The Irish Traveller community experience disproportionate levels of mental ill health. Suicide rates within the community are higher than the majority group. Research shows this minority group experience elevated levels of discrimination and social exclusion. Research has focused on high suicide rates, social determinants of mental ill health, discrimination and various other mental health issues. Studies suggest that culturally appropriate services be provisioned for this community highlighting the centrality of cultural factors. There is a paucity of knowledge in the research literature dealing with how this minority group practically attend to their mental health needs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to gain an understanding of how members of the Irish Traveller Community attend to their mental health needs. A qualitative study was conducted using a grounded theory approach. Interviews were conducted with 15 members of the Irish Traveller community, focusing on how these members attended to their mental health needs or the mental health needs of others. The findings suggested that members struggle to adequately attend to their mental health needs. Mental health was constellated within the context of Irish Traveller culture. Significant barriers exist in the everyday management of mental health issues. To attend to their mental health the participants engaged in a nonlinear process of ‘maintaining the self’. This process of ‘maintaining the self’ was carried out through reliance on, and identification with, their cultural identity, management of stigma, inequalities and finding pathways to help. Through gaining theoretical understanding of this process, the needs of this group are better understood. This has implications for development of appropriate and culturally sensitive mental health provision, such as counselling services, community based mental health initiatives, psychotherapy research and policy.