School: St. Cronan's Longford Wood, An Teampoll Mór (roll number 6662)

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1. Travelling People

   

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   The three principal classes of travelling folk, who were to be found in this district long years ago, and in fact to be found there still, though in far less numbers, were (1) tinkers ; (2) the travelling man with a wife and a large crowd of children ; (3) and the individual man or woman who "begged" the district on his own.

   When the tinker tribe arrived, there were usually a great number of men, women, and children all bearing the one name.

   The most common tribe names in this district are Doyle, Hutchinson, Charty, Mac Inerney, Donoghue, and Ward.

   When the tribe arrives in the district the men set up the camps. These are often very poor affairs, merely bundles of straw, begged from the local farmers, and covered over with bags or coarse canvas.

   Strange to say, the site chosen for the camp is generally a bleak place, often the top of a hill on the roadside. Another strange thing is, that when a second tribe visits the locality, perhaps months

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. agents (~1)
      1. people by social grouping
         1. travellers (~3,023)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Martin Sheedy

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Gortnadumagh, Co. Tipperary