Although they are often referred to as "Gypsies", Irish Travellers are not genetically related to the Romani. Genetic analysis has shown Travellers to be of Irish extraction, and that they likely diverged from the settled Irish population around a thousand years ago . The centuries of separation has led to Travellers becoming genetically distinct from the settled Irish. Traveller rights groups long advocated for ethnic status from the Irish government, succeeding in 2017. Many different theories have been put forward to explain the origins of Ireland's itinerant population. It has been suggested Travellers are related to Romani due to a similarly itinerant lifestyle, but genetic testing has shown no evidence for a recent ancestral component between Travellers and Romani Gypsies. One idea is of their being distantly related to a Celtic group that invaded Ireland. Another theory is of a pre-Gaelic origin, where Travellers are descended from a community that lived in Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. Once Ireland was claimed as Celtic, this group was seen as lower class. There is also a theory that an indigenous, itinerant community of craftsmen are the ancestors of Travellers, and they never settled down like the Celts. Other speculations on their origin are that they were descended from those Irish who were made homeless during the Cromwellian conquest in the 1650s, or made homeless in either the 1741 or the 1840's famine due to eviction. However, due to the many centuries of separation necessary to establish the enormous genetic differences between the settled community and Travellers, these theories are implausible. Given the violent tribal divisions within the island of Ireland, displacement by internal war or invasion, carried out by the Irish themselves, is generally assumed to be the only logical explanation for their unique character. Population genetics Genetic evidence reported in 2000 regarding Irish Travellers supported: Irish ancestry; several distinct subpopulations; and the distinctiveness of the midland counties due to Viking influence. In 2011, researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin and the University of Edinburgh analysed DNA samples from 40 Travellers. The study provided evidence that Irish Travellers are a distinct Irish ethnic minority, which has been distinct from the settled Irish community for at least 1000 years; the report claimed that Travellers are as distinct from the settled community as Icelanders are from Norwegians. However, this apparent distance may be the effect of genetic drift within a small homogeneous population and may therefore exaggerate the distance between the two populations   .
Although they are often referred to as "Gypsies", Irish Travellers are not genetically related to the Romani. Genetic analysis has shown Travellers to be of Irish extraction, and that they likely diverged from the settled Irish population in the 1600s, during the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland . The centuries of separation has led to Travellers becoming genetically distinct from the settled Irish. Traveller rights groups long advocated for ethnic status from the Irish government, succeeding in 2017. Many different theories have been put forward to explain the origins of Ireland's itinerant population. It has been suggested Travellers are related to Romani due to a similarly itinerant lifestyle, but genetic testing has shown no evidence for a recent ancestral component between Travellers and Romani Gypsies. One idea is of their being distantly related to a Celtic group that invaded Ireland. Another theory is of a pre-Gaelic origin, where Travellers are descended from a community that lived in Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. Once Ireland was claimed as Celtic, this group was seen as lower class. There is also a theory that an indigenous, itinerant community of craftsmen are the ancestors of Travellers, and they never settled down like the Celts. Other speculations on their origin are that they were descended from those Irish who were made homeless during the Cromwellian conquest in the 1650s, or made homeless in either the 1741 or the 1840's famine due to eviction. Population genetics Genetic evidence reported in 2000 regarding Irish Travellers supported: Irish ancestry; several distinct subpopulations; and the distinctiveness of the midland counties due to Viking influence. In 2011, researchers at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin and the University of Edinburgh analysed DNA samples from 40 Travellers. The study provided evidence that Irish Travellers are a distinct Irish ethnic minority, which has been distinct from the settled Irish community for at least 1000 years; the report claimed that Travellers are as distinct from the settled community as Icelanders are from Norwegians. However, this apparent distance may be the effect of genetic drift within a small homogeneous population and may therefore exaggerate the distance between the two populations . In 2017 a further genetic study using profiles of 50 Irish Travellers, 143 European Roma, 2232 settled Irish, 2039 British and 6255 European or worldwide individuals confirmed ancestral origin within the general Irish population. An estimated time of divergence between the settled population and Travellers was set at a minimum of 8 generations ago, with generations at 30 years, hence 240 years and a maximum of 14 generations or 420 years ago. The best fit was estimated at 360 years ago, giving an approximate date in the 1650s. This date coincides well with the final destruction of Gaelic society following the 1641 Rebellion and during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in which Cromwell's forces devastated the country .
R
around a thousand years ago
in the 1600s, during the time of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
D
However, due to the many centuries of separation necessary to establish the enormous genetic differences between the settled community and Travellers, these theories are implausible. Given the violent tribal divisions within the island of Ireland, displacement by internal war or invasion, carried out by the Irish themselves, is generally assumed to be the only logical explanation for their unique character.
A
.
A
In 2017 a further genetic study using profiles of 50 Irish Travellers, 143 European Roma, 2232 settled Irish, 2039 British and 6255 European or worldwide individuals confirmed ancestral origin within the general Irish population. An estimated time of divergence between the settled population and Travellers was set at a minimum of 8 generations ago, with generations at 30 years, hence 240 years and a maximum of 14 generations or 420 years ago. The best fit was estimated at 360 years ago, giving an approximate date in the 1650s. This date coincides well with the final destruction of Gaelic society following the 1641 Rebellion and during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in which Cromwell's forces devastated the country