‘I worry we will lose our identity in order to be accepted’...

As Traveller Pride Week draws to a close, it is more important than ever to recognise both the rich culture of Ireland’s Travelling community and the challenges it continues to face. Suicide rates within the Traveller community remain alarmingly high, estimated to be seven times the national average, highlighting the urgent need for support, advocacy, and awareness. Against this backdrop, the work of the Meath Travellers Workshop has never been more vital.

Earlier this month, An Post unveiled two new national stamps celebrating Traveller heritage and culture. The stamps feature a traditional Traveller wagon, and the 'ponger' - a tin mug. Martin Collins, Co-Director of Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre, said this was a good news story and a "symbolic and historic day for our people". He said this conveys a really powerful message that Irish Travellers have been an integral part of Ireland and Irish history going back generations.

While initiatives like these help bring the community and its culture into the national spotlight, meaningful change is also driven by the hands-on work being carried out within local communities every day.

Earlier this year in February, MEP Maria Walsh visited the Meath Travellers Workshop where she was joined by Senator Linda Nelson Murray and Cllr John Duffy to meet with workshop manager Marina Cunningham, chairperson Mícheál Mac Donnchadha and coordinator Laura McDonagh for an eye-opening conversation about the work they do and about the historic discrimination that continues to shape the lives of many Travellers in Ireland today.

Established in 1965, the Meath Travellers Workshop has long stood as a cornerstone of advocacy, support and cultural preservation for the Travelling community. The organisation has evolved into a vital hub for empowerment, education and front line services. The visit cast a spotlight on the daily realities that Ireland’s Indigenous community face, and the grass roots work being done in Navan to build trust, protect culture and support mental well being.

At the heart of discussions was the growing mental health crisis within the Travelling community. Societal pressures and external exclusion has left many grappling with isolation and emotional strain. Suicide rates among young Travellers remain disproportionately high, a stark indicator of deeper structural inequalities.

In response, the workshop operates a counselling service one day a week in Meath, providing five appointments weekly in a safe and trusted environment. Manager Marina Cunningham explained that the counsellor is not a part of the travelling community, which is what makes the counselling service so effective. “This is to do with trust within the community.”

That trust has not always existed between members of the community and public services. Generations of discriminatory treatment have left deep scars, particularly within the healthcare and child protection systems. As a result, many Travellers remain reluctant to engage with mainstream support. To address this, the workshop has partnered with a TUSLA family worker who acts as a bridge between Traveller families and state services, helping to rebuild fractured relationships.

Manager Marina Cunningham said that: “There is a certain amount of mistrust between the community and healthcare systems because some older Travellers have had bad experiences in the past, with children being taken into care as they were deemed ‘unfit parents’ due to where they were living.”

Beyond counselling, the workshop provides a calendar of community events and activities designed to foster connection and reduce stigma. Organisers are aware of how sensitive the topic of mental health can be. Coordinator Laura McDonagh told MEP Walsh that “mental health can be a very taboo subject. We advertise events without mentioning mental health to encourage more people to come.”

One of the main factors impacting the mental health of the community is the ongoing discrimination that remains an everyday experience for many Travellers. Mícheál Mac Donnchadha spoke candidly about the impact of exclusion on his own wellbeing. He said: “I am a Meath man, born and raised. I can count on my hand the number of pubs that will let me in in my own town, because I am a Traveller. I have been followed around shops before.”

“When I go out in my own hometown, I have to think to myself that there is a possibility that I will not get in the door, and that affects your mental health.”

Such experiences are not confined to adulthood. Bullying and systemic discrimination in schools continue to affect Traveller children at formative stages of their lives.

Mr McDonagh described the emotional toll of navigating two identities, one at home and another at school. He said that “we have young people going to school, and they are losing their identity. When they come home, they’re Travellers again. I think that is one of the reasons that young children in the community are committing suicide. It is an identity crisis.”

Ms Cunningham highlighted how the absence of meaningful cultural representation in schools reinforces that sense of exclusion. She said: “There is an entire Traveller Pride Week every year, and nothing is done in schools for that, and yet, Traveller culture is Indigenous Irish culture. Other cultures are celebrated in one form or another within the education system but Traveller culture is not.”

The workshop distributed artwork of traditional barrel top wagons to schools across the county, encouraging their display as a visible affirmation of Traveller heritage. The initiative aims to instil pride among Traveller children while educating the wider school community.

Looking to the future, workshop leaders spoke about the delicate balance between preserving tradition and adapting to modern society. Laura McDonagh said: “We hope that we’re more accepted in the future. We have to move with the times. We have to ask, how do we still stay traditional and keep our beliefs while still moving with the times.”

Mícheál Mac Donnchadha continued: “For us to progress as a community, we have to be willing to move forward, but other communities have to make space for Travellers.”

Nell McDonagh, a driving force within the workshop since the early 1970s, expressed concern that fitting in is being mistaken for equality by younger members of the community. She said that: “I have a fear that when I look at the young people in our community that they are opting to blend in with everybody else in order to be accepted. Many of our young people think that by becoming the same as everybody else, we are going to be equal and that it will make things better for them. I worry we will lose our identity in order to be accepted. Sameness is not equality.”

Nell is also the wife of the late Michael McDonagh, who passed away in 2021. The turnout at Mr McDonagh's funeral demonstrated the impact he had on both the settled and Traveller community, with President of Ireland at the time Michael D Higgins in attendance. Michael McDonagh was a tireless campaigner for Travellers rights, manager of MTW and former peacekeeper.

Maria Walsh praised the workshop’s impact. “The amount of work that is being done here and the change that's happening with respect to the Travelling culture is fantastic. We also visited SOSAD in Navan and mental health is just so incredibly important. When you look at statistics at a European level, the second leading cause of death right now in the EU for young people between the ages of 10 and 19 is by suicide.”

“The Travelling community is most impacted. We work at every level to make that policy and legislation to say that funding has to go on the ground to the people who need it most. In the past hour I’ve learned that we have a week dedicated to Traveller Pride. Coming away knowing that is amazing.”

Senator Linda Nelson Murray echoed those sentiments, stating: “Today has been such a lesson at the Meath Travellers Workshop. We celebrate a lot of other cultures in our schools, and we need to make sure a lot of people know about Traveller Pride this year.”

Traveller Pride Week 2026 commenced from 18th May and finishes up on 29th May, offering an opportunity not only for celebration, but for reflection on the work still required to ensure equality, dignity and belonging for Ireland’s Travelling community.

For more information on Meath Traveller's Workshop, please click here.