The wedding thing I completely get, even if those booking it feel discriminated against because they’d do nothing, half their extended family will tear the place apart. Travellers have to have a long hard conversation with themselves about their issues with violence and feuding and alcohol. Its not settled societies place to just turn a blind eye and welcome them in
I’m sure the guards have said the same thing
Had an incident during the week where I nearly got run off the road by a traveller. It was a woman who proceeded to scream at me . Couldn’t tell you what I did but it was obviously something terrible because this level of anger could only come from an existential crisis . I’ve never had a good interaction with any traveller . They say it’s only 5% of them that give the 95%a bad name well I must be the most unlucky person in the world because I’ve only met the 5% of the community
I can see both sides to this. I’ve known a few travellers in my days some right scumbags and others who were sound.
The major problem is within their communities they are still wary of education, many travellers leave school before a junior cert and have nothing to do, and bored teenagers with nothing to do will commit crime.
The numbers are there they by population have far more convictions than the settled community, again this is not every traveller but enough of them.
As for wedding venues refusing them, yes it’s wrong that people get refused due to their ethnicity but again many traveller weddings have turned into riots and venues have faced massive bills cleaning up after then.
It’s a messy situation where travellers do face discrimination but that discrimination is due to past actions of their community.
Very easy for everyone here to scream “discrimination”, but if your livelihood is being threatened by a tiny percentage of a community then of course you’re going to try everything to protect yourself. Travellers can sue for discrimination, but how often can the venue sue the party for damages if they occur? Fairness is needed for both parties in any transaction
I’m fed up with the cries of discrimination. It’s called risk avoidance.
I lived in England for a few years before moving to Ireland for my job, there was a fair few cases of these people keeping vulnerable people as actual slaves. I have no sympathy for these people. They completely tarnished the Irish peoples reputation in the greater london area too, in reading Irish people are asked if they travellers if they are newly arrived by concerned locals.
Careful now! Mods will be fetching their hand cream and wet wipes any second.
After what I’ve experience in my life, people have a full right to refuse service from this “community”.
Really the only way this will ever get better is if travellers themselves, as a community, work on improving themselves.
One thing I’ve noticed is drop out rates at school. Rare to get past junior certificate if you have parents who encourage you to drop out, either to work or more commonly to do paid training courses. 200 euro a week learning the basics, doing a few certs here and there preparing for the world of work sounds great, but it segregates you from non travelling peers. This creates a us vs them type problem that increases the problem.
Weddings and funerals need to stop being open invite. If someone acts a fool at your wedding they shouldn’t be invited to the next.
Report crime and child neglect within their own community. Many travellers are aware of the shitty things happening, but this omerta is causing the next generation to suffer and struggle too.
All the bad press doesn’t just appear from nowhere. I managed a spar store for years. Some members of the travelling community were decent.. but the vast majority were absolute cunts. Everything from pissing all over the toilets and toilet hallway floors, robbing items in plain view, assaulting myself and staff, dumping tar behind the premises. Drive offs of petrol and diesel. Saying some pretty fucked up shit to underaged staff. Dumping rubbish. I could go on and on. The amount of issues we had with Travellers compared to any other group was hugely disproportionate.
I do my part and give people a chance, can’t judge everybody the same, but I’m repeatedly stung for it. High fucking time the travelling community looked inwards for the problem.
It’s cheaper to pay the compensation than it is to replace a wrecked bar or function room and have your business out of operation for however long it takes to get the repairs done.
Until Travellers themselves start policing the behaviour of their community, decent businessmen will do their utmost to avoid hosting Traveller events.
The worst thing that was ever done was Enda telling them they’re an oppressed minority. That fed right into the victim complex, ended any hope of change coming from within the Traveller community itself.
Let’s have a look at my lovely experiences with the travelling community –
Threatened to throw me off a bridge
Threatened to throw my brother off a bridge (different incident)
Threatened my brother with a knife
Sexually assaulted women
Send their kids in to the shops to scam people on the tills
Send their kids in to the shops to steal
Attempted to break into my workplace to steal metal/tools
Cut the regulator and gas bottle and stole it from my grandfather’s house after he passed away
I know of a few travellers who are sound. They all settled and don’t live in the communities/sites anymore because the culture is completely fucked. How are kids meant to grow up to be honest citizens when their parents are using them to scam and steal?
I’ve been racially abused when I was in school, in work, by people who hardly ever know me. What can you do when it’s someone’s word against yours? I was talking to my GF about this last night. It’s awful to be racially abused in your own country, or to be made feel less Irish because of who you are.
Okay so talking experiences of being racially abused in Irish schools get downvoted? R/Ireland rearing it’s ugly head again. Racial abuse is okay as long as its against a group that YOU don’t like.
“I never did nothing to nobody”
This comment section will be locked, but it shouldn’t be. Hiding negative discussion against travellers only furthers the idea that they are discriminated against when in fact they warrant the hate
There are wedding dress makers who specialise in dresses for Traveller women, as the fashion does tend to be more elaborate. Surely an enterprising traveller could set up a venue that would welcome their community for weddings and it could become a thriving business. It would make total sense from a business perspective and maybe travellers would have more respect for the venue because its part of the community
This thing swings back and forth all the time. The travellers as a community have a horrific past and terrible reputation, yet they are vocal about wanting to be treated well.
Its difficult, how do we hold them accountable? should we make a record of some kind – a database where by every time they abuse people, steel from people, cause disruption, or danger others, we keep a tally?
The issue is a lot of what they stand for on paper is admirable – free to roam, not be told what to do, in theory is good. The policy makers and policing around the world can be corrupt and often unbalanced.
But unfortunetly, they disgrace themselves with their outwardly aggressive culture. And utter disregard as well, lets not forget that.
My boyfriend works in a hotel that has a sign saying “credit cards only”, seemingly that is just a way to keep travellers out and they dont mind cash at all.
Dont they get money from the goverment and dont have to work.
How can you prove they are your tools boss
I have absolutely no doubt discrimination against the travelling community is rife in many aspects of life. Be it access to education, healthcare, justice, employment and so on.
The question then becomes, can it be justified? I’ve extended olive branches to members of the travelling community back in my school days on a number of occasions only to have it be spat right back into my face. How many times do I have to take a risk and be the decent person before I am allowed to say “fuck it” and protect myself from being taken advantage of?
It’s the exact same for business owners like public and and wedding venue owners. Why should they be expected to take the significant risk that there will be massive problems when they can simply refuse service and take the hit.
And it’s never going to change unless some introspective examination takes place among members of the community. Until things like education, mental health and the rights of women are promoted better the community generally going to keep going on the same path
Anyone remember that post here maybe a few weeks ago about a load of traveller women graduation from university or higher education or something like that? There was more or less unanimous support for it in that thread. That’s the way forward for the community.
i wouldn’t trust a traveller with a paper bag
I managed a video shop years ago (around 1997), one day I got a call from the Gards to warn me there were travellers in town. I managed this shop on my own, I wasn’t refusing entry to a big group of people so I helped them sign up for membership (most couldn’t read or write). When my boss found out I’d let them rent videos he was apoplectic but they were obviously used to discrimination and didn’t go for the brand new videos but the older ones and brought everything back.
I’d rather not say who but we’ve been burgled twice in my 30 year life and both times were by a
certain group of people.
The only time I’ve ever seen a pub being shut down then totally ransacked because a crowd just overtook the bar was the same group …
This is a fair point tbh but it’s also a vicious circle.
Where I live in Westmeath has witnessed multiple riots between families within this community. (There are plenty of official news articles online.) It has heavily influenced my opinions negatively and I find it hard to keep an open mind.
The one that stands out most to me was my experience at cemetery Sunday here a few years ago. (For any not familiar this is a yearly mass held in the local graveyard for those wishing to pay respects for any losses they had during the year, in my town it’s a huge turnout of hundreds to a couple thousand every year and this was pre-covid).
Right before the start of the mass for which many had spent weeks cleaning and doing up graves in preparation, a bus arrived outside the cemetery and a whole crowd of men got off and walked into the cemetery as a crowd shouting.
A second group a rival side gathered up to meet them so that we had one group of 40-50 at the entrance of the graveyard at the top of the hill leading down and a similar sized group at the bottom. Both groups shouting and yelling threats at each other.
My family’s grave was located right between the two groups, we had my 90 year old granny with us and a couple of other similarly aged women beside us at their own family graves. It was probably only about 30mins from start to end but for the duration of that riot those involved snatched flower pots, statues and stones off nearby graves and out of peoples hands to throw at each other. My family had to try protect my granny and our elderly neighbours as they covered their heads for the stones and objects flying overhead and the men rushing at us to take things off our own grave to throw. I myself as a shorter woman in my early 20s had a man twice my size run up to me and attempt to pull an umbrella out of my hands. Our location was one we were not even able to leave easily because of its location. I’m so grateful none of us within our group were hurt but I did see an old lady later being helped because of a head wound where she was hit.
Every year since in this town the event has a large garda presence with the armed gardai unit even on standby, the first year or two afterwards had garda helicopter presence too. During those first few events afterwards it was reported within the town that wheelie bins of weapons were found by gardai hidden in the graveyard.
I get that there are bad apples but between these experiences and the same of what everyone else here has mentioned it’s hard to be optimistic when you’re continuously burned over and over again. I feel guilty feeling as I do but what can I do but prioritise keeping my family safe.
Those who think travellers shouldn’t be discriminated against, should live beside them and see what happens. Sorry but it’s true.
I worked in a bar for years
The landlord let a few in once while it was quiet. For every inch he gave they tried to take a mile. After about an hour about 15 more rocked up and we had to ask them to leave.
They were buying pints and bringing them outside for literal 10 year olds
Trying to buy drinks for less than what they cost and trying to confuse some of my colleagues into getting free drinks
Hassling our regulars and destroyed the bathroom
Of course they screamed discrimination when they finally got the boot.
The problem with making an effort to not discriminate with this community is they visciously try to take advantage at every turn
I see it here in Ennis if there’s a travellers funeral or even if word spreads they are around all the pubs in the town stay shut.
They’ve all experienced it and it’s not worth the hassle.
[removed]
It is not really a discrimination if you ban people from a certain group, the majority of whom are proven to cause trouble. This should be normal.
34 comments
[removed]
Weird, I had posted this and it was taken down
It’s a sad read in parts
The wedding thing I completely get, even if those booking it feel discriminated against because they’d do nothing, half their extended family will tear the place apart. Travellers have to have a long hard conversation with themselves about their issues with violence and feuding and alcohol. Its not settled societies place to just turn a blind eye and welcome them in
I’m sure the guards have said the same thing
Had an incident during the week where I nearly got run off the road by a traveller. It was a woman who proceeded to scream at me . Couldn’t tell you what I did but it was obviously something terrible because this level of anger could only come from an existential crisis . I’ve never had a good interaction with any traveller . They say it’s only 5% of them that give the 95%a bad name well I must be the most unlucky person in the world because I’ve only met the 5% of the community
I can see both sides to this. I’ve known a few travellers in my days some right scumbags and others who were sound.
The major problem is within their communities they are still wary of education, many travellers leave school before a junior cert and have nothing to do, and bored teenagers with nothing to do will commit crime.
The numbers are there they by population have far more convictions than the settled community, again this is not every traveller but enough of them.
As for wedding venues refusing them, yes it’s wrong that people get refused due to their ethnicity but again many traveller weddings have turned into riots and venues have faced massive bills cleaning up after then.
It’s a messy situation where travellers do face discrimination but that discrimination is due to past actions of their community.
Very easy for everyone here to scream “discrimination”, but if your livelihood is being threatened by a tiny percentage of a community then of course you’re going to try everything to protect yourself. Travellers can sue for discrimination, but how often can the venue sue the party for damages if they occur? Fairness is needed for both parties in any transaction
I’m fed up with the cries of discrimination. It’s called risk avoidance.
I lived in England for a few years before moving to Ireland for my job, there was a fair few cases of these people keeping vulnerable people as actual slaves. I have no sympathy for these people. They completely tarnished the Irish peoples reputation in the greater london area too, in reading Irish people are asked if they travellers if they are newly arrived by concerned locals.
Careful now! Mods will be fetching their hand cream and wet wipes any second.
After what I’ve experience in my life, people have a full right to refuse service from this “community”.
Really the only way this will ever get better is if travellers themselves, as a community, work on improving themselves.
One thing I’ve noticed is drop out rates at school. Rare to get past junior certificate if you have parents who encourage you to drop out, either to work or more commonly to do paid training courses. 200 euro a week learning the basics, doing a few certs here and there preparing for the world of work sounds great, but it segregates you from non travelling peers. This creates a us vs them type problem that increases the problem.
Weddings and funerals need to stop being open invite. If someone acts a fool at your wedding they shouldn’t be invited to the next.
Report crime and child neglect within their own community. Many travellers are aware of the shitty things happening, but this omerta is causing the next generation to suffer and struggle too.
All the bad press doesn’t just appear from nowhere. I managed a spar store for years. Some members of the travelling community were decent.. but the vast majority were absolute cunts. Everything from pissing all over the toilets and toilet hallway floors, robbing items in plain view, assaulting myself and staff, dumping tar behind the premises. Drive offs of petrol and diesel. Saying some pretty fucked up shit to underaged staff. Dumping rubbish. I could go on and on. The amount of issues we had with Travellers compared to any other group was hugely disproportionate.
I do my part and give people a chance, can’t judge everybody the same, but I’m repeatedly stung for it. High fucking time the travelling community looked inwards for the problem.
It’s cheaper to pay the compensation than it is to replace a wrecked bar or function room and have your business out of operation for however long it takes to get the repairs done.
Until Travellers themselves start policing the behaviour of their community, decent businessmen will do their utmost to avoid hosting Traveller events.
The worst thing that was ever done was Enda telling them they’re an oppressed minority. That fed right into the victim complex, ended any hope of change coming from within the Traveller community itself.
Let’s have a look at my lovely experiences with the travelling community –
Threatened to throw me off a bridge
Threatened to throw my brother off a bridge (different incident)
Threatened my brother with a knife
Sexually assaulted women
Send their kids in to the shops to scam people on the tills
Send their kids in to the shops to steal
Attempted to break into my workplace to steal metal/tools
Cut the regulator and gas bottle and stole it from my grandfather’s house after he passed away
I know of a few travellers who are sound. They all settled and don’t live in the communities/sites anymore because the culture is completely fucked. How are kids meant to grow up to be honest citizens when their parents are using them to scam and steal?
I’ve been racially abused when I was in school, in work, by people who hardly ever know me. What can you do when it’s someone’s word against yours? I was talking to my GF about this last night. It’s awful to be racially abused in your own country, or to be made feel less Irish because of who you are.
Okay so talking experiences of being racially abused in Irish schools get downvoted? R/Ireland rearing it’s ugly head again. Racial abuse is okay as long as its against a group that YOU don’t like.
“I never did nothing to nobody”
This comment section will be locked, but it shouldn’t be. Hiding negative discussion against travellers only furthers the idea that they are discriminated against when in fact they warrant the hate
There are wedding dress makers who specialise in dresses for Traveller women, as the fashion does tend to be more elaborate. Surely an enterprising traveller could set up a venue that would welcome their community for weddings and it could become a thriving business. It would make total sense from a business perspective and maybe travellers would have more respect for the venue because its part of the community
This thing swings back and forth all the time. The travellers as a community have a horrific past and terrible reputation, yet they are vocal about wanting to be treated well.
Its difficult, how do we hold them accountable? should we make a record of some kind – a database where by every time they abuse people, steel from people, cause disruption, or danger others, we keep a tally?
The issue is a lot of what they stand for on paper is admirable – free to roam, not be told what to do, in theory is good. The policy makers and policing around the world can be corrupt and often unbalanced.
But unfortunetly, they disgrace themselves with their outwardly aggressive culture. And utter disregard as well, lets not forget that.
My boyfriend works in a hotel that has a sign saying “credit cards only”, seemingly that is just a way to keep travellers out and they dont mind cash at all.
Dont they get money from the goverment and dont have to work.
How can you prove they are your tools boss
I have absolutely no doubt discrimination against the travelling community is rife in many aspects of life. Be it access to education, healthcare, justice, employment and so on.
The question then becomes, can it be justified? I’ve extended olive branches to members of the travelling community back in my school days on a number of occasions only to have it be spat right back into my face. How many times do I have to take a risk and be the decent person before I am allowed to say “fuck it” and protect myself from being taken advantage of?
It’s the exact same for business owners like public and and wedding venue owners. Why should they be expected to take the significant risk that there will be massive problems when they can simply refuse service and take the hit.
And it’s never going to change unless some introspective examination takes place among members of the community. Until things like education, mental health and the rights of women are promoted better the community generally going to keep going on the same path
Anyone remember that post here maybe a few weeks ago about a load of traveller women graduation from university or higher education or something like that? There was more or less unanimous support for it in that thread. That’s the way forward for the community.
i wouldn’t trust a traveller with a paper bag
I managed a video shop years ago (around 1997), one day I got a call from the Gards to warn me there were travellers in town. I managed this shop on my own, I wasn’t refusing entry to a big group of people so I helped them sign up for membership (most couldn’t read or write). When my boss found out I’d let them rent videos he was apoplectic but they were obviously used to discrimination and didn’t go for the brand new videos but the older ones and brought everything back.
I’d rather not say who but we’ve been burgled twice in my 30 year life and both times were by a
certain group of people.
The only time I’ve ever seen a pub being shut down then totally ransacked because a crowd just overtook the bar was the same group …
This is a fair point tbh but it’s also a vicious circle.
Where I live in Westmeath has witnessed multiple riots between families within this community. (There are plenty of official news articles online.) It has heavily influenced my opinions negatively and I find it hard to keep an open mind.
The one that stands out most to me was my experience at cemetery Sunday here a few years ago. (For any not familiar this is a yearly mass held in the local graveyard for those wishing to pay respects for any losses they had during the year, in my town it’s a huge turnout of hundreds to a couple thousand every year and this was pre-covid).
Right before the start of the mass for which many had spent weeks cleaning and doing up graves in preparation, a bus arrived outside the cemetery and a whole crowd of men got off and walked into the cemetery as a crowd shouting.
A second group a rival side gathered up to meet them so that we had one group of 40-50 at the entrance of the graveyard at the top of the hill leading down and a similar sized group at the bottom. Both groups shouting and yelling threats at each other.
My family’s grave was located right between the two groups, we had my 90 year old granny with us and a couple of other similarly aged women beside us at their own family graves. It was probably only about 30mins from start to end but for the duration of that riot those involved snatched flower pots, statues and stones off nearby graves and out of peoples hands to throw at each other. My family had to try protect my granny and our elderly neighbours as they covered their heads for the stones and objects flying overhead and the men rushing at us to take things off our own grave to throw. I myself as a shorter woman in my early 20s had a man twice my size run up to me and attempt to pull an umbrella out of my hands. Our location was one we were not even able to leave easily because of its location. I’m so grateful none of us within our group were hurt but I did see an old lady later being helped because of a head wound where she was hit.
Every year since in this town the event has a large garda presence with the armed gardai unit even on standby, the first year or two afterwards had garda helicopter presence too. During those first few events afterwards it was reported within the town that wheelie bins of weapons were found by gardai hidden in the graveyard.
I get that there are bad apples but between these experiences and the same of what everyone else here has mentioned it’s hard to be optimistic when you’re continuously burned over and over again. I feel guilty feeling as I do but what can I do but prioritise keeping my family safe.
Those who think travellers shouldn’t be discriminated against, should live beside them and see what happens. Sorry but it’s true.
I worked in a bar for years
The landlord let a few in once while it was quiet. For every inch he gave they tried to take a mile. After about an hour about 15 more rocked up and we had to ask them to leave.
They were buying pints and bringing them outside for literal 10 year olds
Trying to buy drinks for less than what they cost and trying to confuse some of my colleagues into getting free drinks
Hassling our regulars and destroyed the bathroom
Of course they screamed discrimination when they finally got the boot.
The problem with making an effort to not discriminate with this community is they visciously try to take advantage at every turn
I see it here in Ennis if there’s a travellers funeral or even if word spreads they are around all the pubs in the town stay shut.
They’ve all experienced it and it’s not worth the hassle.
[removed]
It is not really a discrimination if you ban people from a certain group, the majority of whom are proven to cause trouble. This should be normal.