Halting site life revealed on film

Travellers living on one of Ireland’s worst halting sites have produced a hard-hitting documentary highlighting appalling living conditions.

The residents of the Spring Lane site on Cork’s northside joined forces with Framework Films to show, in their own words, what life is like on the site, branded last year as one of the worst in the country.

There are 34 families living in the overcrowded 10–bay site in Ballyvolane, where residents endure a lack of basic facilities. Efforts are under way to resolve the issues.

The Traveller Visibility Group (TVG) and the Cork Traveller Women Network have been working with the residents for several years.

It culminated last year when work started on a documentary ahead of the local elections when the halting site hit the headlines, after the Irish Examiner exposed the conditions in which people were living.

The finished documentary, Spring Lane Site: 26 Years of Hardship, will be launched next week as part of Traveller Pride week.

Another documentary, Tales of the Road, made by men and boys who live on the site and which presents a unique look at Traveller culture and their traditions of horse ownership and care, will also be screened .

Paddy — The Traveller Boy children’s book, developed by the Spring Lane Traveller Women’s Group, will be distributed to all primary schools in Cork and The Talk to Me CD, written and performed by members of the Cork Traveller community in 2013 to promote positive mental health, will be re-launched.

Cork Traveller Women’s Network will also launch a set of postcards from artists and photographers such as Leanne McDonagh, Dragon Thomas, George Gmelch and Derek Speirs, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Traveller Culture Exhibit at Fitzgerald’s Park. This is the only permanent exhibition on Traveller culture in a public Irish museum.