They are typically a fair skinned, light-haired , round-headed Celtic people, who practice a variation of Catholicism - it includes more than a little of the ancient Goddess worship of the British Isles.
They tend to settle in clusters: setting up their own communities as much as possible. On cluster is is South Carolina; others in Texas and other midwest states.
Their specialty is theft: by deception, when possible; by more direct means when necessary. They sometimes use force. It is fairly common for a team to approach senior citizens and distract whoever answers the door, while other members of the team slip inside and steal whatever they can.
I was surprised to see the woman beat up on her daughter like that: daughters are usually treated with great "honor", taught how to please men at an early age, and more-or-less auctioned off to the highest (Traveler ) bidder. Bride prices are extremely high, and marriage occurs at the verge of puberty : all ideas we find apalling, but they take for granted.
I would guess the mother is an addict.It's the only reason I can see for risking the child's future value as a bride.
I REQUEST THAT EVERYONE READ THIS PLEASE!!!!
I am indeed from the wonderful town North Augusta, SC. YES, North Augusta is in South Carolina....not Georgia or North Carolina for all those people who do not have their facts straight! However, I do live besides them and when I say beside them I mean right beside them! I went to school with them in elementary and middle school and I also currentlty attend college with the one who chose to be different and actually play a sport in college. I have experienced everything there is to experience with the Irish Travelers. For example, when I was in fifth grade I was asked to be in one of my classmates older sister's wedding as the flower girl. If you want to know anything about them, then I am the person to ask! PLEASE feel free to ask me anything about them! I would love to educate anyone about them and help everyone figure out what is fact and what is fiction about the Irish Travelers. Feel free to email me and ask me any questions. If you could please include your name and where your from just so I can see where all these people are from that actually know of the Irish Travelers!
One last thing, this is not a joke.. I was born and raised and still do to this day live in North Augusta, SC. I'm not kidding when I say I know everything about them.
My email is cheermo2005@yahoo.com
If you do email, put the subject as Irish Travelers or something to that nature so I will not delete it thinking it is junk mail!
I hope to receieve some emails answering your question, concerns, or opinions!!
I think it is a safe bet that some of the Travelers are in the N.O. area. Many of them are scam artists posing as roofers, driveway patchers, etc. They probably follow the storms.
They started as “tinkers” after the Famine in Ireland and got the name from fixing pots and pans etc. I saw them in Ireland a few years ago and the tour guide said the richest antique dealers in Ireland today were travelers. They have carvan camps in some areas of the brithish isles for them to stay. There was a National Geographic article on them a while back. I read about them in a cultural anthropology book for the class and it was quite interesting. You might start looking for info in those sources.
hi i know that this thread is very old but if you are still interested in finding out about Travellers e-mail me
sinead-mcdonagh@hotmail.com I will be happy to let you know anything you want.
There was a cable tv series about a Traveler family a few years back called ‘The Riches.’ It lasted only one and a half seasons, though.
It had the awesomely funny Eddie Izzard in the lead, with Minnie Driver as his co-star.
I’ve only run into “Travelers” two times in my life that I’ve recognized. One was in a State Park campground west of Kenosha, WI. There was a relatively large group in two RV’s. They were definitely cautious of the large dog (German Shepard) we had and stayed away. Not very friendly.
The second time was at Maquoketa Caves State Park near Maquoketa, Iowa. They were very interested in a tiny dog (4.5 lbs) my brother had. They wanted to buy the dog, etc., etc. I had to warn brother to keep a close watch on his pet. Again, they were in RV’s. Since I have been a full time RV’r, etc., I must say there is a large difference in the two groups. The Travelers are different. They do speak a different language if you get close enough to hear it. They have an aura about them that is just about touchable. It’s an comfortable feeling that is very hard to define. They did not make a commotion, were not discourteous, or anything else. It was just a feeling. Once you have been aware of the Travelers, you, probably, will always be able to recognize them. AS far as their law breaking, or “conartisting”, I have had no experience other than reading about it. However with the “aura” I felt, I would not turn my back on any of them, including their children.