Hillside Home On the Hillside Over the City of the Tribes We gaze out over The gently swelling Galway Bay and the granite Giants of the Burren hovered in melting mists. We lower our eyes in homage and see, at our feet and all around us and our children The filth and destruction In which we are forced to exist. Rats dart, disease spreads, Hugh holes gouged out by The sharp spikes of machines Sent by citymen To terrify us into leaving, Where shall we go Now that every grassy place Dies in a hail of concrete? Only the sight of Bay and Burren Saves us from Utter Despair. Mark.

Travellers ­ The Bitter Facts

• There are over 20,000 Travellers in Ireland, with more than half under the age of 15.
• In an ESRI report of 1985, 48% of Travellers were found to have no access to piped water, 50% had no access to toilet facilities, and 54% had no access to a supply of electricity.
• In 1989 the Health Research Board found that male Travellers had over two times the risk of dying in a given year than settled males, and for Traveller women, the risk was more than three times. Infant mortality was three times that of the settled community. Overall, Traveller life expectancy was 10 times less than settled people.
• There are over 1200 Traveller families living on the roadside without facilities.

Feileann spallaí do bhallaí chomh maith le clocha móra.
Spalds (small stones) suit walls as well as big ones.

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