Southside Travellers Action Group 'Days Long Gone' trailer project.

Southside Travellers Action Group launched "Days Long Gone" Trailer Project in dlr Lexicon as part of Traveller Pride Week 2016.

Through the established Chill Out Zone Group in Southside Travellers, a handful of Traveller women came up with the idea to recreate a miniature replica trailer with the help of a local community arts facilitator. The group designed and built the trailer from scratch and have made and hand sewn all of the interior furnishings.

‘Days Long Gone’ features recordings of Traveller women recalling days of old on the road and traditional nomadic ways of living. They speak of the freedom and peace; the harmony, solidarity and sense of plenty of those times. They also discuss the situation as it stands today, where there is little space or provision for a nomadic culture and how Travellers are being forced to move into settled housing.  The women talk of the loss of freedom, the loneliness, the separation from friends and family and the impact of this loss and isolation on health, particularly mental health.  They express their fears that Traveller culture is being wiped out and highlight the importance and challenges of passing on Traveller ways to the younger generations.

The group want ‘Days Long Gone’ to be a celebration of Traveller ways, to create a space for Travellers to reflect and remember days on the road and to create an opportunity for the settled community to learn and understand the importance of travelling for Travellers and their culture.

Participants in the making of trailer: Nan Connors, Winnie Reilly, Nan O’Brien, Bride Kelly, Mary O’Brien, Breda Connors, Maggie Connors, Margaret Connors & Biddy Kelly. Members from Southside Travellers Action Group, Wicklow Travellers Group, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre and Kildare Traveller Action contributed their memories and thoughts to make up the recordings.

Community Arts Facilitator: Natascha Fischell

Recordings and Sound Editor: Jonathan Cummins

The recordings are available on Soundcloud here  

Southside Travellers Action Group works to respond to the needs of the Traveller community in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area and for the civil and human rights and distinct cultural identity of all Travellers