Irish Traveller
Irish Travellers (Irish: an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí) are a nomadic indigenous ethnic group whose members maintain a set of traditions. They are predominantly English-speaking, though many also speak Shelta, a language of mixed English, Irish and Romani origin. Religiously, the majority of Irish Travellers are Catholic.
Although they are often referred to as "Gypsies", Irish Travellers are not genetically related to Romani Gypsies. Genetic analysis has shown Travellers to be of Irish extraction, and that they likely diverged from the settled Irish population in the 1600s, during the time of the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland. The centuries of separation has led to Travellers becoming genetically distinct from the settled Irish. Traveller rights groups long advocated for ethnic status from the Irish government, succeeding in 2017.
Irish Travellers mostly live in Ireland, as well as in large communities in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. As of 2016, there are 32,302 Travellers within Ireland. They represent 0.7% of the total population of the Republic of Ireland.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Irish_Traveller ]
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