Would You Raise Your Machetes Please In A Toast To The Bride And Groom?
July 29, 2007 (9 Responses)
WHEN YOU THINK of weddings and family celebrations the images which typically permeate your conciousness are probably along the lines of old aunts drinking a little too much sherry, old uncles grabbing the microphone and treating guests to various drunken renditions of Elvis classics, even perhaps kids sneaking the odd alcohol treat when no one is looking. All in all, you probably think of weddings as one of those events which brings the entire family together in celebration of starting a new branch of the family tree.
When you think of possible venues for such an event Tinakilly House Hotel - a four star victorian mansion set in the woods of County Wickow, Ireland – is one of those locations most people desire; secluded, steeped in history and elegant enough for the wedding event of your dreams.
Unfortunately, this is not the image which most people will be left with after the last wedding ‘event’ down in Tinakilly house. Rather than a wedding, it’s perhaps more accurate to describe the affair as a grudge match. Police were called to the scene when a brawl broke out between the two families gathered for a wedding last Friday. Not just any kind of disagreement however, this brawl involved the participants weilding machetes, pick axes, slash-hooks, knives, wheel braces and even a sawn off shotgun (no wedding pun intended!). Apparently up to 30 or 40 people were involved in the fight, which I’m sure must have looked like a scene from Apocalypse Now by the time the cops arrived.
You see this was a traveller wedding.
You may be more familiar with the term tinker or gypsy but in Ireland the term most people seem to use these days is travellers. A traveller wedding (that photo above is one that did the rounds on the internet a few months ago from another (possible) traveller wedding) is a big deal and as a distinct grouping of Irish culture they face enough challenges getting anywhere to accept them (in pubs, in clubs, in hotels etc.) because of their reputation for being a tad unpredictable… but after this outbreak of machete driven fun and games I’m thinking it’s going to be even harder for them to get any kind of sympathy going forward.
Travellers are so named because they don’t really do the whole ’settled’ thing. Houses don’t work for them; they prefer the open road. They have their own culture and almost their own language, and pretty much live apart from the rest of the settled community except for those occasions when they need services – as in this case – such as a venue for a wedding.
Everyone is remaining tight lipped thus far about what caused the brawl in the first place, but to be honest the issue for me is not what or who started it, it’s about the fact that these people think it’s normal to bring machetes and slash-hooks to a wedding. I don’t have any problem with these folks wanting to live their lives at the side of a road if that’s what they prefer. I do have an issue though that they think they are outside the same laws which apply to the rest of us in this country.
So, the next time you find yourself in the vicinity of a traveller wedding (you’ll know trust me!) I suggest you don some kevlar body armour and ring for backup. Either that or pick up a machete and raise a toast to the bride and groom, just like everyone else!
Wedding fights are often an obligatory part of the ceremony. It comes like emotional tension finds an extreme way to go out.
A traveller wedding, wedding phenomenon I have yet to experience sounds like an interesting one at that. The next time one of my brides complains about the process of tracking her RSVPs, I can now point her to this posting to show her the alternative.
Have a great day,
-Shannon M. O’Neill, WPICC
Certified Wedding Consultant & Coordinator
Whoever wrote this knows very little about travellers.
i agree with jenny the person that wrote this articl knows nothing of travellers or thier customs what ever you ment by ,you see this was a traveller wedding as much to say this wasant a settled people wedding violence is allways at travellers weddings.you or your people as i like to refer to a settled person when i have a disagreement with them allways write this missleeding information about the travelling comunity because deep down you know you have a hatred for travellers that is harberd and fed from a young age you know what i am talking about settled kids are taught the name calling words for travellers by their parents like knacker tinker and a more recent word gypsy this is the truth and you know it but the most bizare thing of all is that settled people would benover backwords for other ethnic minoritys noticed i used the word ethnic because thats what travellers are an unrecegnized ethnic people you or other settled people wouldent call a african or asian person a name if for instance you were in a pub and they went to the toilet or for a cicgeret but if it was a traveller you would talk badley about he or she and call them dredful names you know you would and so would the rest of the so called settled peoples of ireland dont dissagree with this when you know it to be the truth funny when anti traveller people read comments like this they denie that they have any ill hidden feelings towards travellers remember one thing travellers are not going any where any time soon so put up or shut up
So – which bit in particular are you challenging? The fact that the brawl happened? The weapons found at the scene? The arrests?
Feel free to voice a dissenting opinion, hell I even encourage it… but can you be a bit more specific about what it is, within this article, that you don’t agree with rather than just ranting on in one long stream of consiousness?
tinkers are a real problem in this country. They destroy anything they touch. They could have been housed a long time ago but they choose to live like dogs in boxes because it suits their money robbing life style. And yes they are or should i say were known as tinkers and knackers because of the jobs that they carried out.. these where not bad names you fools….
“The single most discriminated against ethnic group is the ‘Traveling “The single most discriminated against ethnic group is the ‘Travelling People’”. ( European Parliament Committee of Inquiry on Racism and Xenophobia 1991)
Ireland is the only European country not to ratify the UN Convention on all forms of racial discrimination. The United Nations has recommended that Ireland do so as soon as possible. People’”. ( European Parliament Committee of Inquiry on Racism and Xenophobia 1991)
Nice one Real Traveller. Maybe if you learned to write properly, people might show you more respect.
Great article.I will Raise my Machetes In A Toast To The Bride And Groom…