Mayo sociologist launches Traveller report

Mayo sociologist launches Traveller report


Edwin McGreal

A REPORT prepared by leading Irish sociologist and Mayo man Fr MicheΡl Mac Gréil, SJ, examining the ‘attitudes and prejudices of the Irish People towards the Travellers’ was launched last week.
Entitled ‘Emancipation of the Travelling People’, the report makes a number of interesting observations and recommendations.
These include a need for reconciliation between Travellers and settled communities - the statistic is quoted that 18.2 per cent of the Irish population would ‘deny Travellers citizenship’ and the report calls for a reconciliation programme to be set-up to ‘ameliorate this incapacitating hostility’.
The report calls for the need for positive discrimination for travellers in the sphere of employment opportunities and also examines the low life expectancy among Travellers.
The repeal of the 2002 Housing Act - which forbade Traveller families camping on publicly owned lands - is also recommended.
Speaking at the launch of the report, Fr Mac Gréil called on politicians and community leaders to take the lead.
“Unfortunately 18.2 per cent (of respondents) would deny Travellers citizenship. This marked an increase of 8.2 per cent since 1988-’89. These results point to a growing polarisation of public attitudes towards Travellers, which can make things unpleasant for the minority. Hence, the need for courageous politicians and community leaders to champion the just cause of Travellers despite it being quite unpopular in certain quarters!”
The study was carried out through the Survey and Research Unit at the Department of Sociology at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, where Fr Mac Gréil has carried out most of his work.
He was a senior lecturer in Sociology at the college for most of his academic career and was also a well-known trade union activist.