Ms Ann Marie Sweeney:

Believe me, from my point of view, it was a difficult crowd and I was very nervous. With all due respect, they were respectful. I explained to them that one day when I was going into court in Dublin – I will not say which court – the solicitor pulled me aside before going in and told me that the judge did not like Travellers. I wished the ground could have opened up and swallowed me because I did not want to go into that court knowing that, even though I was prepared and willing to face the consequences. That says a lot for me. I heard the judges feedback. They have seen a lot of Travellers coming through the system on their side, but most of them have never had an opportunity to sit down and listen to Travellers. They had the opportunity to ask questions. It was a great experience all in all.