The fight for justice: The Barrett family of Galway :: Essays Papers

The fight for justice The Barrett family of GalwayThe following newspaper clippings care a Galway Traveller family named Barrett. Perhaps the individuals named Barrett in these stories be not actually related, though taking Traveller marriage customs into account, the likelihood is that they be. What is sure is that they are all Travellers, and on that basis alone they are worth see as a piece.Due to their lifestyle, Traveller families remain largely springy by official history records. We receive occasional glimpses of such histories inhumed in the newspaper columns of court proceedings. We only hear Traveller voices when they are speaking as defendants. The only traces of depreciated minority populations are to be be in such public records, when they are found at all. such has been the case with the Barrett family. A member of the Barrett family came to public prominence in 1996. Francie Barrett, consequently nineteen years old, represented Ireland at the Atlanta Olympics. This would seem to propose a happy ending to the sorrowful annals of the Barretts, an end to the disfavor and injustice. Such was not the case. Following is a 1931 account mentioning a human being of the name BarrettIn No Mans Land Galway Squatters to be Evicted Connacht Tribune 7 Nov. 1931 7.William Matthews and John Burke, Water-Lane, Galway, brought an action against James Barrett and Patrick protect for trespass on property at Water-Lane, GalwayBurke swore thatthese two men came along and construct shacks on itBurke said even if these people paid contain for the place it would not be accepted as the Board of wellness served notice on the owners that the premises were unfit for human habitationBarrett swore that he was in occupation of the premises for the last four yearsWardhad a wife and seven children there and if he went out he had nowhere to go except the side of the road. He was willing to sacrifice rent for the place or buy it. The Justice said he was satisfied the se men were trespassers and fined them.In this case, two of the most common and many Galway Traveller family names, Ward and Barrett, are not even acknowledged as such. The newspaper describes them as squatters, and the court treats them as such. Their ethnic identity is denied by not being referred to, because to do so would problematise their treatment. There is no concern expressed as to the fate of the men and their families, once they have left the property.