Here is a good thread on traveller boxers . http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=351763
For those saying Billy Joe Saunders is and Irish Traveler, he is a Romany Gypsy. And for the thread starter, Big Fat Gypsy Wedding is fairly inaccurate, watch it for entertainment rather than to learn about traveler life.
They're all fighters..... Most of em know how to fight because they have to as kids.. They dont turn pro coz i dont think they're intrested half of em.. they just get married and keep the fighting as a tradtion... Its not like they are short on money either most of em... Theres a film/documentery called 'knuckle' you should watch..
You looked like a handy fighter yourself Johnny when you twatted Dan Rooney's brother on camera after the infamous "**** any man" interview with Paddy Doherty back in '90.
Yea I'm from kilmallock direction. Done a nice bit of work in rathkeale down thru the years. Kilmallock has it's fair share of em too. You from rathkeale side?
No bud im over in Raheen in west limerick, drive through Rathkeale every week through, used to box with a few guys from there as well
An irish traveler, tinker, knacker, whatever you refer to them as are the decendants of disposesed people going back to cromwell etc, forced of their property by the crown, many went to u.s. australia, canada,n/zealand etc, Gypsies, romanys, originate in what was then india, now afganistan, they were the indian army of the day, who battled the mongoles, when a 2 generation war ended some traveled on into europe, a few ended in uk.
good few startin turn pro as they are more sttled also they are acheiving great things in the am game pro ye have ...IRISH TRAVELLERS ANDY LEE- limerick willie casey-limerick jj mcdonagh-mullingar paddy mcdonagh-mullingar michael sweeney-mayo simon o'donnell-galway/london john o'donnell-galway/london tyson fury-manchester martin ward- newcastle very decent amatuer fighters who would make good pros are joe ward-mullingar-euro senior gold,world youth gold etc michael o'reilly-portlaoise-euro youth silver(robbed of gold) john joe joyce-mullingar-2008 irish olympian michael mcdonagh-dublin-euro cadet gold-2 time irish senior champ davey oliver joyce-mullingar-multiple irish senior champ christy joyce-mullingar-talented irish youth prospect davey joe joyce-mullingar-world youth bronze meadlist john joe nevin-mullingar-08/12 irish olympian/2 time senior world bronze martin ward-london-aba champ/english international
I'm still a bit confused on this whole traveler business. If they aren't true (Roma) gypsies and are supposedly of Irish ethnic origin...then why call them gypsies or pikeys or any other term? Why bother even differentiate between "Irish" and "Irish traveler" at all? Would it be technically wrong to just call Tyson Fury or Andy Lee plain old "Irish" without qualifying it? :huh OK fine there's a history there of them splintering off from society and going the itinerant way, but at the end of the day...their ancestors were as Irish as everybody else in Ireland. So...they're all just Irish. Not a separate ethnic group, really. Right? :?
yes ib but for over 800 years they have lived in wagons/trailers travelling around ireland and more recently britain also doing buisness such as fix tin items hence the name tinker or irish traveller