Music and song as Kilkenny’s Traveller community shows Pride in their heritage

The history and heritage of the Traveller community was on show for all to see in a series of Traveller Pride events.
Organised by the Kilkenny Traveller Community Movement as a celebration of the Traveller community, events began at an afternoon in Kilkenny Castle which featured live music and entertainment.
Invited guests at the afternoon, which centred around a traditional Travellers camp, included Minister Malcolm Noonan, Patrick O’Donovan TD and the Mayor of Kilkenny, David Fitzgerald.
Speaking at the event, Minister Noonan said that Traveller pride is an important event to highlight and celebrate Traveller culture. There is no doubt but that we would have lost huge volumes of Irish music and song were it not for the oral tradition of Travelling people.”
The celebrations continued at Butler Gallery, where the artistic heritage of the Traveller community was on display.
Among the highlights were exhibitions of artwork from local Travellers and a tinsmithing project, as well as poetry, spoken word and live singing.