Travellers ‘not ethnic group'

WHEN former Mayor of Tuam Martin Ward speaks at a conference in Dublin Castle tomorrow (Thursday) he says he will be 'a lone voice' in stating that Travellers are not an ethnic group. 'All Irish people, including Travellers, came from Celtic tribes, and Traveller culture is very old Irish culture.[private] 'It is a link with our Celtic past and we should all be very proud of our Irish heritage and striving for greater integration,' says Martin. The conference is titled â€ËœEthnicity, Travellers and Exploration'. He is speaking as a member of the National Travellers Monitoring and Advisory Committee. He says speakers from other Traveller organisations will say they want to be recognised as an ethnic group. 'As far as I am concerned we are all Irish and that is the way that Travellers should be seen, as part of the wider Irish community both at home and overseas,' he concluded.[/private]