Alisha. A pre-teen Traveler girl just arriving home from school. Her family lives in Labre Park, one of the oldest halting sites in Ireland outside of Dublin. The halting site is located next to electrical power plant, and many of the older Travelers who have lived there for many years suffer from brain tumors.
Ten Days Overdue. A young traveler mother ten days overdue stands in the doorway of her trailer within Labre Park, a halting site outside of Dublin. The halting site is located next to electrical power plant, and many of the older Travelers who have lived there for many years suffer from brain tumors.
Carrowbrowne Halting Site. Two children play outside of their caravans.
Diane. Diane is a little traveler girl around the age of seven. She has 8 brothers and sisters. Her family has lived within an illegal encampment (areas not officially approved by the Irish Government where Travelers are forced to live when they have nowhere else to go, usually alongside highways) for the past 9 years. The family eagerly awaits the Irish Government's placement into a Halting Site (a government issued living area, monitored closely by the Irish police, that provides the travelers with a stationary home, running water and plumbing) since they currently live poorly, without water, or electricity. Despite the living conditions, many travelers prefer to live within the illegal encampments because they are proud of their nomadic traditions and resist the "settled" lifestyle of other Irish citizens.
Generations. An older woman stands beside her daughter in the car as the three women primp themselves for the Ballinasloe Horse Fair Parade. The Ballinasloe Horse Fair is the oldest annual horse fair in Ireland. The Travelers attend the fair for the week to sell and trade their horses. It is tradition for the women and young women to dress up and parade themselves around the grounds to show off and attract future husbands.
Christina with Dog. A young traveler girl plays on a makeshift playground within her halting site, alongside her dog who spends the day tied up due to other dogs in the site he doesn't get along with.
Young Traveler Mothers. It is not uncommon for young traveler women to marry as young as 15 years old. Once married they are encouraged to have many children.
Carnival. The carnival at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair is a large attraction for the travelers.
Living Poverty. A young Traveler girl sits in her family caravan within their illegal encampment. The Irish Government and Irish citizens fight against illegal encampment sites mainly due the rampant health issues caused by lack of health care, and rodents that infest the sites and pass diseases. This little girl sits in her caravan which was empty except for a couch, a portrait of Pope John II, a bedroom filled with trash, and a wood burning stove. The caravan was dirty and smelled of urine.
JJ in Kitchen. JJ sits alongside his grandmother within his family caravan. He hesitates in reflection at hearing about how similar and dissimilar his life is to boys his age back in the United States.
The Car Boys. Three young Irish traveler boys sit in an abandoned car within their halting site that they have destroyed in boredom for fun. Because young travelers often face discrimination either through denial of entry to places, and/or verbal and physical abuse purely on the basis of their identity as Travelers, they usually confine themselves to their halting site compounds, except to attend school and other large events.
Boy with Toy Gun. A traveler boy stops for the camera with his pellet gun at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Dolly Horse. A young traveler girl shows off her jacket her mother dressed her in for the horse fair.
Philomena's Dinner. Philomena stands in the field next to her family's caravan to eat dinner from a tray.
Faulkner Girls. Two traveler girls pretend to model for the camera. Younger girls often copy their older sisters in dress and posturing. It is encouraged for girls to marry young and raise large families without the promise of a career or high school education.
Horse Gang. A group of traveler teenagers race around on horseback during the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
The Three Sisters. Two sisters with babies in carriages and one pregnant sister pose for a photograph. Although they are married, they still enjoy dressing up and parading around for the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Preparation. A traveler woman reaches into the side door of a van to ready her children for the fair. When they're not living in the van they are selling rugs and wares during the week of the fair.
Nails. Two young girls show of their nails and outfits at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Jonathan with Gun. A young boy stares mesmerized at me through the car window. He found me both threatening, strange and interesting having come into his halting site with a camera. The Travelers do not get a lot of visitors outside of family and friends and Irish case workers and police men.
Young Beauty. A teenage traveler dresses up at the Ballinasloe horse fair to parade around the street.
Paw Check. A boy checks the paw of his Greyhound dog. Traveler families often have multiple dogs that live outside and eat family scraps. They keep the dogs to race and bet, or to use as ratters since they typically have rat infestation issues.
Lipstick Girl.
Caravan Dishes. The inside of an Irish Traveler kitchen.
Jesus Girl. A young girl excitedly shows me her family's statue of Jesus. The travelers are traditionally Catholic although their doctrine can be quite untraditional.
Girl in Car. A little traveler girl plays within her mothers car.
Bottle Rockets. A group of traveler boys light bottle rockets during the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Philomena. A little traveler girl who was feeling sick patiently waits for her mother from within the car.
Family Scene in Labre Park. Muligenerations often live within one caravan.
Ronnie and Berne. Two cousins at the Ballinsloe Horse Fair.
Girl in Car. A little girl arrives back to Labre Park halting site with her mother and baby brother in the back seat.
Fair Girls. Teenage girls dress up and parade around the streets of Ballinasloe during the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Donoghue Boys. Willy and his brother Paddy. The family lives within a deaf halting site although not all of them are deaf. Willy and Paddy had come home from school and gathered their ponies from the field for the photograph.
Family. A family of traveler children within Labre Park, outside of Dublin.
Illegal Encampment. A dog walks across an illegal encampment which is located alongside a highway.
Chantal. Chantal sits in her family caravan within their illegal encampment.
Three Boys. Three teenage boys sit in their car at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair. It's common for traveler boys to drop out of school at 14 due to bullying from the "settled" Irish classmates. Most of them display bruised eyes and lips from fighting with their classmates.
Wedding Talk. A little girl sits in the corner of her family caravan beside her two older sisters with her back to a box that contained a marriage gift . Her older sister will be married in a weeks time.
Problem. Young preteen girls argue while prepping themselves to parade around the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Number 5 By The River. Michael and his sister Alisha play in the dumping area beside a stream on the backside of their halting site within Labre Park.
John. An older traveler man watches an American western movie on the TV within his caravan. He has lost most of his toes on his left leg due to diabetes.
Three Tough Kids. Three traveler friends outside of their horse caravan at the Ballinasloe Horse Fair.
Maggie. Maggie just arrived back home to her roadside encampment from school.