There is, of course, nothing wrong with being proud of your origins, but when those origins are used to discriminate they can become a menace.
As far back as the radio ballad, the Travelling People, the "real Gypsy" claim was being highlighted as a common means of discrimination.
Thomas McCarthy, by the way, (a non-Gypsy, to those who care about that sort of thing) is someone who spends time advocating on behalf of Travellers - a nice and very knowledgeable man.
It was good, and at times, very moving, to see last night's programme using Travellers as human beings rather that the "Big-Fat-Gypsy" image that infests our screens.   
Jim Carroll