English: Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre [Former Free Church, Great Charles Street, Dublin]

Originally constructed by the Methodists in 1800 and initially known as ‘Wesley Chapel’. After a split in the congregation in 1816 left it too large for the remaining congregation, it was turned over to the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin William Magee and eventually reconsecrated in 1828.

A ‘free church’ is one where no pew debts are paid and depends entirely on voluntary subscription. As Summerhill declined during the 19th century, the congregation eventually moved to the new suburbs. The church eventually closed in 1988.

Irish Travellers have been documented as being part of Irish society for centuries. Travellers have a long shared history, traditions, language, culture and customs. The distinctive Traveller identity and culture, based on a nomadic tradition, sets Travellers apart from the sedentary population or ‘settled people’.

Life expectancy for Traveller men is 15 years less for Traveller men and 12 years less for Traveller women than those in the general population. Census 2011 showed that 55% of Travellers leave school before the age of 15; only 1% of Travellers attain a third level qualification (All Ireland Health Study, 2010).

It is estimated that there are up to 5000 Roma currently living in Ireland, with most coming from Romania and Slovakia. Roma are residents and citizens of countries all across Europe, including Hungary, Bulgaria, France, the Czech Republic, Germany and Spain. There is very little accurate and reliable data available about Roma in Ireland because data is collected based on nationality and not ethnicity.

In Ireland today, many Roma experience disadvantages in accessing education, health services, good housing and jobs. Roma have been portrayed in a negative light in Irish and international media and are often associated with criminal activities and ‘organised begging’. Stereotypes about Roma and negative media reporting provided a context in which two Roma children were removed from their families in 2013, for not looking like their parents. The subsequent report by the Ombudsman for Children identified the occurrence of ethnic profiling.