FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE CHILDREN - THE POLITICS OF MINORITY CHILDHOOD IN IRELAND

This article examines the politics of minority childhood in Ireland th rough an analysis of dominant discourses and published biographical an d autobiographical accounts. The focus is on the official construction s and experiences of Traveller children during the decades preceding t he implementation of a state settlement policy in the mid-1960s. Minor ity childhood is discussed within the context of anti-Traveller racism , the political economy of Irish childhood, and the formulation of a T raveller settlement policy.