Submitted by Galway Traveller Movement, Misleór
For Galway Traveller Movement, Misleór is not simply a festival. It is a statement of pride, a political act, and a space where Traveller and nomadic communities can be seen, heard and celebrated on their own terms.
Since 1994, Galway Traveller Movement has been at the forefront of community organising, advocacy and cultural celebration in the west of Ireland. Founded as a community organisation made up of both Traveller and settled staff, GTM has spent three decades fighting for Traveller human rights, challenging discrimination, and protecting a culture and heritage that Nora Corcoran, Misleór Culture Advisor and Media Spokesperson, describes as central to Ireland’s identity.
That commitment is carried forward powerfully through Misleór, GTM’s flagship festival of Traveller and nomadic arts. Now in its eighth year, Misleór has grown into a unique festival in Galway, bringingTraveller and nomadic artists together from Ireland and across the globe.
For Corcoran, the festival is a vital platform for amplifying Traveller and nomadic voices. “Misleór is more than a festival,” she says. “It is a platform for Traveller and nomadic arts, a space for cultural expression, and a gathering that builds dialogue, solidarity and inclusion. It creates opportunities for cultural exchange while welcoming the wider community into a shared celebration of music, storytelling, film, theatre, craft, language and tradition.”
At its heart, Misleór is about connection. This year’s theme, Weaving the Threads Between Traveller, Nomadic and Settled Communities, speaks directly to the festival’s role in bringing people together across cultures and experiences. While Misleór is proudly rooted in Traveller and nomadic identity, Nora is clear that one of its greatest strengths is its openness.
For her, welcoming the wider community does not dilute the festival’s purpose. It strengthens it.“It gives people a chance to listen, learn and celebrate with us,” she says. “Traveller and nomadic communities have histories that have too often been marginalised or misunderstood. Misleór creates a space where those stories are told by us, through our own voices, our own art and our own traditions.”
That point is central to the festival’s political importance. Misleór celebrates the natural talent within Traveller communities, but it also refuses to separate culture from the realities of displacement, racism and exclusion.
“The festival is both creative and political,” Nora says. “It celebrates the natural talent within Traveller communities while also addressing the historical and ongoing issues of displacement, exclusion and racism faced by Travellers and nomadic peoples.”
This year, that political focus includes the call for a State apology to the Traveller community, recognising the harm caused by decades of discrimination, forced assimilation and institutional neglect.
For Nora, this recognition is long overdue. “Travellers are one of Ireland’s oldest indigenous communities,” she stresses. “We have a deep connection to land, language, family, craft and oral tradition. Misleór honours that history while looking firmly toward the future.”
A major part of that future is about claiming space. Traveller artists have often faced barriers entering theatres, galleries, universities and cultural institutions. Misleór challenges that exclusion by creating welcoming, Traveller-led spaces in venues that have not always been easy for Traveller artists to access.
Through collaborations with the University of Galway, An Taibhdhearc, Ardán and other cultural partners, the festival opens doors while also making a clear statement: Traveller and nomadic artists belong in these spaces.
“The spaces we participate in are important,” Nora says. “Misleór allows Traveller artists to claim cultural spaces that are normally difficult for us to infiltrate. It creates a welcoming space, and that matters.”
The programme reflects the richness and diversity of Traveller and nomadic culture. From family days and youth events to nomad-only spaces, workshops, performances, talks and screenings, Misleór offers something for children, young people, adults and elders.
This year’s festival will welcome renowned writers, playwrights, musicians, filmmakers and emerging artists, including Rosaleen McDonagh, columnist with Travellers’ Voice, and Oein DeBhairduin. International guests will include Beaska from Sápmi, who will bring a Lavvo tent as part of an intercultural exchange.
For Nora, these exchanges are a powerful reminder of the links between Traveller, Roma, Sámi and other nomadic communities. The festival also explores shared relationships to land, movement, healing traditions and survival, including through workshops such as herbalism sessions.
Misleór’s impact extends far beyond the festival itself. Its youth programmes run throughout the year, supporting young Travellers to build confidence, skills and pride in their identity. Last year, the festival received national coverage, including at Electric Picnic, and in University of Galway , where 50 Traveller children performed on stage and took part in the youth talent show.
For Nora, moments like that are unforgettable. “They show young people that their voices, stories and talents deserve to be seen and heard,” she says. For many artists, Misleór has become a foundation. It has offered a first platform, built confidence and created pathways into wider creative opportunities. Nora points to artists such as PJ and Francis, who developed through the festival, and Dave McDonagh, who received a bursary and is
now connected with the Film Fleadh.
Through programmes such as Nomadic Shorts, Misleór continues to platform art created by the people themselves, rooted in the principle: “nothing about us without us.”
Led by a committee of Traveller and settled members, Misleór is a festival of resilience, pride and possibility. It carries beautiful songs, traditions and stories into public spaces while demanding recognition, respect and justice. For Nora, that is what makes it so powerful.
“Culture is not only something to be preserved,” she says. “It is alive. It is political. It brings people together, and it can change how we see each other.” In weaving the threads between Traveller, nomadic and settled communities, Misleór does exactly that.
