To the west of Great Britain lies Ireland, famous for its rolling green hills and colorful culture. What’s less well-known is that Ireland has had a Jewish presence for many centuries, and vibrant Jewish life continues to thrive there today. Read on for 13 facts about the Jews of the Emerald Isle.
1. Jews Lived in Ireland in Medieval Times
Jews have been part of Ireland’s story for hundreds of years. Back in the 12th and 13th centuries, when there was a strong Jewish presence in England, some Jews made their way to nearby Ireland. These early settlers remained until 1290, when Jews were expelled from England and, consequently, from Ireland as well.
Watch: The Church, the Jews, and the Forging of English Antisemitism
2. Jews Came From Spain, Germany, and Lithuania
After the Spanish Expulsion in 1492, some Sephardic refugees from Spain and Portugal arrived in Ireland. Over the following centuries, they were joined by Jews from Germany, and later by a major wave of Eastern European immigrants—mostly from Lithuania. Today, most native Irish Jews trace their roots to these Lithuanian arrivals.
Read: 16 Facts About the Jews of Lithuania
3. They Formed a Small but Distinct Community
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| The shuttered synagogue in the city of Cork. |
Ireland has never had a large Jewish population—at its peak, in the early 20th century, there were around 5,000 Jews in the country. Most lived in the capital, Dublin, while smaller communities thrived in cities like Cork, Limerick, and Waterford. And, of course, there was a Jewish community in Northern Ireland, centered in Belfast.
Read: Cork’s Jewish Community Gets Yom Kippur Boost
4. Jewish Help During the Great Irish Famine
When the Great Famine devastated Ireland between 1845 and 1852, the single largest source of private relief came from a Jew—Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild of England. While the British government failed to provide sufficient aid, Baron Rothschild established the British Relief Fund, which raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help feed the Irish people, as did Jews in New York.
Read: The Rothschild Family
5. There Was a Boycott in Limerick
For the most part, Jews got along well with their Irish neighbors. However, one dark episode stands out. In 1904, a priest in Limerick gave an inflammatory sermon that incited locals to boycott Jewish businesses. The boycott—often accompanied by stone throwing and vandalism—lasted for two years, prompting several of the town’s few Jewish families to move elsewhere.
6. A Landscape of Historic Synagogues
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| Dublin Hebrew Congregation. |
Synagogues have dotted Ireland for centuries. The first was established in Dublin in 1663. As the community grew, new synagogues appeared, including the Adelaide Road Synagogue (established in 1892)—once the largest in Ireland. Other towns also had synagogues of their own. But as Jewish numbers declined in the latter half of the 20th century, most of these historic shuls eventually closed their doors.
Read: Unwavering in Waterford
7. Irish Jews Held Leadership Positions …
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| President John F. Kennedy meets in the Oval Office with Lord Mayor of Dublin Robert Briscoe (1962). (Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston) |
Despite its small size, Irish Jewry has produced some remarkable figures. In 1555, William Moses Annyas—a Portuguese Jewish refugee—became mayor of Youghal in County Cork, making him the first Jew to hold public office in Ireland. In modern times, Robert Briscoe and his son Ben, descendants of Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants, became prominent politicians, each serving as Lord Mayor of Dublin. Another prominent example is Alan Shatter, who served as Minister for Justice and also Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014.
Read: What It’s Like to Be Ireland’s Only Rebbetzin
8 … Including an Israeli Chief Rabbi
One of Ireland’s most famous rabbis went on to become Chief Rabbi of Israel. Rabbi Yitzchak Herzog served as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1936 until 1959. Before that, he was the Chief Rabbi of Ireland. Deeply sympathetic to Ireland’s struggle for independence from British rule, he became affectionately known as “the Sinn Féin rabbi,” after the Irish political movement that championed self-governance, and reputedly spoke fluent Gaelic!
9. Chabad Helped the Irish Supply Meat to DP Camps
After World War II, Ireland agreed to supply one million pounds of kosher meat to Jewish survivors living in European DP camps. To make that possible, the country needed trained kosher slaughterers (shochatim). A group of Chabad families stepped in to help, including Rabbi Zalman Shimon Dworkin, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Garelik, Rabbi Nochum Sasonkin, and Rabbi Peretz Mockin—who all spent several months in Ireland ensuring that the meat was properly slaughtered and prepared.1
Read: What Is Kosher Slaughter?
10. The Jewish Population Has Dwindled
Over the years, most young Jews left Ireland, often in search of more economic and Jewish opportunities in the UK, America, and Israel. Once-full synagogues have been left empty of congregants, and the single remaining Orthodox congregation is in Terenure, Dublin.
11. More Jews Are Streaming In
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| Rabbi Zalman and Rifky Lent. |
Following Ireland’s entrance into the EU, the Celtic Tiger roared to life, and Ireland’s renewed growth brought new Jewish people, in some instances stemming and even reversing the decline. Today, the Dublin community includes long-time Irish Jews as well as newcomers from Israel, the U.S., England, and across Europe.
12. Roving Rabbis Make Annual Rounds
In part due to the work of Chabad emissaries Rabbi Zalman Shimon and Rebbetzin Rifky Lent, Dublin is a vibrant center of Jewish activity, which radiates to every corner of the country. Every summer, pairs of rabbinical interns (“Roving Rabbis”) visit scattered Jews across the island, bringing mezuzahs, tefillin, Torah literature, friendly faces, and a connection to Jewish resources.
Read: Scattered Across Ireland, Jews Affix Mezuzahs to Their Doorposts
13. There’s a Kosher Deli in Dublin
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| Deli 613 was opened by the Lents in 2023. |
Along with the Dublin Hebrew Congregation’s thriving synagogue and a beautifully renovated mikvah, Dublin residents can enjoy kosher food and camaraderie at Deli 613, a lively eatery attached to the Chabad House that has become a hub of Jewish life on the Emerald Isle.
Read: Dublin Kosher Deli a New Hub of Jewish Life
