Not in my back yard: control of Irish Travellers by paramilitaries and vigilantes across the island of Ireland

Abstract

This article concerns control of Irish Travellers by paramilitaries and vigilantes. The main issues explored here relate to theories of deviance and debates as to the power of the ‘established’ over those regarded as outsiders. The topic of dangerisation is also considered. Across the island of Ireland, the accommodation needs of Irish Travellers have been largely overlooked by both governments. Amidst a wholesale failure to provide adequate accommodation, including transient sites which would permit nomadic Irish Travellers to continue to be so, harsh anti-trespass laws have recently been sanctioned. However, despite these recent anti-trespass laws and no doubt due to the failure to provide accommodation, across the island illegal encampments remain common. Thus, a failure of the public system is evident. As such, this article demonstrates how, in turn, this failure may encourage vigilantes to adopt self-help private violence as moral action against ‘deviant’ Travellers, whilst self-justifying their actions in comparison to the violence exhibited by, and, that inherent to, state sanctioned law.