This article is from page 25 of the 2014-12-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 25 JPG
A NEW project that looks explores the history of Traveller culture and communities is currently underway in Ennis.
The “Our Heritage” project is headed up by Ennis CDP Traveller Education Peer Support worker, David McCarthy and a group of young traveller teenagers.
Members of the public got the opportunity to learn about the work undertaken by the group at the Clare Traveler Focus event in Ennis last month.
David McCarthy – winner of the 2014 Traveller Pride Award in Sport – spoke about the project, which looked through the Traveller lens at Travellers’ lives, then and now. The young people interviewed older members of their community, visited heritage sites and built a model of an old Traveller camp as it was remembered.
The project was supported by Clare County Council, the Department of Justice and Equality, Cuímhneamh an Chláir, Ennis CDP and the Traveller community in Ennis with assistance from photographer Pat Galvin.
It recently went on display at the headquarters of Clare County Council.
Ennis man David McCarthy works on a weekly basis with a group of secondary school students. Earlier this year he helped the group devise a drugs awareness campaign that received praise from the Mid Western Regional Drugs Taskforce.
The peer support group were among those celebrated at Clare Traveler Focus which was held in Glór at the end of November.
According to Nicola Killeen, Co- ordinator of the Clare Traveller Plan “The Clare Traveller Focus Event forms part of an ongoing review by agencies involved in the Clare Traveller Plan into the implementation of the various aims and objectives, including accommodation, health, education, and work and enterprise.”
“Each year, we organise an event to showcase and celebrate some of the year’s successes but also to bring awareness to areas that still need our focus and attention. For example, this night also marked the achievements of Travellers in County Clare and the positive stories coming from the community,” stated Ms. Killeen.