Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, May 20, 1999
The Southern Cross, Page 3
Irish Travelers in Our Midst: A Breed Apart
By Rita H. DeLorme
T hey don’t want to be called
“gypsies” or “tinkers”, yet they
are a group of people who, for
generations have traveled the high
ways of Georgia and South Carolina
and more distant places, at first deal
ing in horse flesh or mules and, later,
doing repair work on homes. They
came from their native Ireland to form
a tight, family-like unit in the U.S.
known early on as the “Irish Horse
Traders”. Most of the original mem
bers of the group had left Ireland dur
ing the Potato Famine of the 1840’s
and the years following the Famine,
arriving first in northern ports of the
United States and later filtering down
into the seductively milder climate of
the south which offered easier travel
ing and living conditions.
The Travelers evolved from a single
group to individual bands with an
elected leader. One group moved to
Nashville and, subsequently, to
Atlanta where a tie-in was made with
the Church of the Immaculate Con
ception. The burial of group member
John McNamara in Atlanta’s Oakland
Cemetery in 1881 resulted in that
city’s designation as a meeting place
for the Travelers. For many years, the
custom prevailed of convening in
Atlanta annually for special clan
events such as weddings, funerals of
clan members who had died during
the year, and general conferences.
Because of the passage of time and
the changes of modem life, the Irish
Travelers no longer gather each year
in Atlanta. They have progressed from
tents to trailers to an actual “village”,
a site in Edgefield and Aiken Coun
ties in South Carolina, just north of
Augusta, called “Murphy Village”.
The settlement bears the name of
Father Joseph Murphy, who minis
tered to the Irish Travelers for many
years. The Edgefield-Aiken group,
now expanded to over 2,000 mem
bers, includes vintage Traveler names
such as “McNamara”, “ Riley”, “Car-
roll”, “Sherlock”, “Gorman”, “Costel
lo” and “O’Hara”. Clan members
obey a rigid set of rules, including the
edict that all members must marry
within the group. Marrying an out
sider calls for expulsion from a life
Travelers consider idyllic. Though
firmly a part of the socio-economic
makeup of the South Carolina area in
which they live, they are still distinct
— their own people in lifestyle, cus
toms and faith.
The Irish Travelers have always
been extremely devout Catholics. The
women take charge of matters at
home while the men are off traveling.
A high moral tone pervades the com
munity. Though a 1992 TV program
(“48 Hours”) featured a segment on
“scams” initiated by members of the
group, these charges were vehemently
denied by the Travelers, one member
observing that every organization had
“bad apples”, but that that the Travel
ers had fewer than most.
Throughout the years, newspapers
in the state of Georgia, including The
Bulletin, predecessor of The Southern
Cross, have run photos and articles
concerning the “Travelers” nee
“Horse Traders”. An article in The
Bulletin of May 23, 1936, for exam
ple, described funeral arrangements
for Mary Frances Carroll, who died at
Dothan, Alabama, at 11 months of
age, and of Thomas McNamara, who
died in Waco, Texas. Both the child
and Mr. McNamara, the story related,
were members of the Irish Horse
Traders, “a historic clan which has its
headquarters here (Atlanta) and in
Nashville, to which they return each
spring and fall for funeral services for
deceased members.” This particular
service, a Requiem Mass, was offered
by Father (later Monsignor and
Diocesan Vicar General) Joseph Moy-
lan at the Church of the Immaculate
Conception in Atlanta.
The Murphy Travelers are — if any
thing — shier than ever of publicity.
Though their children attend parochial
elementary schools in the Aiken and
Edgefield area, many do not move on
to high school and / or college. Basi
cally, they seem to be “hooked” on
their way of life, their ambition cen
tering on being independent and lead
ing a life on the road, with periodic
returns to their homes in Murphy Vil
lage. In the September / October,
1994, issue of Irish America Maga
zine, Daniel J. Casey, Dean of
Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
at Berry College, co-authored a
detailed article about the Travelers in
which he commented, “In a way the
Murphy Travelers are more Irish than
the Irish themselves and the most
Irish of Irish ethnics.” They were also,
for many years, an intriguing element
in the Diocese of Savannah.
Rita H. DeLorme is a volunteer in the
Diocesan Archives.
601 E. Liberty St.
Savannah, GA
31401-5196
A libel on the bishop?
Dear Editor,
I did not apreciate the unsubstantiated assault on
the good name of Bishop Boland by George and
Mary-Anne Roth (Letters, 5/6). Their claims that
our bishop is “hostile to tradition” and intolerant of
the wishes of the Holy Father is absurd. The fact
that we do not have a Tridentine or Latin Mass does
not ipso facto make Bishop Boland hostile or intol
erant.
The charge that the bishop is intolerant of the
wishps of the Holy Father is a very serious one. By
implication this statement means that Bishop
Boland is disobedient. In view of the fact that the
pope has not demanded that a Tridentine Mass be
offered in every diocese, the Roths’ claim is outra
geous. The pope has left it to his brother bishops to
determine if there is a sufficient need for a Triden
tine Mass in their dioceses. I am confident that if
such a need arises, Bishop Boland will allow for a
Tridentine Mass.
I would like to apologize to Bishop Boland for
the libelous statements made against his good
name.
Sal Magluilo
Dublin
***
In appreciation
Dear Editor,
Thank you for the articles by Fathers Kavanaugh
and McDonald in the May 13 Southern Cross. They
were such good complements for one another bring-
Letters
ing out important points about what is (or should
be) central to us when we look at our parishes
today.
I have a suggestion for a future article.
Recently I heard about a priest who had been a
priest for over 20 years and who had left the priest
hood. I knew him for many years and was shocked
that someone like him would ever leave the priest
hood. But he has, for whatever reasons. That got
me to thinking. In marriage relationships we talk
about what we need, about what is important to
each spouse in the relationship. We don’t expect our
spouse to read our mind. We know we must make
known certain things that make a difference to us in
maintaining/nurturing the marriage bond. Well, I
realized that I have no idea what is important to my
priest in our relationship as his parishioners. So
often I think of priests as these totally committed
guys who are strong and steadfast and need nothing
from me. But in this age of great flux and rampant
abandonment of commitments, I began to wonder if
maybe my view of priests was erroneous.
Yes, some priests probably have a tremendous
amount of grace regardless of the prevailing times.
Nonetheless, maybe there are things we parish
ioners can do to help our parish priests live out their
commitment. The article I am suggesting is one that
would ask a number of priests in our Diocese what
would make a difference to them in helping them
do their job and remain content in their role as
priests.
People are always so ready to speak up and write
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letters when we disagree. So many people in this
day and age feel it is their right to criticize anything
and everything. But I am asking, “How can we
encourage our priests?” I do not know the answer to
this question. But I surely would be interested to
read what the priests in this Diocese would say
would encourage them (anonymously, of course).
I do not want to see any more attrition in the
ranks of the priesthood. I really value my parish
priest and have experienced so many benefits from
his homilies, and from his counseling. I don’t want
to lose him. So I am asking, “What can I do to help
him stay in the priesthood?” Though he may be
transferred in the future, or though I might move
away, I don’t want to hear, years from now, that he
too has left the priesthood.
I imagine there are some basic things priests in
general would need or appreciate and then there are
things particular to each ones individual personality.
There are probably things it would be inappropriate
to do too. So how about an article giving us some
suggestions and guidelines?
Sylvia Stella
Augusta
Enjoyment and dismay
Dear Editor,
I enjoyed reading the Point-Counterpoint com
mentary concerning the “new liturgy” (5/13/99).
This type of dialogue shows the richness of our
Catholic heritage. I was dismayed by the tone of
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