Pavee Point was delighted to mark the organisation’s fortieth year of working for Traveller and Roma rights and equality by taking part in Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day Parade.
“This our fourth time taking part in the parade, and is our biggest yet,” said Martin Collins, Co-Director, Pavee Point, “The parade is a celebration of cultural diversity, inclusion, respect and equality. We are delighted to be able to represent Pavee Point on such a large national and international stage.”
The Pageant commenced with a traditional ornately painted Traveller wagon pulled by a horse showcasing the past of a community who worked by and lived on the road. The group accompanying the wagon and float comprised Travellers, Roma and non-Travellers standing in solidarity with each other. Several held Traveller crafts, including handcrafted tin pongers, and the women held baskets of paper flowers in green, white and orange, and other items which they would have swapped with countrypeople (non-Travellers) in return for food and clothes. All men in the group wore flat caps and braces in the traditional style. The women, wrapped in shawls, wore aprons and skirts with handcrafted beady pockets.
“Paper flower making is an important tradition among Traveller women and years ago supported the family income. The beady pockets were used for Traveller women who often exchanged buttons between each other on the road which connected us even more. The beady pocket is like a flat handbag, to hold and carry small things safely including money, children’s birth certificates, holy medals, sewing items such as thread, small scissors and thimbles, or jewellery. So it’s great to have them on display today.” said Valerie O’Leary, Primary Health Care Worker, Pavee Point, who took part in the parade.
Two participants wore mortarboards and gowns and carried scrolls to represent the successes of Travellers and Roma in education. A young participant carried a guitar, and others shook tambourines covered in ribbons in the Romani colours: blue, green and red. A man carried a bundle of sticks gathered to build a campfire.
The theme of this year’s Parade was ‘Eachtraí’ ‘Adventures, so it was only fitting that two large rotating wagon wheels, two and half metres in diameter, fixed almost 5 metres off the ground, were the focal point of our pageant. The wheels were handpainted by Traveller artist Paddy Collins in the traditional way with colourful stripes.
Speaking about the artwork, Paddy explained, “Scrolling is a Traveller tradition. They used to get horse hair and make brushes out of it to paint the wagons and wagon wheels.”
The music to accompany the pageant was all by Traveller and Roma artists. The medley included two lively pieces of traditional music by Finbar Furey, the well known ballad Sullivan’s John, by Pecker Dunne, renowned Traveller singer, and Šukar Gili, an upbeat pop tune, by Dominika Mirgova, a contemporary Roma-Slovak artist.