IRISH TRAVELLERS
The Irish Traveller Community in Ireland and United States has a long and varied history. The pastoral care outreach of Irish Apostolate USA focuses on the two communities in the United States: No Augusta, SC (Murphy Village) and Memphis, TN (Oakhaven Park)
NEWS FROM IRELAND
A brief history of the Irish Traveller Community
After a long battle, Irish Travellers were finally officially recognised as an indigenous ethnic minority on 1 March 2017. The then prime minister of Ireland, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, made a short statement to the lower House of Parliament in which he recognized Traveller ethnicity.
See also: Sr. Margaret McHale speaks about her ministry with marginalized Travellers (video)
NEWS FROM UNITED STATES
The article from the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, SC newspaper “Southern Cross” briefly shares the story of the Irish Travellers settlement in what is known as Murphy’s Village. There are approximately 3,000 Catholic families residing in this northern most section of the State served through St. Edward Catholic Parish.
In addition to contact by the IAUSA, the Irish Consulate, Atlanta, GA engages with the Irish Traveller Community in South Carolina and Tennessee. Together, we strive to support secondary and higher education for the women and girls of these communities and support the faith development of the entire community in partnership with the pastor of St. Edward Parish.
Irish Travellers - Fr. Murphy (pdf)
Pastoral Care of Irish Travellers (pdf)
Rev. Cherian Thalakulam, CMI
St Edward Catholic Church
1379 Edgefield Rd
North Augusta, SC 29860
cthalakulam@charlestondiocese.org
(803) 279-1837