Spirit of a Tipperary woman is undiminished despite personal hardship and tragedy

Despite great hardship and personal tragedies in her life, Ellen O’Reilly’s spirit is undiminished and her heart open, and she remains devoted to the people she works with.

“I get on very easy with people,” she says. We meet at her place of work, the Clonmel Resource Centre. Ellen is employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) as a Traveller Community Health Worker and Campaigner.

I enter a brightly lit room on the second floor, Ellen sits on a chair with an air of quiet dignity. She is surrounded by shelves neatly packed with art supplies, hygiene packs, paperwork. Shouts from the children at play float up from the garden below.
Small in stature, her flawless skin belies the years and hardships she has endured, while her pale blue eyes, clear and bright, hold depth that speak of profound loss and immense resilience.

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Dressed smartly in black trousers and shiny shoes, a splash of red in her top adds a touch of vibrancy and hints at her refined sense of style. Drop gold earrings frame her face and catch the light.
Now 71, Ellen has lived independently in her own home in Glenconnor Heights for the past 23 years. “It is comfort to tell the truth. I do like it,” she says. An early riser, Ellen gets up between 5am and 7am and cleans the house. “I love getting up in the morning to be honest. Now this is me, do what I have to do and get into work.”

INDEPENDENCE
Ellen is active and lives every moment fully. Driving for many years has given her great independence. “You don’t have to be dependent on anyone, you can get up and do your own thing. I’d be a person to do my own thing,” she says. She goes to bed at 9pm and sleeps well in the comfort of her bed, having had her sons and grandchildren visit during the day.

Ellen was born on 1 November 1952 to Hannie (née O’Reilly) and John Casey in Tipperary Town. One of 17 children, seven boys and 10 girls, the family lived in a wagon with a stove inside. A fire would be built outside which family and friends would sit around to talk of the day and tell stories.

Ellen spent much of her early years in county Limerick. The wagon had what Ellen describes as bunk beds. Mother and father slept on top, the girls underneath. Boys always slept outside under the wagon on a bed of straw. The wheels would be covered to ensure no draught.

“They were great people; they knew how to survive,” says Ellen. Her mother would make a ‘tick’ or mattress by sewing two blankets together and filling them with straw which would then be put on the bed. There might be a blanket over you, but no such thing as pillows. “You slept in your clothes. There was no changing into pyjamas or that,” she says. Ellen and her siblings had one set of clothes.

Ellen’s mother and father visited the nearby villages and called on settled people. “They would yoke up the pony and car; they knew the houses to go to and they knew the people. There was trust at that time. You were welcome,” she says.
The woman of the house would give her mother clothes and sometimes she would be invited in for a mug of tea. If the people were away the parcel would be left outside the front door. If buckets needed fixing, her father would do that. These rounds of visiting were described as ‘callbacks’. There was a great trust and rapport between the Travellers and the settled communities. Ellen says, “The Travellers needed the settled person and the settled person needed the Travellers.”
Despite moving around, Ellen’s parents would know when it was the month for the First Holy Communion and Confirmation.

They all made their First Communion in Doon, county Limerick. The children would attend school for a week and be prepared. The nuns were kind. Ellen smiles as she remembers this time: “A nun would bring them in, and she would feed the children and she washed the children.”

WISDOM
Ellen made her Confirmation in Adare, county Limerick and was prepared similarly. That was the end of her ‘formal’ education. There was a great wisdom though, which was shared and passed down.
Rarely seeing doctors, the women had cures for fever, diarrhoea and many ailments. She mentions again, “Travellers knew how to survive. The men hunted rabbits, and eels from the rivers in the summer. If they passed a vegetable garden, they might take a head of cabbage or a turnip or a few spuds. Just enough to make do. If the people were in the gardens, they would give them some of the produce. It was a healthy diet.”

Ellen describes the people as healthy, fit and physically active. The boys swam and played handball and horseshoe rings. They also played skittles cut out of sticks, marking a circle on the road with chalk or paint. The girls skipped or played hide-and-seek.

RESPECT
Ellen remembers that children respected their elders: “You wouldn't be allowed to give a back answer to an elderly person. You would get a slap, and a serious one!” Children were not part of the adults’ talk. If women were speaking to each other, they would be sent down the road to play.

Christmas and Easter were celebrated simply. Christmas would not be mentioned until the day itself. The children washed their socks, and they would be filled with loose sweets and a bottle of Lucozade. Eggs would be saved for Easter – they were put on grass so as not to break in the wagon.
Ellen, now a widow, was married to Tony O'Reilly for 50 years. She knew him from childhood as the families travelled around together. She was 16 years old when they married and he was two years older. Initially they had lived in a tent and later a wagon.

MARRIAGE
Tragically, Ellen suffered 13 miscarriages during the first five years of their marriage. She describes the time as “tough and very weakening”. There was little education available then.
They were living in the fields of Tallaght when Ellen fell pregnant again. This time, she was admitted to the Coombe Women's Hospital until she was 18 weeks pregnant and over the danger period of miscarriage. Ellen went on to deliver a total of 12 children, born in different places while travelling around.

ENORMOUS LOSS
Forty years ago, the family returned to Tipperary. Sadly, Bridget was stillborn, Rocky died following a head injury aged 18 and four years ago Paddy died from a heart attack aged 44. The losses are enormous and naturally have weighed heavily on Ellen but remarkably she is not bitter. “It's the way I was brought up and it's the way I was reared,” she says. “I was reared very different altogether to the people today.”

Philosophical, reflective and very kind, her heart has opened further as a result of all the sadness and adversity. She says of her tragic experiences: “It would kind of put more nature into you.” Ellen now has 64 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

A number of years ago, 18 traveller women attended an education programme run at the Resource Centre. It was held over three years with different modules including communication skills and literacy (FETAC certification). Following this, some were selected to become Traveller Community Health Workers with the HSE.

PROUD
Ellen loves her job. “I’m proud of my job now, I have to say that, and the years I have done here,” she says. Ellen and her colleague and friend Mary work with the coordinator Gillian. Ellen liaises with the Travelling community, mostly the women, encouraging attendance at medical appointments. She also educates them on the importance of vaccinations and helps them with their applications for medical cards.

Ellen has vast life experience and communicates with ease to all. A few months ago, Ellen and the team hosted an evening for Traveller women’s health and hope to host another for mental health awareness in the Autumn.

CULTURE
Ellen is concerned that the Travelling community’s culture is being diminished. “Culture is kind of dying out. No one wants to make a wagon, no one wants to make a car, they want everything handed into their hand,” she says. She feels there should be more education at school for Traveller children, so they may know their traditions and culture.
The Cant language is also forgotten by many. The traditional Traveller names are fading out – Ellen, Bridget and Mary are being replaced by Crystal, Charmagne and names popular on TV.

At the Resource Centre, they hope to teach and revive craft making. Ellen’s grandson, Tony O’Reilly, made a horse and wagon at the Youth Club - it really is a lovely piece of art. A painting with Cant words is also on display.

Ellen shows me a ‘pocket’ which every Traveller woman once wore. It is a little pouch attached to a belt, worn around the waist. The outside is decorated with brightly coloured buttons, each sewn with care. Inside it, the women would carry coins, matches, cigarettes or whatever was precious to them. Ellen hopes to bring groups to the centre and teach this again. It can be hard to get commitment, and many have small children. Travellers still marry very young.

Alcohol and drugs have caused great difficulties in this community. The Covid lockdowns made it worse. In the past, women rarely drank alcohol. Now, many go to the pub regularly. Suicide rates have increased too. Ellen feels this is a result of drugs and addiction, with mental health issues being of great concern to Ellen.

SPIRITUAL
She used to be religious but now describes herself as spiritual. “I talk in my own way to God and Our Blessed Lady; I love the Saints,” she says. During weekly visits to the graveyard, she communicates quietly to her deceased sons and daughter. Ellen starts and finishes her day by blessing herself and saying a prayer.

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I ask Ellen what she sees as her legacy? “Bringing happiness and comfort,” she says. “Enough to eat, enough to drink; health is your wealth. Happiness means the whole world.”

Smiling together at the end of this interview I know Ellen and her grace will stay in my heart for a long time to come.