On International Traveller and Roma Day, the East Limerick Traveller Project and Niamh Kelleher, Project Coordinator, Ballyhoura Development CLG, share their work on raising awareness of the importance of cervical screening amongst Traveller women in East Limerick.
Background
The East Limerick Traveller Project was established in 2020 to respond to needs identified through the East Limerick Traveller Health Baseline Needs Assessment, which was conducted in 2019. It found that only 6% of the Traveller population in East County Limerick was over the age of 50.
Many members of the East Limerick Traveller Project team played a pivotal role in gathering the information for the needs assessment. Without their knowledge of the local community, many of the community’s health needs may have been missed, particularly as it was found at that time that over 50% of the local Traveller population in the region were not accounted for in Census figures.
The team shares: “This local knowledge and connection is one of the keys to success in what we do. Without it many local people would be missed, and they would not know about screening programmes or their entitlements.”
This is supported by national research with a recent study - Cancer Awareness and Attitudes among the Traveller Community in Ireland - finding that the key enabler for accessing cancer screening is speaking with a local Traveller Primary Health Care Worker (28%). This is ever more important given that the All-Ireland Traveller Health Study found that cancer was one of the leading causes of death amongst Travellers, accounting for almost 20% of all deaths in the Traveller Community. And Ireland’s National Cancer Strategy underlines the importance of focusing on cancer prevention and early diagnosis to reduce cancer incidence, mortality and morbidity.
The Project
The East Limerick Healthcare Project is a collaboration between Ballyhoura Development CLG and the HSE Traveller Health Unit. Based in Kilmallock, the project seeks to work with the Traveller community in East Limerick to improve health outcomes and quality of life.
The project aims to reduce the barriers for Travellers in accessing health information. Health promotion flyers, health clinics and information sessions are organised and delivered by a team of 7 Primary Community Health Workers (PCHWs) and relevant health professionals, to the Traveller community across East Limerick.
Partnership with the HSE National Screening Service
Since 2025 the East Limerick Traveller Project has been working with the HSE National Screening Service to reduce some of the barriers the Traveller community experience when it comes to early diagnosis and cancer prevention.
The team has received training on BreastCheck, CervicalCheck and Diabetic RetinaScreen. This enables them to confidently support members of the local community in recognising signs and symptoms, registering for screening programmes and encouraging attendance.
The team explains: “Getting the training is really helpful. Cancer is still something many people do not want to talk about in our community. There can be a lot of shame and embarrassment especially around breast and cervical screening. Traveller women often put other things before their health appointments. Having the training means we can talk openly and in a supportive way with our community about the importance of screening programmes and try to help with any worries they might have.”
Niamh Kelleher, Coordinator of the Programme adds: “The team co-design bespoke leaflets making the information more accessible for members of the local community. This feels important because health literacy is a known barrier for the Traveller community accessing vital health information. We also include QR codes linking to videos and accessible information, so people can engage with the information in their own time, if they feel more comfortable.”
Impact
Niamh continues: “The PHCWs themselves, are seen as leaders within their communities. For them to not only receive training on screening programmes but to have a direct link to the HSE National Screening Service means they can confidently support their community through topics that may not have previously been spoken about openly.”
The team can attest to this with one member sharing: “Before we did the training, I had not gone for a cervical screening test. It was just not something I had gotten to. After the training I learnt of the importance of screening in helping to prevent cancer, so I booked my appointment. Since then, I have gone and got the all clear and know that going to my screening appointments in the future is not something I need to worry about anymore. It also means I can encourage others to do the same.”
Since the CervicalCheck training at the end of 2025, the Team met with 91 Traveller women in East Limerick through house visits and spoke to them about the importance of cervical screening, helping to fight the taboos that can be associated with cancer and cervical screening.
Support provided by the team included:
- clarifying concerns about attending appointments and how to reschedule screening appointments
- the importance of screening to prevent cancer or detect it earlier
- supporting women to check the register with CervicalCheck
- clarifying the age range for CervicalCheck
- sharing personal experiences to help alleviate worries Traveller women may have.
Next Steps
The East Limerick Traveller Programme has worked to provide information and support on 3 out of the 4 national screening programmes in the past 5 months. It is anticipated that the team will work on supporting the local communities’ understanding of BowelScreen in the near future; and will continue to work with the local community to ensure that they know the pathways to early cancer diagnosis and prevention - doing their vital bit to tackle health inequalities amongst the local Traveller community.