As far as my experience people in Monaghan speak well enough of local travellers too @Tank @Chucks_Nwoko
Bunclody, Rapps, Shamrocks, Harriers, Taghmon, Cushinstown would all have had travellers on underage teams that I played against.
Mylie Cash from Shamrocks made it as far as Wexford minor team and played in Croke Park in a Leinster Final or semi final vs Kilkenny.
Ollie O’Connor famously lost the Rapps a county final missing an easy enough free from 50 yards out in the 90s from memory.
I may be imagining things but I think there were some decent handballers who were settled travellers too.
there wouldn’t be much association with criminality either, they do their own thing and that’s fine, plenty used to play Gaa, probably less so now. Normally if there is trouble, it’s when extended family come down from Dublin, but that’s not fighting more a suspicion of robbing
There was a Goggins lad from Ross that would have hurled underage for the county and Berry from the Harriers might have too
Ah there was a few dodgy lads around New Ross / Taghmon area that had some car sales places . Regularly selling clocked cars etc.
And Pedro travers
Its drugs mate. 10 years ago travellers wernt involved in drugs. Now some are
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That’s massively different from most other counties. There has to some reason for it.
Simba!
How could I forget him. @bandage used to have some great posts about him from school I think. Something to do with either a fishing rod of a slash hook
It’s gone mental. By involved, do you mean these are feuding dealers, or lads coked up to the eyes , or both?
Jaysus, Taghmon and New Ross, the travellers would be least of your worries in those two spots
A lot of the traveller families in Bunclody, Connors and Berry’s, would have settled years ago and are mainstays of the HWH. Every team I played in growing up had at least one lad with the surname Connors.
Mickey Connors (an acquaintance of @anon67715551) was the Senior team goalkeeper for years (when we won the championship in 82 & 85) and played for the county. His sons such as Larry, a great friend of mine, went on the be stars and now coaches in the club.
I believe a new traveller element has come to the town in recent years and are no good, but certainly not associated with the Connors family who are held in high esteem in the town.
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Most were forced into housing in the late 80s / early 90s and out of caravans. That came with a responsibility to send kids to schools and involved with local teams. They did fuck all in school but still showed up. The father’s actually did a bit of work too that didn’t involve procuring goods.
It’s weird that you call it out actually as it is pretty unique to Wexford.
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It almost seems like when they are integrated better into society they become more respected, get a bit more respect for themselves and stop acting like lawless cunts.
Dealing
Never thought of that really. Thought it may be a sign of society starting to creak. Definitely seems to be becoming more and more common, but wasn’t sure whether this was a misconception on my part because you couldn’t take a piss in your back garden these days without some fucker filming it on a phone and sticking it on YouTube
That would have been true maybe 20 years ago. Unfortunately I’d say it’s the exception now a days.
Sorry for jumping in,
But my Father often mentions Mickey Connors playing in goal for Wexford, and in a game against Dublin, played in Dr Cullen Park (early 80s) Wexford were leading coming down the straight and Mickey was kicking out the ball and kicked it to a Dublin player who stuck it in the net! Another hard luck story for the Wexford footballers.
My father also got on well with auld Johnny Connors from the town, who often came to the house to collect scrap metal and what not! And we never had an ounce of trouble.
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Auld Mickey Connors must have played in goal for Bunclody for 20 years
I think Mylie Connors might have been on or in and around Wexford hurling panel in late 80s
Don’t think Mylie played for Wexford.
My oul boy was a great friend of Mickey’s and loved telling a story about a doyen of the town in the pub one evening holding forth about his new Audi A6. Mickey (a man of some considerable wealth and a coinnoissour of Mercedes Benz automobiles) responded with the now legendary line “The A6, the best of the chape ones”.
It’s a Bunclody thing.
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