The Heritage Council Launches Ireland’s first Traveller Heritage Strategy

The Heritage Council recently published Ireland’s first Traveller Heritage Strategy 2026-2030, setting out a national framework to support Traveller cultural heritage.

Developed over three years through a Traveller-led working group, and informed by national consultation with members of the Traveller community and organisations including Cork Traveller Women’s Network, Exchange House Ireland, Galway Traveller Movement, Involve Youth and Community Service, the Irish Traveller Movement, Meath Travellers Workshop, Mincéirs Whiden, the National Museum of Ireland, the National Traveller Women’s Forum, Pavee Point Traveller and Roma Centre, Tallaght Travellers Community Development Project and the Western Traveller and Intercultural Development Centre (Bru Bhríde), the Strategy responds to the need for long-term support for Traveller culture and heritage in Ireland.

The Strategy is underpinned by a programme of six key strategic and ambitious commitments including:

• Directing supported, dedicated funding to heritage projects within the Traveller community.
• Establishing a Traveller-led high-level working group to address the urgent need to safe-guard Traveller language.
• Undertaking a scoping study to understand possible operational models for a National Centre for Traveller Heritage.
• A live web directory that facilitates ongoing access to the many extant and emerging Traveller Heritage online repositories, projects and resources.
• A certification scheme to ensure heritage organisations, across all aspects of their operations, represent and respect Traveller heritage and the Traveller community.
• Establishing a Traveller-led oversight group that will oversee the delivery of this Strategy.

The publication of the Strategy follows the formal recognition of Irish Travellers as an ethnic minority by the Irish Government in 2017 and marks an important step in acknowledging Traveller heritage as an intrinsic part of Ireland’s national identity and shared cultural landscape.

The vision set out in the Strategy is for an Ireland in which Traveller culture is fully respected, valued and supported as part of the nation’s diverse cultural fabric.

The launch of the Strategy is timely, taking place ahead of National Heritage Week 2026, which runs from 15^th-23^rd August 2026. Coordinated by the Heritage Council, this year’s theme, Heritage at Risk, is encouraging communities to identify and explore heritage assets, traditions and practices that are vulnerable or under threat, from built, cultural and natural heritage to folklore, language, traditional skills and local knowledge.

Virginia Teehan, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, said: “The Heritage Council recognises that there is an urgent need to protect, preserve and promote Traveller cultural heritage. In our strategic plan, Our Place in Time: Heritage Council Strategic Plan 2023–2028, we committed to working in partnership with the Traveller community to ensure that Traveller heritage is acknowledged and preserved, and to developing a Traveller Heritage Strategy to support that work.”

“The ambition of this Strategy reflects how seriously we take this responsibility. It is not simply an expression of intent, but a practical plan backed by a workplan and resources. On behalf of the Heritage Council, I welcome its publication and look forward to working with Traveller communities and organisations to strengthen support in the years ahead.”

Owen Patrick Ward, Convenor of the Traveller Heritage Strategy Working Group, said: “This is the first Traveller Heritage Strategy published in Ireland and, as such, the members of the working group and I have sought to ensure that it establishes a framework of foundational support that will develop and increase over time.”

“The wish of the working group is that this Strategy helps Traveller heritage reach parity of investment and respect. Achieving this will require significant effort and resources to address the legacy of underinvestment and inequality. Continued monitoring by a Traveller-led oversight group will strengthen delivery, and we look forward to working with the Heritage Council to ensure the greatest possible positive impact.”

Aalia Kamal, Cultural and Inclusive Heritage Officer with the Heritage Council, said: “A key element of ensuring the co-design of this Strategy was the national consultation undertaken in 2024 and 2025. It was very important that this Strategy was community-led, and we are grateful to the members of the Traveller community who engaged with the process with such generosity and honesty.”

A Traveller Heritage Strategy Oversight Group will monitor delivery and report to the Board of the Heritage Council twice a year. It will track progress, identify challenges and maintain engagement with Traveller communities and representative bodies, with findings used to inform the Heritage Council’s wider work.

National Heritage Week takes place from 15^th to 23^rd August and is Ireland’s largest community-led celebration of heritage. Now in its 26th year, the festival attracts almost 500,000 attendees each year and featured more than 2,500 events nationwide last year, providing a national platform for communities, volunteers, local organisations and heritage champions to share and protect Ireland’s heritage for future generations.

For the full Strategy, please see here.

For more detail on National Heritage Week 2026 please visit: https://www.heritageweek.ie/