Photos by Derek Speirs. Members of the Irish and international Roma community gathered today at the Mansion House, Dublin to commemorate Roma Holocaust Memorial Day. In a moving tribute to the estimated 500,000 Roma and Sinti who were murdered in the Holocaust, young Roma leaders read out testimonies of Holocaust survivors and their families.   […]

Today we launched our Community Hearts Day in Abigail Centre in Kildonan Road in Finglas.  It was undertaken by Pavee Point in partnership with Irish Heart and CDETB. It was a fantastic day with the speeches being a real highlight, as they allowed family and friends from the community to learn about the health benefits enjoyed […]

This weekend four representatives of the Irish Roma and Traveller Communities travel to the Czech Republic to protest at a pig farm being allowed to remain on the site of a World War 2 Roma concentration camp.Gabi Muntean, TicaMuntean, Bianca Paun and James Anthony McDonagh will attend a demonstration on Saturday 24th June as part of […]

There was a massive crowd, lots of sunshine and a happy atmosphere  for the Dublin Pride Parade.  The parade set off from Stephen’s Green around 2pm and made its way to Smithfield. On the way there was music, dancing, flag waving, whistleblowing and lots of support from the people who lined the streets to show […]

The National Traveller Health Network Meeting took place today, 22nd June, and focused on the health actions in the recently launched National Traveller Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS).  Members talked about what future developments need to be prioritised. NTRIS is available here. The Saint Vincent de Paul also addressed the meeting to discuss how they could provide […]

Chief Gary Batton of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma encouraged Irish Travellers to continue the fight to progress and move forward while keeping culture and tradition alive – on a visit to Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre today.  “It’s important we remain who we are as indigenous people,” said Chief Batton who said the […]

Lisa Harding, author, came to Pavee Point as part of the Irish Writer’s Centre ‘Writer in Residence’ programme in 2016.  She worked with a group of Traveller women and men on a project entitled ‘Voices’ that ran over 10 weeks. Lisa used her experience in working with different groups to facilitate the group in telling stories and finding […]

Today’s publication of the new National Traveller Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) provides a much-needed roadmap  for Traveller and Roma inclusion that outlines positive commitments across departments and agencies. “The new Strategy reflects a partnership approach, demonstrated through the development of the NTRIS steering group and national consultations.  We commend the work undertaken by the Department of […]

Traveller Men’s Health Day took place today in the Phoenix Park as part of Traveller Pride Week and to mark Men’s Health Week. Thankfully the rain held off for most of the day so Traveller men from different organisations could concentrate on blood pressure checks, diabetes checks and getting  the information on keeping a  healthy […]

Tania Williams is a Maori family lawyer from New Zealand, who visited Pavee Point for information sharing with our Primary Health Care team. Tania has done research into the protection and care of Maori children.  This led to the development of Tribal leader navigators to support families in the area of child protection.  Tania is also […]

March 1st 2017 was a historic day for Ireland. After decades of campaigning by Travellers and allies, activists and human rights organisations there finally came the moment when the State recognised that Travellers were a minority ethnic group. The excitement on that day was palpable. When the Taoiseach made his address, the emotion and pride […]

Minister Paschal Donohoe, TD, spoke about how important the recognition of Traveller ethnicity is on a visit to Pavee Point today. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform said he was proud to be part of the Government that recognised Traveller ethnicity and acknowledged how important it is for Traveller culture and identity The Minister met […]

Pavee Point signed up to the Healthy Ireland Network Charter. This Network was launched thanks to the work of the Health Ireland Council, who in 2016, identified ‘health and wellbeing’ as a priority for the country in the next 100 years. This new Network will help provide a platform for organisations to connect with others, […]

Minister for Arts, Heritage, Rural, Regional and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys, TD, sampled the enthusiasm and energy for arts and heritage at Pavee Point and reiterated her belief in pride in Traveller culture. The Minister recalled her own family’s contact with Travellers in the days gone by and said her programme ‘Creative Ireland’ was committed to enabling […]

Congratulations to Rosaleen McDonagh, playwright, on her election to Aosdána.  She is the first Irish Traveller to receive this honour. Rosaleen says she is ‘delighted’ with the news and that her election came as a surprise. “Poet, Michael O’Loughlin and writer Colm McCann nominated me.  It was never my ambition or on my horizon.  I […]

It is good news that the new National Women’s Strategy 2017-2020 contains specific actions in relation to Traveller and Roma women.  This wasn’t the case in the last Strategy. It is our experience that Traveller/Roma are often ignored if not specifically named in policy documents. The Strategy locates some of these actions with the National […]