Mairead ó Fearghail
 | |
| Mairead ó Fearghail | |
|---|---|
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 21 March 1997, 15 |
| City of Birth | Dublin, Ireland |
| Blood status | Muggle-born |
| Physical Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair Colour | Brown |
| Skin Colour | Pale |
| Relationships | |
| Father | Diarmuid ó Fearghail |
| Mother | Clar ó Fearghail |
| Magical Characteristics | |
| Wand(s) | |
| |
| Special Abilities | Parseltongue |
| Education | |
| School | Hogwarts |
| House | Gryffindor |
| Year | Fifth Year |
| Class of | 2015 |
| Character Information | |
| Playby | Ellen Page |
| Mai | |
Mairead was born to an Irish Traveller family and grew up in that tradition. She is unquestioningly proud of her upbringing and coming to school will be her first time away from her family. Her biggest asset, and at the same time biggest challenge some might say, is her brazenness. Having grown up in a nomadic culture, Hogwarts represents her first experience with any formal schooling or education. She's at Hogwarts on scholarship.
History
Mairead was born and raised on the road so she has no real, set hometown. She was born in the Ballymun slums of Dublin in Ireland. In some ways Mairead had, at the same time, a rather sheltered and difficult childhood. She grew up experiencing an extreme level of poverty. Neither of her parents held regular jobs and, because they refused to settle, neither were eligible for any government assistance. They usually eked a living by bartering services or day labor or through the sale of stock that was bred and raised on the road. Any income the adults managed to earn needed to support the 15 people in the group and the animals.
Her life has been a continuous cycle of traveling from one town to the next where they'd spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Most of the time, there was a pattern to their destinations, usually dictated by the seasons and the going ons in various towns and cities. They often spent longer stretches of time in larger cities since they were, frequently, gathering sites for multiple caravans. Most holidays were spent in larger cities, namely Dublin, Belfast and Limerick.
It was, usually, in the larger cities that the level of poverty was much more evident. The areas in these towns that they were most likely to set up camp were usually the more lower class neighborhoods. The young Travellers from the road would often intermingle with the children of Travellers that had settled with their families in these neighborhoods. Many of these families were on the dole and the poverty was blatant all around them. While in these towns, Mairead along with the other kids would panhandle for spare change on street corners or play her flute for handouts.
While on the road and away from established towns, the degree of poverty was less obvious. They made do on their own and were, relatively, comfortable. While progress has had a noticeable impact on much of Ireland, Traveller culture has been much slower to develop over the years. She lived in a small caravan with her mother and father and they travelled with several other families, horses and dogs. Days were usually spent on the move, tending the animals or doing chores around camp. Meals were usually a group affair with music, dancing or storytelling being a common occurrence after supper. These stories were the extent of the children's education since they were never in any one town long enough to enroll in school. Most of their parents are illiterate and the illiteracy is passed on. During the spring of 2008, a representative of Hogwarts came to the group to offer Mairead a place at the school in the fall.
