“Trouble in the Glen” is the title of a book (completely unrelated to this story) published in 1950 by Irish authors Maurice Walsh and Rennie McOwan.

Irish travelers are a community of itinerant laborers, frequently seen throughout the Irish countryside. It used to be that they were called “tinkers” or (inaccurately) “gypsies,” but both of those terms are considered outdated and somewhat insulting today. The travelers are often regarded with suspicion by residents of a town when they settle near it for a spell, due to their different customs and ability to disappear easily from the arm of the law should there be trouble of some kind.