I have never heard of Irish Gypsies/Travellers/Itinerants/Tinkers being involved in the Militaria trade.
Historically they used to offer knife sharpening & trades like that and sell carpets around the doors that kind of thing. Also horse trading. I remember as a kid my mam was buying a carpet from them and when it was unrolled (before paying for it) there was a BIG hole in the middle of it - so you would need to be careful dealing with them in my opinion.
A sizable component are involved in criminality (I'd say nowhere near as large as is the case with the Roma- just my opinion).
They also tend to be barred from most pubs in Ireland (even though this is technically illegal). If there is a traveller funeral the bars in surrounding towns will simply close for a day or so. They frequently have rows which involve shotguns and slash hooks & cause structural damage to premises and generally you would not want to mess with them.
It's common knowledge that if there are thefts from a building site the first place to look is the nearest 'knacker camp' / Halting site (in addition to local car boot sales etc).
The more visible problem in Ireland at the moment is Roma gypsies who are entirely different.
I have heard of Irish gypsies operating in france and the nordics offering building (driveway pathing and roofing) services which they either do not complete or do a botched job on and overcharge.
Never known any to have any interest in militaria though I suppose if it is stolen goods I would not be surprised. There was a genealogy programme on about a year or so ago and if I remember correctly the Irish Gypsies are not related to the Roma strain at all and are in fact among the oldest bloodlines in Ireland. I could be wrong on that but that is my recollection of that DNA/Genealogy tv show.
Historically they used to offer knife sharpening & trades like that and sell carpets around the doors that kind of thing. Also horse trading. I remember as a kid my mam was buying a carpet from them and when it was unrolled (before paying for it) there was a BIG hole in the middle of it - so you would need to be careful dealing with them in my opinion.
A sizable component are involved in criminality (I'd say nowhere near as large as is the case with the Roma- just my opinion).
They also tend to be barred from most pubs in Ireland (even though this is technically illegal). If there is a traveller funeral the bars in surrounding towns will simply close for a day or so. They frequently have rows which involve shotguns and slash hooks & cause structural damage to premises and generally you would not want to mess with them.
It's common knowledge that if there are thefts from a building site the first place to look is the nearest 'knacker camp' / Halting site (in addition to local car boot sales etc).
The more visible problem in Ireland at the moment is Roma gypsies who are entirely different.
I have heard of Irish gypsies operating in france and the nordics offering building (driveway pathing and roofing) services which they either do not complete or do a botched job on and overcharge.
Never known any to have any interest in militaria though I suppose if it is stolen goods I would not be surprised. There was a genealogy programme on about a year or so ago and if I remember correctly the Irish Gypsies are not related to the Roma strain at all and are in fact among the oldest bloodlines in Ireland. I could be wrong on that but that is my recollection of that DNA/Genealogy tv show.
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