Derek Speirs Collection at Pavee Point

Photographer Derek Speirs has worked with Pavee Point Traveller & Roma Centre since its inception in 1985.  Derek’s photos were one of the tools used in raising awareness about the lived reality of Travellers in the 80s, 90s and 2000s.  Some of these early photos formed the exhibition and book Pavee Pictures.

Derek has continued to document significant moments in the Traveller movement including meetings, debates, protests, arts and culture events and other work carried out by Pavee Point in realizing its aims of achieving full human rights for Irish Travellers and later  – Roma in Ireland.

Born in Dublin, Derek Speirs studied  in London, where he graduated from the Polytechnic of Central London  and the Royal College of Art. He worked as a photographer in London, with the Report Agency and its founder  Simon Guttmann who was a major influence in terms of his photo journalistic approach to photography.

His photographs are the products of a clear decision which Derek made early in his practice about the kind of photographer he could be as a result of his understanding  of the medium and its context.

Derek’s photographs go beyond the stereotypes and help to portray first of all Travellers as a community, a community that is diverse, a community facing hardship and discrimination but a community that has a distinctive culture and is resilient and proud.

Pavee Point is delighted to be able to present a catalogue of Derek’s photographic work with Pavee Point which is available for consultation.  His photos are also available to view at our centre in North Inner City Dublin.   We would like to thank Derek for his work over the years and also for working with us on producing this collection.

Catalogue of Derek Speirs Collection at Pavee Point

We would also like to acknowledge the support of The Heritage Council, Heritage Organisation Fund which has made this work possible.

Contact 

Archivist Eilis Young and Traveller Community Archivist Winnie Collins – heritage@pavee.ie 

National Heritage Award for Pavee Roads Home

Pavee Roads Home is an exploration of Traveller culture and heritage told through the lens of history and geography.  It tells the story of Traveller families through the generations and on a journey from the West of Ireland to Dublin.

It was was developed by Pavee Point’s Men’s Health team, as a way of promoting a positive sense of identity and culture and was supported by The National Neighbourhood, a Dublin City Culture Company programme. In 2021 it won a National Heritage Award.

Traveller Mapping of Coolock, Dublin

Pavee Roads Home is entering a new phase of development with Maynooth Geography and TravAct in Coolock in 2021.

We are working together to document Travellers’ stories of belonging and unbelonging in North Dublin to promote an awareness and pride in Traveller  identity and culture – and so promote Traveller health and well-being.

We know that maps tell us about places and show us how A is linked to B.  But in this project we are creating a Community Map – this is a map that shows us Travellers’ experiences, sense of identity and emotional geography in Coolock.

Workshops

Travellers from Coolock are getting together in a series of workshops to talk about and map out places in the area that have special meaning for them – this can be in a positive way or a negative way.

These places can be particular places or types of social spaces (schools, work places, and so on). We want to understand what feelings people have in these places and where the emotions are coming from. Where do Travellers feel at home? Where do Travellers feel like they don’t belong?

Positive Identity – Positive Mental Health

In this way we will uncover more about Travellers’ lives today.  Our map will be used to create discussions and to develop understanding of the Traveller experience.  It will also help to affirm and validate that experience, to record it and make it available for both Travellers and non-Travellers.

Travellers experience discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion and this affects Travellers lives.   This project puts a lens and a focus on the Traveller experience in an area of Dublin where Travellers are often pushed to one side and forgotten about.  By reclaiming Coolock this projects promotes positive identity and contributes to positive mental health.

We’d like to thank The Irish Research Council New Foundations Grant #LoveIrishResearch for their support on this project.

The Traveller Mapping Coolock Digital Storymap was launched at Maynooth University during Geography Awareness Week 2022. The project results from a collaboration with the Traveller organisations Pavee Point and TravAct and Maynooth Geography.

This digital storymap maps out Travellers experiences – positive and negative –  in  Coolock over generations and the tells the stories that go with them. The map was originally created by the Project in wood and then transferred to an interactive digital format by Maynooth Geography.  It brings you to the places that mean something to Travellers in Coolock and you can listen and read the stories about those places.

“This was a really exciting project that took place over a number of years.  We’re really happy that a lot of people came to today’s launch event including our Maynooth University Vice President and Pavee Point Chairperson Anastasia Crickley.  It shows people take this project seriously,” said Professor Karen Till.

Traveller researchers from local Traveller organisation TravAct and from Pavee Point worked with Maynooth Geography to carry out workshops with other Travellers in Coolock and developed a map that reflected the Traveller experience.

“This is really significant for us,” said Michael Collins, Men’s Health Worker Pavee Point, “As it means Travellers talked about our recent history and realised how Traveller activism helped bring about improvements.

“It’s important that organisations are continued to be resourced and supported to do this work going forward.”

“So for many of us it was an empowering experience and it’s great to see our work acknowledged in this way. It helps promote Traveller pride and well being.”

We would like to also thank the project funders – the Irish Research Council’s ‘Engaging Civic Society’ New Foundations Grant, Maynooth University Social Science Institute and theMaynooth Experiential Learning Office – and to SFI/Esero Ireland 5*S Project for support with the StoryMap.

Roads from the Past, Travellers’ Times Films, 2019 (5mins43secs)

This is an animated history of Britain’s Gypsies, Roma and Irish Travellers. Irish Travellers are a recognised minority ethnic group in the UK since 2000.
The video content was based on research completed in 2019 to create a Traveller history leaflet. Cork Travellers Women’s Network  (CTWN) assembled a team of three Traveller women to link with animator Hazel Hurley.  They worked together virtually to develop a script, which dictated the overall content and image style.

CTWN also linked in with the Cork City Heritage Officer during this process. The team also recorded the voice over narration and the project was funded by a Community Heritage Grant from The Heritage Council

Traveller Ethnicity

Irish Travellers have been documented as being part of Irish society for centuries.  Travellers have a long shared history, traditions, language, culture and customs.

The distinctive Traveller identity and culture, based on a nomadic tradition, sets Travellers apart from the sedentary population or ‘settled people’.

The 1st March 2017 was a historic and momentous day for the Irish Traveller community and for equality in Ireland

• Taoiseach’s Statement on Traveller ethnicity here.
• Our Chairperson on recognition of Traveller ethnicity here.
• President presented with Traveller Ethnicity pin here.
• What does ethnic recognition mean for Travellers?  See our leaflet.