I need to watch this. I have quite a few friends who live in Ireland and Scotland, and anytime they've talked about them, they've never had good things to say. Though one woman routinely hires any travelers in her area to do handy work around her farm. Most of them have told me that the travelers they know are all very very very well off financially.
All I know is that they developed a beautiful breed of horse, the gypsy vanner.
http://vanners.org/