Irish Travellers
69 images Created 9 May 2011
Irish Travellers are an itinerant people of Irish origin living in Ireland, Great Britain and in the United States. It is estimated that 25,000 Travellers live in Ireland, between 20,000 and 30,000 in Great Britain and 7,000 in the United States.
They refer to themselves as "Pavees". In Irish, Travellers are called an Lucht si?il (literally "the people of walking"). Many non-Pavee people (or "Buffers", sometimes "Rooters" still use the terms Knackers, Gypsies, Pikeys, Diddies or Tinkers.
In Britain, Irish Travellers are recognised as an ethnic group. But they suffer a lot from discrimination and have to fight against regular evictions attempts.
I have spent the last 8 years documenting life on different sites in the UK, mainly in London and at the famous Appleby horse fair where most of them gather each year in June. More recently, I have been documenting life on Dale Farm (Essex), the UK's largest Irish Travellers' site. About 90 families who bought their land are facing an imminent eviction from Basildon Council.
They refer to themselves as "Pavees". In Irish, Travellers are called an Lucht si?il (literally "the people of walking"). Many non-Pavee people (or "Buffers", sometimes "Rooters" still use the terms Knackers, Gypsies, Pikeys, Diddies or Tinkers.
In Britain, Irish Travellers are recognised as an ethnic group. But they suffer a lot from discrimination and have to fight against regular evictions attempts.
I have spent the last 8 years documenting life on different sites in the UK, mainly in London and at the famous Appleby horse fair where most of them gather each year in June. More recently, I have been documenting life on Dale Farm (Essex), the UK's largest Irish Travellers' site. About 90 families who bought their land are facing an imminent eviction from Basildon Council.
