07/24/2018

 

Mike J. Carroll

Murphy Village USA

North Augusta, S.C. 29860

 

 

The State Newspaper

Rodney Mahone, Publisher

1401 Shop Rd in Columbia,

South Carolina 29201.

(803) 255-1371

 

 

Sirs;

 

I ask that your newspaper consider my article for publication. It provides answers to the questions asked in the article published by your newspaper, entitled; “Who are North Augusta’s Irish Travelers?” It’s time for the other side of the coin to see the light of day. It's time to give a voice to my people and the opportunity for them to expose the discrimination, intolerance, and racism they have suffered for generations.

 

 

"Life as an Irish-American Traveller in North America"

 

BY MIKE J. CARROLL, Irish Traveller

 

I was born into an unimportant ethnic minority known as the Irish-American Travellers. My family was one of a small number of families who lived in an encampment in the southern town of Athens, Georgia; the year was 1964. My people have a long history of wandering the road both in America and Ireland in pursuit of work to support their families and continue their ancient customs and itinerant lifestyle. A people spread out across the Southern United States that for decades were unable to call a single place home. Nine months after my birth my family migrated from Athens to Belvedere, South Carolina to an area called “The Camp” by the oldest of our people. A village 7-miles north of North Augusta that would become known as Murphy Village. As a child, I never understood the significant impact my people have had on American and Irish societies.

 

Faded memories of the majestic horses and colorful covered wagons are ancestors used as homes in Ireland. The emerald-green hills covered in clovers of our homeland are a distant memory even to the oldest of our clan. A people deeply rooted in the past who struggle for acceptance and recognition in the present from those who deem themselves superior. Our encampment saw as an eyesore to an otherwise flawless picture of Traditional Southern society. A people that belonged more in the past than in the present who refused modern amenities in favor of a layback way-of-life.    

 

Encouraged by Father Joseph John Murphy, the local Priest, dirt roads graded around the Roman Catholic Church; Saint Edward the Confessor, named in honor of one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. Quickly became a place covered with caravans, campfires, and family gatherings. The older members of our clan dreamed of their children and grandchildren attending school and enjoying a life without the constant need and want their forefathers endured.

 

Intolerance became an everyday experience for all who occupied our encampment. The elders watched by shop owners who saw them as a threat and frequently shunned their patronage. The children thought to be a waste of school resources by the teachers of the schools they attended. The children asked questions only to be ignored and often punished by teachers because of their persistence. Imitating the actions of the teachers their classmates never befriended them and felt justified bullying them in the schoolyard. Frequently refused food during lunch by those who laughed at the sadness on their faces and the hunger in their bellies. Innocent children forced to endure the horrifying racist actions of those who saw them as nothing more than subhuman vile things deserving of only rejection and ridicule.

 

The men tried desperately to find employment in the local community to remain home with their wives and children only to be forced away like a dog infested with mange. Ostracized because of their encampment and appearance of poverty by the people of the local community. Forced to leave their wives without a husband and their children without a father to search for simple day labor jobs across the Southern United States. It seemed our people were destined to remain as they had for generations beginning with their upheaval in Ireland. Men, women, and children who sought acceptance and found belittlement by the community around them.

 

As time passed winds began to swirl not unlike the funnel of a tornado seeking only to destroy everything in its path. False rumors of con artists, thieves, fly-by-night criminals, and the underage marriages of young girls to older men kept the flames of racism burning. The men driven from town-to-town denied the ability to purchase business licenses, and thereby; forced to work without them. Misdemeanors transformed into felonies by overzealous persecutors with the intent to deny economic prosperity. Falsely accused of crimes yet returning to the same towns and cities, lodging at the same hotels, and eating at the same restaurants year after year. The question never asked; Why would a thief be allowed to return? False rumors and propaganda that brought investigations by local and state law enforcement agencies seeking to punish regardless of guilt. Never acknowledged as individuals, always referred to as a cult, gang, or group who use a centuries-old dialect called “Cant” to deceive their intended victim. News articles complete with theories about our history written by those who know nothing about our origins. My book, entitled; “Irish Travellers: An Undocumented Journey Through History,” available on amazon.com opens the window and pulls back the curtain to provide a glimpse into our customs, traditions, and history. 

 

The United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was adopted by the General Assembly on December 19, 1966, and came into force on March 23, 1976, ensuring the protection of fundamental human rights. The United States of America both ratified and is a signatory to this important international human rights document. Article 27: “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, or to use their own language.” Irish Travellers are an ethnic minority in their homeland of Ireland and other countries. Irish Travellers have a distinct culture, customs, and traditions and are seen by themselves and others as different, a fact that has repeatedly been documented. The Irish Traveller population in the USA is 0.001529% of the total population of 327,000,000. Irish Travellers meet all the elements required to be recognized as an ethnic minority in the USA and denying this recognition is a violation of the ICCPR. I ask that you print my reply, but I don’t expect my response to be published because the truth is feared far more than a lie when embraced by the loving hands of the racist.

 

 

Mike J. Carroll, Irish Traveller

 

 

I await your response to my request with skepticism. I could have published this response on the internet, but I believe the newspaper who asked the question should print the answer. I hope there is room in The State Newspaper for a truthful account of history as offered by an insignificant ethnic minority in America.