“You Have to Have Faith”:
An Exploration of Catholicism in the Irish Travelling Community
Attracta Brownlee (Ph.D. Student)
Anthropology Department, National University of Ireland - Maynooth
While issues concerning Irish Traveller ethnicity and language, education and health care have been extensively studied an investigation of Travellers’ faith and expression of that faith has not received prominent attention.
Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore Irish Travellers’ expression of their Catholic faith by examining aspects of their beliefs and practices. Their relationship with the physical environment and how certain sites, such as holy wells, are imbued with meaning, their devotion to particular places of pilgrimage such as Knock Shrine, their funerary practices and the material culture on graves, particularly the erection of elaborate graveyard monuments, are some examples of concrete expressions of their belief system.
Votive Offerings at Killargue Holy Well, Co. Leitrim
The Catholic Church has undergone significant changes in Irish society since the “devotional revolution” of the nineteenth century. The transformation in devotional practices since Vatican II, and the revelations of abuse by members of the clergy are some of the factors that have combined to diminish the Church’s political and moral authority in Irish society. The relationship between Travellers and the Catholic Church will be explored in the context of these developments in Irish Catholicism in general. The sometimes ambiguous feelings of Travellers toward the clergy is a revealing aspect of Travellers’ own perceptions of their relationship with the Church, and is significant, especially when it is considered that the Catholic Church has traditionally been seen as one of the organisations at the forefront of campaigns for Travellers’ rights. These tensions reflect how religious meanings and practices can be contested.
Therefore, the relationship between meaning and practice and other aspects of Traveller culture such as identity, family organisation, social and economic activities and interactions with the non-Traveller community cannot be ignored. In effect, this study will aim to present a holistic view of Traveller Catholicism within a wider cultural framework.