An Lucht Siúil (Traveling Folk lit. the Walking People) or Travellers can refer to a variety of people who lived life on the road.
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Irish Travellers aka Mincéir aka Pavee are a distinct Irish ethnic group with their own customs, language and traditions. Many live in the UK for all or part of the year. They are a recognised ethnic minority group.
Tracing your Irish Traveller family history can be extra challenging due to the lack of written records. However, there are clues you can look out for that can point to Irish Traveller ancestry, and a number of resources to help you discover more.
This resource is a work in progress; please feel free to add recommendations and suggestions to this thread.
Irish Traveller Ancestry Resources
Here is a list of useful resources to help you trace your Irish Traveller or Mincéir ancestors:
https://www.paveepoint.ie/PaveePoint.ie
UK
The Romany & Traveller Family History Society
RomaHeritage.co.uk | GypsyWagons.co.uk | Gypsy Genealogy
Special Collections: Liverpool | Leeds | Reading | Surrey | Sussex
Population structure & History of Irish travellers
Irish Travellers are a separate cultural group that started migrating to Britain in the early 19th century and can be traced back to 12th century Ireland.
Gene study reveals Irish Travellers' ancestry
Genetic research found that Irish Travellers are of Irish origin and have significant genetic makeup compared to their settled community. An estimated 40,000 Travellers (less than 1% of the population) are living in Ireland today. Although sometimes called gypsies, they have no genetic relation to Romani.
The Celtic Travellers DNA project is for descendants and members and of Irish Travellers, Highland Scottish Travellers, Lowland Scottish Travellers, Fairground Travellers and other Non-Romani travelling families. However, Roma or mixed Traveller heritage are also welcome to join.
Census & BMD Records
Clues that can suggest Traveller ancestry include:
Occupations: tinker, tinman, tinsmith, whitesmith, dealer, pedlar, horse dealer, basket maker, peg maker, knife grinder/ sharpener, hawker, musician, and sometimes labourer.
Place of Birth: All the children in the family being born in different places is also a big clue.
Residence: Unusual residences such as "tent on common"
Irish Gypsies and Irish Travellers are distinct ethnic groups often referred to in parish registers as 'Pavees' or 'Minceir'.
IrelandXO Message Board
Need Information on "Tinkers", "Travelers"- McDonough/McDonagh family from Killedan
- O'Brien/O'Leary
- Doran in Galway
IrelandXO Traveller Timelines
Traveller Buildings & Places
Irish Traveller Photo Collections
Common Irish Traveller Family Names
Berry, Brown, Cash, Carmody, Carthy, Casey, Cassidy, Cawley, Clark, Collins, Connors, Conroy, Corcoran, Cunningham,
Delaney, Doherty, Donoghue/ O’Donoghue, Donovan, Doran, Dunne, Flynn, Gallagher, Green,
Hanafin/Hannifin, Hand, Hanley, Hanrahan, Harper, Hennessey, Joyce, Keating, Keenan, Kerrigan, Kiely, Lawrence, Lee, Lynch,
Maguire, Malone, Maloney, Maughan, Mongan, Moorehouse
McCarthy, MacDonald, McDonagh, MacDonnell, MacAleer, McCann, McDonnell, McGinley, McInerney, MacLoughlin, McRea
Nevin, Nolan, O’Donnell, O’Reilly/ Reilly, Power, Purcell, Price, Quinn, Stokes, Sweeney, Ward, Wall, Windrum.