Irish travellers georgia. Mike carroll is an irish traveller from murphy village south carolina a community of around 2000 travellers of irish descent who settled in aiken county near augusta georgia in the early 60s. Betrayal can result in a sentence just as tough as a federal judge could hand down. Murphy village north augusta south carolina is a community of around 2000 irish travellers who settled on edgefield road in the late 50s 60s.
As well as in south carolina tennessee georgia arkansas mississippi and florida with smaller settlements. The irish travellers sometimes called pavees are an ethnically irish nomadic community. Travellers refer to themselves as minkiers or pavees or in irish as an lucht siuil the walking people.
The north augusta community just past interstate 20 in aiken county is home to one of the largest communities of irish travelers in the nation. Anyone selling door to door in gwinnett county or in. Wrdwwagt loyalty is the golden rule in irish traveler society.
I discovered very early that irish travellers had not only fled ireland and poverty in the 19th century to come to the uk but also to the usa. An undocumented journey through history. In england they live in small tight knit groups and are characterized as living on caravan sites an.
Irish travelers are celts fair skinned often blonde and blue eyed people. It is believed that the travellers were originally small land owners or laborers in ireland. Irish travelers have returned to georgia lilburn mountain park ga be wary of door to door sales people and demand to see a badge.
There are irish traveller enclaves in texas in the houston and fort worth areas. Carroll is the author of the self published book irish travellers. Pikey or pikie is a slang term which is pejorative and is a derogatory term aimed towards travellers.
But after the military campaign of oliver cromwell over ireland in 1649 their land was confiscated and hence they were forced to leave their farming and ranching way of life. I started taking pictures of irish travellers in the uk in 2002 and havent stopped since travelling from sites to sites all over the country. It is used in the uk to refer to travellers.
According to the 2010 census about 1400. They originally come from ireland.