Many decrees against begging in England were directed at Travellers, passed by King Edward VI around 1551; for example the "Acte for tynckers and pedlers".

As a result, they (along with other itinerant groups) were referred to as "tinkers" or "tinklers" (meaning "tin smiths"), terms regarded in later years as derogatory.

Issues with traditional travelling groups came under loosely defined vagrancy laws, from when Ireland was part of the United Kingdom.

[45](pp 28, 106) This assimilation was to be achieved by the effective criminalisation of nomadism, and the report paved the way for an increasing state emphasis on criminal laws and penalties for trespass.

With an overall population of just 0.5% some areas were found to have a higher proportion, with high Traveller concentrations in Clare, Dublin, Galway and Limerick.

[58] The rural community of Rathkeale, County Limerick, has one of the largest populations of any towns percentage-wise, with around half of its residents having Irish Traveller ancestry.

[70] However, there are no official population figures regarding Irish Travellers in the United States as the US census does not recognise them as an ethnic group.

"[71][39] The largest and most affluent population of about 2,500 lives in Murphy Village, outside of the town of North Augusta, South Carolina.

[71][39] Travellers have a distinctive approach to religion; the vast majority of them are practising Roman Catholics, and they also pay particular attention to issues of healing.

The segregation of Traveller children from their settled peers led to worse outcomes in regard to undertaking state examinations, and levels of numeracy and literacy.

[82] In December 2010, the Irish Equality Tribunal ruled in favour of a Traveller child in an anti-discrimination suit which covered the admission practices of CBS High School Clonmel in County Tipperary.

[83] In July 2011, the secondary school in Clonmel successfully appealed the decision of the Equality Tribunal that its admission criteria were indirectly discriminatory against children from the Traveller community.

[86] Tyson Fury is of Irish Traveller heritage and defeated long-reigning Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become the unified heavyweight world champion.

[87] In the Traveller community, bare-knuckle boxing is seen as a way to resolve disputes and uphold family honour, as shown in the 2011 documentary Knuckle.

[88] Apart from boxing, Irish Travellers, including women, are involved in sports such as football (soccer) and Gaelic handball.

Another government report of 1987 found: From birth to old age, they have high mortality rates, particularly from accidents, metabolic and congenital problems, but also from other major causes of death.

The study, including a detailed census of Traveller population and an examination of their health status, was expected to take up to three years to complete.

"[103]: 246 According to Christopher Griffin, sociology and anthropology lecturer at Edith Cowan University, arranged Irish Traveller marriages in the early 21st century "safeguard the girl's [interests] by securing a man who won't mistreat her.

They are too small a minority, i.e., 0.5 per cent, to survive in a meaningful manner without ongoing and supportive personal contact with their fellow citizens in the settled community.

They experience discrimination in not having equal access to education, being denied service in pubs, shops, and hotels,[41] and being subject to derogatory language.

In 2016, the USA's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the United Kingdom stated that Irish Travellers reported receiving discrimination on "racial or ethnic grounds" in the country, and stated that the High Court had ruled that the government had illegally discriminated against Travellers by unlawfully subjecting planning applications to special scrutiny.

Many families choose not to reveal the specifics of their finances, but when explained it is very difficult to detect any sort of pattern or regular trend of monthly or weekly income.

Ethnic identity is also marked by the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and by common cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioural or biological traits.

[115] The European Parliament Committee of Enquiry on Racism and Xenophobia found them to be among the most discriminated-against ethnic groups in Ireland[116] and yet their status remains insecure in the absence of widespread legal endorsement.

[78][page needed][119][failed verification] In 1960 a government body was set up to conduct research into the Travelling Community in the Republic of Ireland.

The Commission on Itinerancy operated under the auspices of the Department of Justice, the persons were appointed by the Junior Minister Charles Haughey.

Furthermore "feuding was felt to be the result of a dearth of pastimes and [of] illiteracy, historically comparable to features of rural Irish life before the Famine".

Shows like The Riches (2007–2008), the American television series featuring Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver, take a deeper look into the Traveller lifestyle.

In his 1993 documentary Rules of the Road German filmmaker Oliver Herbrich portrayed the Travellers in Ireland and the UK as a nomadic ethnic group forced to adapt to a settled lifestyle.

[133] Some of the main characters in the Irish sitcom Derry Girls encounter a group of Travellers in an episode that aired on 19 March 2019.