Blood of the Travellers RTE DNA testing Irish Travellers

Sceala Clann Counsellor Location: Kent

So there is no such thing as unique or distinct Irish traveller DNA -- is that correct?
Bazz said that DNA for racial studies was to date baloney anyway -- no more than assumptions and guesswork. I did understand and agree with his points about DNA and not taking any claims as factual. This quote does make all the sense.
I don't personally know anyone who has been tested except by the Cops. How many people have been DNA tested for racial studies? not that many! No where near enough people have been studied for scientific evidence, and so there is no possibility that any claims or conclusion are definitive, on any race or any nation. Plus I was thinking, have the Irish not been emigrating for centuries! so any connections found in England or France or anywhere else, could just be the descendants of Irish emigrants.
I do agree with this, there is no proof -- how can there be. it is just the usual people getting carried away, encouraged by those who are wanting to read more of the parts they wanted to read -- hearing more of the parts they want to hear. None of us or them know the full story of DNA. Years to come people with real evidence will laugh at the claims of today.
Anyways hahahehe. We are as you know second generation settled Irish travellers -- Kent and Sligo. Only thing that was steady was knowing we were Irish.
Been told this RTE show is going to prove that Irish travellers are a distinct racial group. Interesting if that is so -- we just think we are Irish-- never though about where the old Travellers may have come from.
Blood Of The Travellers
Irish Travellers are a traditionally nomadic people of ethnic Irish origin, some of who still maintain the separate Irish traveller language and set of traditions. They live predominantly in Ireland, grate britain and the United States of America.
Current views on the known origins of Irish travellers
Origins
The historical origins of Travellers as a group has been a subject of academic and popular debate. It was once widely believed that Travellers were descended from landowners or labourers who were made homeless by Oliver Cromwell's military campaign in Ireland and in the 1840s famine, however, their origins may be more complex. This is almost impossible to thoroughly ascertain as throughout their history Travellers have left no written records of their own.
Others claim there is evidence of nomadic groups in Ireland in the 5th century, and by the 12th century the name Tynkler and Tynker emerged in reference to a group of nomads who maintained a separate identity, social organization, and dialect. Even though all families claim ancient origins, not all families of the Travellers date back to the same point in time, some families adopted Traveller customs centuries ago, while others did so more recently.

Blood Of The Travellers -
The origin of Ireland's Travelling people is a subject that has been debated for many years. Some say they are related to Romany gypsies or some other ethnic group that arrived here over the past 1000 years, others say they have been a community in Ireland long before the arrival of the Celts and subsequent invaders, while more say they are 'settled Irish people' who 'took to the road' during times of famine and eviction in the years since Oliver Cromwell.
Now for the first time this subject has been approached using the tools of DNA technology. Over the past year Olympian Francie Barrett has collected 40 Traveller DNA samples from every corner of Ireland. This DNA has been analysed by a team of scientists from The Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, The University of Edinburgh and Ethnoancestory.com to unlock the history of Ireland's Travelling people.

In 1996 a nineteen year old Francie Barrett captured the imagination of the Irish general public. Forbidden since he was a child to join his local boxing club because he is a Traveller, he trained in the back of an old container on an unofficial site without running water or electricity. He dreamed of getting respect for the Travelling people by qualifying for the Olympic Games where he was told everybody was treated equally.
When he qualified for the Atlanta Olympics he won the hearts of the nation. When he was given the honour of carrying the Irish flag in the opening ceremony it was a defining moment in Traveller history.
With the boxing gloves now hung up and the relationship between the 'settled' and 'Traveller' community a difficult one Francis has a new quest. He wants to uncover the history of his people and in doing so try to understand why their culture is in danger of being wiped out today.
Francis has enlisted the help of geneticists Dr Jim Wilson (The University of Edinburgh) and Dr Gianpiero Cavalleri (The Royal College of Surgeons) to analyse the DNA samples collected and to help him answer the question of what are the origins of the Irish Travelling people. They are using cutting edge technology to untangle this question and their results will break the mould on what was known up until today about the history of the Irish Travellers.

Blood of the Travellers airs on RTÉ One on Sunday 22nd May at 9:30pm with the second part the following Sunday (29th May).
Blood of the Travellers is a Scratch Films Production for RTÉ made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland 2011.
List of Irish Travellers
Johnny Doran was one of the most influential uilleann pipers in the history of Irish music, active during the first half of the 20th century.
John O'Donnell, boxer
Tyson Fury, boxer
Bartley Gorman was the "king" of the gypsies and undefeated bareknuckle boxing champion until his death in 2002.
Francie Barrett has been a professional boxer since August 2000, and now fights at light welterweight, out of Wembley, London.
Paddy Keenan, piper, is a foundational member of the Bothy Band in the 1970s and a key figure in the transition of Irish traditional music into the world of Celtic-denominated music. He comes from a family of Traveller musicians and is perpetually on tour across much of the United States and Europe.
John Reilly was a traditional Irish singer and source of songs. On Planxty's 2004 music album Live at Vicar Street, Christy Moore mentions hearing Reilly sing for the first time and calls it a "life changing" experience, going on to dedicate the song "As I Roved Out" to his memory.
Brendon Fearon, career criminal in Nottinghamshire and major player in the attempted robbery of Tony Martin's farmhouse which left Fearon's partner, 16 year old Fred Barass, also a Traveller, dead, and Fearon wounded, after the homeowner shot the intruders.
Margaret Barry was a Traveller from Cork who became a well-known name on the London folk scene in the 1950s, with her distinctive singing style and idiosyncratic banjo accompaniment.
Pecker Dunne is a well known Traveller and singer from County Wexford, Ireland.
Michael Gomez, a professional boxer based in Manchester, England, was born to an Irish Traveller family in County Longford.
Wayne Dundon, gang leader and convicted criminal.
Shayne Ward, singer and former winner of X Factor, whose parents are Irish travellers who settled in England.

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Blood of the Travellers RTE DNA testing Irish Travellers