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JOHN CONNORS: THE TRAVELLERS **NEW SERIES**

annmarie-mcdonnell-michael-mcdonagh-john-connors-sindy-joyce-geraldine-mcdonnell-michael-collins-at-the-national-folklore-collection-in-ucd-2016 Image Name: annmarie-mcdonnell-michael-mcdonagh-john-connors-sindy-joyce-geraldine-mcdonnell-michael-collins-at-the-national-folklore-collection-in-ucd-2016

 

Irish actor John Connors leads a team comprised of other Travellers on a ground-breaking research project in a new series called  John Connors : The Travellers. 

 

The three-part series shines new light on the story of Ireland’s Travelling People.

 

John has long had a passionate interest in Traveller history but little of that history, much of it oral, has been recorded in Ireland’s national archives for future generations. And what does exist has been penned and documented almost exclusively by ‘settled people’.

 

In this series. John and his team of collectors are working on behalf of The National Folklore Collection in University College Dublin :- they’ve been asked to research, document and collect Traveller history & folklore that will reside, at the completion of the project, in the national archives.

 

John assembled a small team of other Travellers to assist him with this work :- armed with cameras, sound recording equipment and DNA collecting kits, they assemble a wide diversity of personal testimonies, stories and lore.

 

The Collectors:

  • Geraldine and Annmarie McDonnell are a mother and daughter who came to John’s attention last year when they graduated from university with BAs in ‘Community and Youth Work’.
  • Sindy Joyce is a trail-blazer among Traveller woman. A PhD student with a masters degree in Sociology, she works as a part-time lecturer in UCD.
  • Michael Collins manages health programmes for Traveller men in Dublin and has a passion for family history.
  • Michael McDonagh is the ‘Daddy’ figure of the team and a source of real information about Traveller heritage and history.

 

RTE ONE 21:35 SEPTEMBER 28TH 2016

 

The team begins work on the project and starts by recording the experiences and stories close family relatives. Prominent among which are the personal tales of the ‘bogey man’ of Irish Travellers, ‘The Cruelty Man’.