“Feuding is neither a sport nor a form of entertainment. People get hurt. Families are damaged. The fabric of the community gets torn.” Rosaleen McDonagh. Last April, the Traveller Counselling Service, Exchange House Ireland and the Traveller Mediation Services organised a conference on ‘Inter-family Violence and its Impact on Traveller Mental Health’ in Dublin Castle.…
Seeks Young Traveller Voices By John Madden SpunOut.ie is a national charitable organisation providing information for young people across Ireland and beyond. Its popularity has grown significantly over the last number of years, often being a case of trying to meet the growing demand for an ever-inquisitive younger generation. One gap that lay within SpunOut.ie…
By Rose Marie Maughan I am a Traveller woman from Ballinrobe, County Mayo. Like many Traveller women, I became a human rights activist in 2004 after having enough of both external and internal oppression as a Traveller woman. I have been blessed to work within the Irish Traveller Movement ever since in various different positions.…
Minnie Connors: The Story of one Woman’s Crusade to Secure Mental Health Supports for her Community. By Miriam Kerins When a beloved family member dies by suicide, the people affected most dramatically are those closest to them. And, if a certain family member has daily interaction with the deceased, then they will very often feel…
Mind Your Head with the Good Nuck Mental Health Campaign By Bryanna Sweeney Involve Youth Meath kicked off 2019 with the launch of the Good Nuck Mental Health campaign at the Hotel Riu Plaza, The Gresham Hotel in Dublin last month. The reason for this initiative was, “To give young people the space and opportunity…
I AM TRAVELLER Highlighting the Importance of Traveller Culture By Bryanna Sweeney Image By Ciaran Carthy As part of the ‘Travellers’ Journey’ exhibition, a panel event was organised by the National Museum of Ireland in Turlough Park, County Mayo. The event, which took place in February, saw prominent members of the Traveller community being invited…
By John Madden On Friday 17th November, 12 young Travellers from across Galway took on the roles of museum guides in the Galway City Museum as part of Takeover Day 2017. It was the second year that the museum was involved in this unique initiative but it was the first year that it involved a…
By David Jo Murphy. Leanne McDonagh is a name that will be familiar to many of our readers. She was the breakaway success on the RTE TV series Norah’s Traveller Academy where she launched her fledgeling art career. Since completing the RTE series Leanne has built upon her existing body of artwork to expand…
By John Madden Across the country there are several horse projects in operation. One such project is the Offaly Traveller Movement (OTM). The project began as a six-month pilot scheme and after a successful trial run; it was decided to continue it and to roll out a separate one in Laois. These began in 2011…
The number of reported cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Ireland has continued to increase in the past three weeks. People in high-risk groups are urged to get vaccinated against influenza. Influenza is expected to increase over the coming weeks and to circulate for at least the next 4 to 6 weeks. Seasonal flu Seasonal…