The Irish Tinkers: The Urbanization of an Itinerant People, 2nd Edition

This edition of The Irish Tinkers focuses on the Tinkers' attempts to cope with the changes that the development and modernization of rural Ireland have forced upon them. Gmelch lucidly describes the Tinkers' cityward migration, their adaptation to their new urban environment, and the drive by government and others to settle them. The Tinkers represent a classic case of a small, powerless society struggling to cope with a new lifestyle that threatens to overwhelm them.