Traveller community 'on the cusp of something historic'
Traveller groups have welcomed a new study that shows they split from the settled community more than 360 years ago.
The research by the Royal College of Surgeons and the University of Edinburgh examined the genetic structure of the Irish Traveller Community.
Pavee Point says it puts an end to the myth that the community were displaced during the famine.
Spokesperson Martin Collins says it comes at a time when the State is finally considering recognition of the Traveller Community as a distinct ethnic group.
"We're almost now on the cusp of something quite historic for my people, and I would even say something quite historic for society over all.
"I think the recognition of traveller ethnicity will put to bed this racist ideology that we are a people who need to be civilised and normalised by the State - no."
