LET the voices and stories of Travellers be heard – that was the appeal by Senator Eileen Flynn at the launch of the new ‘Travellers Tales’ podcasts in the Regional Cultural Centre in Letterkenny on Saturday.
Senator Flynn, who lives in Ardara, said that for Travellers it’s often a case of being knocked down seven times and getting up eight.
“It’s really important that our children don’t grow up the way we grew up – being ashamed, putting our heads down walking into places, and not being able to look people straight in the eye.
“That’s how we were reared – not to trust. We’ve all felt rejection. Even now, walking into a hotel in Donegal, even though I’m a Senator, I know I go in with my head down. Because that’s what I’m used to my whole life, that rejection.
“For me, these podcasts are only the start of storytelling for this community of Travellers in Donegal. We can prepare for a better future by telling those stories of the past and not being ashamed of being members of the Traveller community.”
There was a large turnout in the RCC for the ‘Travellers Tales’ podcast launch. It was chaired by David Friel, a member of a local Traveller family who is lecturing at the Atlantic Technological University campus in Letterkenny.
Chairing Saturday’s launch of the ‘Travellers Tales’ project at the RCC in Letterkenny was David Friel, a lecturer at the local campus of the Atlantic Technological University. With him are Teresa Ward, who works with the Donegal Travellers Project in south Donegal, and Senator Eileen Flynn.
Other speakers included Hugh Friel, Letterkenny; Teresa Ward, Ballyshannon; Rab Cherry of Donegal fiddle organisation Cairdeas; and Bianca Rohleder, BallyshannonDublin, who is a grand-daughter of well-known Donegal Traveller fiddler Simon Doherty (1885-1962).
The voices of Travellers are front and centre in the three podcasts in this short series put together by fiddler and journalist Martin McGinley for the Donegal Travellers’ Project. The podcasts are being made available online at Apple Podcasts under the title ‘Travellers Tales Donegal’. The first, ‘On the Road – past and present’, has already been uploaded. The other two, ‘Family Matters’ and ‘Horses Tails’, will go up over the next two weeks.
The project has been supported by Donegal County Council under the umbrella of Creative Ireland and by the PEACEPLUS initiative at the Donegal Travellers’ Project.
The launch was one of three Traveller-related events held at the Regional Culture Centre on Saturday as part of Letterkenny Trad Week. That morning Rab Cherry of Cairdeas drew a good turnout for his talk about the renowned Doherty clan of Traveller musicians in Donegal. In the early afternoon there was a standing ovation for the musicians who took part in the ‘Travellers Tunes’ concert, including Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of Altan and Kevin Doherty of Four Men and a Dog.
Siobhan McLaughlin, manager of the Donegal Travellers Project, said they were delighted by the day.
“This is our 30th anniversary year and it has got off to a great start,” she said. “It is important that people have more appreciation of the Traveller community and their history. We have to invest properly in the preservation and celebration of the Traveller community.”
