Ireland Travelling Community Essay Example
Ireland Travelling Community Essay Example

Ireland Travelling Community Essay Example

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  • Pages: 6 (1510 words)
  • Published: April 21, 2022
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Introduction

Ireland traveling community is a nomadic group of Irish origin that over time it has developed a culture as well as a different language, and living in the British Isles, mainly in Ireland, but also in Britain and the United States. They are as well known as Irish Travelers and are the only ethnic minority group in Ireland. The historical origin of this group has been a frequent subject of research and debate. In the past, there was a widespread belief that the Irish travelers descended from Irish landowners or laborers who were left homeless following the military campaign in during the Great Famine in Ireland of the year 1840 (MacWeeney, 2011). However, its origins are much more complex and complex to determine because, throughout history, the group has not created their written records. Some researchers clai

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m that the existence of nomadic households in Ireland dates back to the 16th century and that the term “Tinker” emerged as early as the 12th century to refer to a nomadic community which lived on their social organization, identity, and separate dialect. For a long time it has been recognized that the health of Irish Travelers is significantly smaller as compared to the health of the entire population of Ireland. A 2007 report by the Irish government mentioned that more than half of this community does not live more than 39 years. Children and adults have high mortality rates and are more likely to suffer from malnutrition than other Irish communities. In addition, according to a 1987 report, from birth to adulthood, Travelers have high mortality, mainly from accidents, congenital and metabolic problems, but also from other cause

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of mortality (Griffin, 2014).

The women have a high mortality rate especially compared to women of other communities. In 2007, the Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland and Department of Health and Children of the Republic of Ireland in collaboration with the Department of Health, Social commissioned the University of Dublin to conduct a study across the island on the health situation of the Travelers. This included a detailed census of its population, which was expected to be finalized and published in the year 2011. Being a nomadic community, such diseases are the result of intermarriages between in the members of Irish Travelers and external communities. Such diseases have spread among the offspring of a carrier come from outside the community. The date of original mutation has not yet been estimated, but it seems clear that derived from other similar mutations found in the whole of the Irish population.

Poor living standards are usually cited as the main underlying principle behind poor health amid the Travelling Community. Without doubt, living without proper shelter, nutrition, fresh water and heating can give explanation to a variety of health issues facing the community (Helleiner, 2000). More often, poor hygienic conditions in a restricted halting location, with non-existent or deprived toilet facilities, supports the spread of disease. In the UK often protests against Irish Travelers come to settle in private or municipal land (MacCann, 1994). Recent laws have delimited areas in several municipalities for the use of Travelers, and local authorities have invested funds for construction of new areas and maintaining existing ones. Even though many consider it offensive, the Irish nomads are often confused with Gypsies, and are often

designated by that term. What’s more, they are not considered white by most people.

I chose this topic for research because of the significant issues that face this community and affect its social structure directly. These issues include health challenges, homelessness, poverty, mortality rate and their nomadic nature. This particular research is aimed at giving a deep analysis of minority groups in Ireland particularly the health status of the Irish traveling community.

Research Methodology

The methodology design to be incorporated in the study is the qualitative whereby interview and research questions will be employed in collecting the data. This topic offers a lot of weight to the approaches that can determine the experiences and perceptions of members of the Irish Travelling community as well as the health issues that they face in a nation with a rather positive economic status. The research will be able to provide answers to the key issues raised by the goals and objectives.

The objective of this research is:

1. To determine the health issues facing the Irish traveling community and how it affects their productivity (Which health issues face Irish travelers in particular)

2. The identity the major health problems (mental and physical health) that face the majority of the chosen population

3. To identify how the efforts took over the years by public and private to assist the designated population

As the research study is conducted, a variety of questions shall be thoroughly answered by the various findings. These key issues reflect the range of reasons for carrying out this particular research. The research study should provide answers as to why many people belonging to the Travelers suffer from health issues and homelessness. The study is

also aimed at achieving consistency between grounded-theory theories and best practice while at the same time justifying the complexity, diversity and scope of the issues linked to the health and economic status of Irish Travelers. The purpose of the research study is also to achieve a greater understanding of the community’s engagement activities with other ethnicities. The study shall also attempt to evaluate:

1. How racial profiling has affected the travellers over the years,
2. How Irish Travellers are often considered vague, marginalized and antisocial and often rejects them to settle illegally on land or homes.
3. Why nomadic women are more likely to participate in fights and engage in other social activities such as begging and intimidation, and often end up being victims of their own communities as well as the whole society.
4. Irish travellers’ children often grow outside the formal educational systems.

Methods of data collection

  • Both direct and indirect interviews are to be carried out to members
  • Respondents are to be issued with questionnaires
  • Research on already existing sources in online databases.

Reasons for choosing qualitative approaches for the research

This study is more related to the behavior of a certain group of people and therefore qualitative approaches offer the most accurate and appropriate means of carrying out the study. According to the International Conference on QQML, Katsirikou, Skiadas, & ASMDA International Society, 2010) qualitative approaches are more suited in studies that investigate the behaviors of a certain group of people. Further, the qualitative method is appropriate when the researcher is cross-case analysis or comparisons an aspect that will prove essential in this research. Since the study needs more data that relies upon the responses of the participants

in order to get the actual implication of the challenges that this population face, it is therefore suitable to incorporate questionnaires and interviews that will provide a reply from the community being investigated. The qualitative approaches will also assist in determining how the affected population will interpret certain constructs that are related to the parameters of the research. Further, this methodology will assist in sourcing the data in its naturally setting and support the facts needed to seek evidence from similar studies carried by other researchers before. The correlation of the topic to the other studies will overly depend on the accuracy of the data collection method incorporated and this explains the reason why qualitative data will facilitate the type of data needed to offer valid results. Since the study will also incorporate documentation of changes that might have taken place in this particular community, it is therefore essential to incorporate qualitative approaches since these methods accommodate such issues concerning change. Overly, the qualitative approaches to be incorporated in the research including interview and questionnaires will help determine the desired outcomes and present a comparison of the results those produced by other authors on the same topic.

Ethical issues

The ethical issues to be considered in the research include language barriers that might prove obstruct in collection of data. In this case, the study will have some of the interpreters from the same community in order ensure each party clearly understands what is asked and answered during the collection of data. The other issue is anonymity whereby the participants will be assured of their security. The study will incorporate voice deciphering machines that will not produce the

original voices of the participants. Finally, the participants will only take part in the study of their own will, and not under any influence.

References

  1. Griffin, Rosarii, (2014). Top of Form
  2. Education in indigenous, nomadic and travelling communities. London: Bloomsbury, 2014.
  3. Helleiner, J. L. (2000). Irish Travellers: Racism and the politics of culture. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Bottom of Form
  4. MacWeeney, A. (2011). Irish travellers: Tinkers no more. Los Angeles, Calif: Alan Ward Fine Art Photographs.
  5. MacCann, M. (1994). Irish travellers: Culture and ethnicity. Belfast.
  6. International Conference on QQML, Katsirikou, A., Skiadas, C. H., & ASMDA International
  7. Society. (2010). Qualitative and quantitative methods in libraries: Theory and applications : proceedings of the International Conference on QQML2009, Chania,
  8. Crete, Greece, 26-29 May 2009. Singapore: World Scientific.
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