Pavee Point Traveller & Roma centre would like to express our sympathies on the death of sociologist and campaigner, Fr. Micheal Mac Gréil this week-end. We send our condolences to his fellow Jesuits, to his family and to all his many friends and colleagues.
As a leading sociologist Micheál MacGréil gave particular attention to the treatment of Travellers in Ireland. He included negative attitudes towards Travellers in his 1978 publication ‘Prejudice and Tolerance in Ireland.”
In 2010 he went on to publish The Emancipation of the Travelling People in which he said Ireland’s treatment of the Travellers must rank, “as one of the most serious social embarrassments in the state’s 86 years of independence”.
“He called for an end to informal apartheid against Travellers and for a radical change of policy to reverse the vicious circle perpetuated on Travellers,” said Martin Collins, Co Director, Pavee Point.
“Mícheál Mac Greil supported Pavee Point from the start. In the 1980s our stand with Travellers for rights and against racism was very new,” said Pavee Point Chairperson, Anastasia Crickley.
“We walked to Maimean the Connemara place of pilgrimage he loved so much on our first Traveller solidarity pligraimage,” added Ms Crickley
“At Maynooth University where I had the honour to be his colleague, his concern with rights was also a big part of his academic work and he also led on workers’ rights.”
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
