The first mention of Jews in Ireland appears in the Annals of Innisfallan in 1062 (1079 according to some sources). This is a chronicle of Irish medieval history created by the monks on Innisfallan Island off the coast of County Kerry. It states that Five Jews came over the sea bearing gifts for Tairdelbach O'Briain (The High King) and they were sent back again over the sea.
We believe the Jews came to establish trade links with Ireland.
King Henry III (1216–1272) granted his Viceroy, Pierre des Rivaulx, custody of the King’s Judaism in Ireland on 28 July 1232.
However, his successor King Edward I expelled the Jews from England and Ireland in 1290.
On July 30 1492 Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish monarchs, issued an edict to expel all the Jews from Spain and its territories having already forcibly converted tens of thousands of Jews to Catholicism.
Jews fleeing from the Inquisition in Spain and subsequently from Portugal settled in North Africa, the Ottoman Empire and Europe (including Ireland). They were mostly Sephardic Jews forced to convert to Catholicism and were known as Conversos.
In 1555 William Annyas, a Portuguese Jewish refugee from the Inquisition, became Mayor of Youghal in County Cork.
His nephew Francis Anes, a Marrano and a soldier of fortune in the employ of Sir Francis Drake, worked in the intelligence service in the Azores, ended up holding a command in the English Garrison in Youghal. He was Mayor of Youghal in 1569, 1576 and 1581.
In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh was the next person to assume the role as Mayor of this town.
The Puritan leader, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland readmitted Jews into the Commonwealth in 1656.
It seems the reasons for this were pragmatic. A strong Jewish presence in London with links to the Amsterdam community would have been advantageous for trade.
Shortly after the new beginnings in England, six Jewish traders visited Dublin in 1662 with a view to establishing trade links. The Pereira family established a prayer hall in Crane Lane, close to Dublin Castle.
Rabbi Aaron ben Moses, known as The Scribe of Dublin ministered to the Jewish community prior to leaving for the Great Synagogue, Dukes Place, London in 1700.
During the Jacobite–Williamite War 1689–1691 King William of Orange gave the contract to supply bread for his army to the Pereira family of bakers in Holland. Related to the Pereira family in Dublin, they sent a party of Jewish bakers to Ireland who, after the end of the war, settled in Co Meath.
A recent discovery may indicate their possible burial ground in Castlecor, Co Meath.
In 1714 land was obtained for the first known Irish Holy Burial Site in Ballybough and the first recorded burial took place in 1718.
Jacob Duforto acquired the first Jewish cemetery in Cork. This community died out in the late 1700s and the location of the cemetery was only rediscovered in the mid twentieth century.
As the community grew a new synagogue was opened in Marlborough Street (close to the present Abbey Theatre) on the north side of the river Liffey. After thirty years of worship the building was converted to a glassworks.
At this time most jews lived around the areas we now know as Henry Street, Mary Street, Little Mary Street and Capel Street. They traded in luxury items such as wine, silk, linen, lace, tea, coffee and chocolate.
The Irish Naturalization Act of 1783 excluded Jews and many members of the community left Ireland.
Due to the community's diminished size the synagogue on Dublin's Marlborough Street was closed and a small prayer room was opened upstairs in the home of Mr Joseph Wolfe Cohen on Stafford Street.
With the repeal of the Irish Naturalization Act in 1816 a small number of Ashkanazi Jewish Merchants, mainly from Germany, England and Russia, arrived in Ireland and trade was re-established.
By 1829 a new synagogue was established in Stafford Street (now Wolfe Tone Street) where the prayer room had been located.
Daniel O'Connell, best known for his successful campaign for Catholic Emancipation achieved in 1829, champion of liberal and reform causes in Westminster, regularly met with Jewish Leaders in London to support similar efforts for the Jews.
The British Law 'De Judaismo', an obsolete statute which prescribed a special dress code for Jews, was formally repealed at O'Connell's insistence in 1846.
As the Jewish population was growing throughout this period, the congregation acquired a Presbyterian Church in Mary's Abbey which was converted into a Synagogue.
A constitution was adopted for Mary's Abbey Synagogue to be known as 'The Dublin Hebrew Congregation'. The synagogue opened in 1835.
Exceptions to the Naturalization Act were abolished and the Irish Marriage Act of 1844 expressly made provision for marriage according to Jewish rites.
Due to persecution and the highly restrictive laws imposed by Czar Alexander in 1882, increasing numbers of Jews began arriving in Ireland, mostly from the area now known as Lithuania. In 1890 the Dublin Jewish community was increased by seven hundred and numbers rose for another thirty years to a maximum of 5,000.
These poor newcomers settled in the streets along the South Circular Road, Dublin. New synagogues proliferated, and Kosher shops were established along Clanbrassil Street to service the community. The area became known as 'Little Jerusalem'. Vibrant communities also settled in Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and several provincial towns had individual Jewish families living there.
The last Sabbath was conducted in Mary’s Abbey and the following Sabbath both Jews and Christians attended the opening and consecration of a new specially designed synagogue at Adelaide Road. It remained in operation until 1999. After the building of Adelaide Road synagogues at Lombard Street West (1893), Walworth Road (1905), Greenville Hall (1914), Grosvenor Place (1937) and Grosvenor Road (1937) were opened to service an increasing and diverse population.
A new Holy Burial Ground was opened at Dolphin’s Barn, near the South Circular Road. This Burial Ground is still in use by the Orthodox Community.
The display of antisemitism by a Catholic priest, Fr. John Creagh ignited a boycott and harrassment of the Jews of Limerick which was discussed in the parliament in London and eventually forced most of the Limerick community to leave for Cork and other places.
Like thousands of Irish men Irish Jewish men also joined the British forces during World War I. Many of these men joined the local Royal Dublin Fusiliers others joined The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Regiment, Princess Victoria’s Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Royal Irish Rifles.
Government policy closed this country to immigrants fleeing Nazi persecution. Chief Rabbi Herzog and Robert Briscoe T.D. both personal friends of the Taoiseach, Eamonn de Valera worked in a personal and professional capacity to end the government policy but without much success.
However they continued to work for their European brethren through international lobbying and the provision of funds to purchase boats to rescue small numbers of Jews from Europe.
Ireland remained neutral during World War II which was referred to as "The Emergency". Many Irish Jews were involved in civil defence and some joined the British forces. Belfast was heavily bombed and some bombs were dropped in Dublin and around the country.
After the war, some German and Austrian Jews sought refuge in Ireland but most were not permitted to stay for long. The government eventually gave permission for 100 Jewish children survivors from Czechoslovakia to stay for one year. They were known as the "Clonyn Castle " children.
The Union of Liberal and Progressive Congregations gained a presence in Ireland and the Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation was founded. The Synagogue is situated in Rathgar.
In 1953 a Synagogue was established in Terenure to accommodate Orthodox Jewish families who had moved to the suburb.
Following the establishment of the State of Israel emigration began to take its toll on the Dublin Jewish Community and small synagogues closed as membership declined. Walworth Road Synagogue closed its doors in the early 1970s. The economic stagnation of the 1950s saw mass emigration of both Irish and Jewish youth.
On 9 February 1966, the synagogue was severely damaged in a malicious fire and several Sifrei Torah were destroyed.
On 26 May 1968, the refurbished synagogue was rededicated.
The Museum was opened in 1985 in the former Walworth Road Synagogue, by Irish-born President of Israel, Chaim Herzog.
As a result of declining numbers and a shrinking community, in January 1999, Adelaide Road Synagogue held a very moving service to mark it's closing.
The members agreed to close the synagogue and merge with Terenure Congregation. On the 15th December 2004 the merger was completed.
Due to a drastic decline in the congregation the Synagogue in Cork closes after a very emotional Ceremony.
A new diverse Munster Community of Jews has emerged. Some of the artefacts from the Cork Synagogue can be viewed in the Cork Public Museum, Fitzgerald Park.
Due to the virus, the Museum and synagogues throughout the country closed in March to comply with government regulations.
As a result, some congregations moved to holding events and services online to meet the needs of the community. This enabled them to extend their reach to a wider audience. Thanks to Zoom, the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland were able to provide the community with daily talks, chair yoga sessions, cookery and sign language classes on a regular basis.
The Museum also took the time to upgrade this website and work on a plan to increase its online presence and virtual audience engagement.
The timeline presented above denotes the key historic events of notable significance in relation to the history of Jews in Ireland. While some of these may seem less important from the outside, they all helped shape the landscape both politically and economically of the State.
Thank you to all those who have contributed towards the creation of this timeline, through their research and efforts we have been able to compile this and present it above. The Irish Jewish Museum is run entirely by volunteers and without their continuous efforts it would be impossible to preserve the records and keep our Museum alive.
