butthere is a certain time in your life whenthings will happen to you and they are theperfect times.

The type of writer I am I like commentsabout my plays from real people. Thosepeoples reaction means more to me than

a good review. Of course good reviewsare nice- and they help sell the play. Butit is more important to get a review froman ordinary person. He also believes itsimportant that young Travellers remembertheir cultural heritage.What young people have to learn and

remember is if you forget your past you willhave not future.

ITS MORE than a decade since MichCollins starred in Glenroe, but peoplstill talk fondly of his character Johnand the other famous Travellercharacter Blackie.I thought Johnny was brilliant- youwere limited in what you can say buwas great.Starring alongside settleactor Liam Heffernan, Michael is stilfull of praise for his colleague.Settled people who played Travelleneed to study them to get the chararight. The only man I remember dointhat was Liam Heffernan who playeBlackie Connors.He would be one of the mostsuccessful actors who played Travelcause he actually knew Travellers.The fame that came to Michael, wasalways easy to deal with.When I was in Glenroe for the firsttime and a Traveller young one aske

me for an autograph I nearly died!I said what , are you sure you wantautograph? And she said yeah youthe one of the telly.I nearly died. I went completely brigred because I was so embarrassed; ittook me years to get used to that. Njust getting used to settled peopleasking for an autograph, but gettingused to Travellers asking for it!

Michael thinks that there is an oppotunity on shows like Fair City for theintroduction of Traveller characters.

Quarter of Travellers live in Dublin,the majority of Travellers I know do at Fair City and its an ideal place forTraveller character. You have the whthing around the new communitiescoming into Fair City, but you hear nreference to Travellers- it would makgreat story line.

More information on Michael:

www.facebook.com

www.travellerwagonwheel.com

[email protected]

Michaels plays are on the road across Irelan

check websites above for details.

Worlds Apart, Same Differenceruns from

Monday, May 24, until Friday, May 28 at 8

Location: Project Arts Centre Dublin

Life as Johnny Conno

Weblinks >> www.projectartscentre.i

e

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PUMPED UPWITHTRAV

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Documents

Voice of the Traveller February 2010