Origins
The historical origins of Irish Travellers as an ethnic group has been a subject of academic and popular debate. Such discussions have been difficult as Irish Travellers left no written records of their own. In 2011 an analysis of DNA from 40 Travellers was undertaken at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin and the University of Edinburgh. The study provided evidence that Irish Travellers are a distinct Irish ethnic minority, who separated from the settled Irish community at least 1000 years ago; the claim was made that they are distinct from the settled community as Icelanders are from Norwegians. Even though all families claim ancient origins, not all families of Irish Travellers date back to the same point in time; some families adopted Traveller customs centuries ago, while others did so more recently. It is unclear how many Irish Travellers would be included in this distinct ethnic group at least from a genetic perspective.
A wide range of theories also speculated they were descended from ancestors who were made homeless by Oliver Cromwell's military campaign in Ireland, in the 1840s famine; or the descendants of aristocratic nomadism the Clan Murtagh O'Connors in the Late Middle Ages. Their nomadism was based on cattle-herds or 'creaghts'.
There is evidence by the 12th century the name Tynkler and Tynker emerged in reference to a group of nomads who maintained a separate identity, social organization, and dialect. The genetic evidence indicates Irish Travellers have been a distinct ethnic group in the Ireland for at least a millennium.
Read more about this topic: Irish Travellers
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