I am grateful for the invitation to visit the Museum today and for the opportunity to see all that you have achieved here.
This Museum is a wonderful contribution to the city of Dublin and an important part of our national heritage. It presents an insight into a very distinctive piece of our social history. Too often, history is narrowly focussed on the politics and great events of an age. But these are only the milestones we use to chart our progress. The essence of history is to appreciate the lives of previous generations, to get a sense of how they lived and what they thought. I believe that the visitor here does get this insight into the experience and traditions of Jewish life in Ireland.
The Jewish community in Ireland has never been very numerous, but it has nonetheless made a tremendous contribution in so many ways. I have not yet found reliable reference to the earliest Jewish presence in Ireland, but I understand that the Annals of Innisfallen record the arrival of five Jews in 1079.
A synagogue is recorded in Crane Lane near Dublin Castle in 1660. A significant new level of organisation was reached when the community was designated as the Dublin Hebrew Congregation in 1839. It seems they had 100 to 200 seats in their synagogue, which was across the river in Mary’s Abbey at that time.
The popular image of Jewish life in Ireland seems to relate most to the community that arrived from Eastern Europe and settled on the South side from the late 19th century into the 20th. Only the older generations of Dubliners can actually remember what was here. However, the greatest literary portrait of Dublin from 1904 is in James Joyce’s Ulysses and Leopold Bloom will always be the enduring image at the centre. The Jewish community was very evident around Clanbrassil Street and their quiet existence is beautifully captured in the preserved kitchen setting I just visited downstairs.
Despite the domestic tranquillity reflected in that exhibit, we should be mindful that these years of arrival of the Eastern European Jews were the most troubled period in the history of Europe. They were also very difficult years in Ireland. The Irish nation was quite unsettled. The distress of the Famine years was a recent experience. Throughout Ireland, the great issues of society were being addressed. Empire and privilege were being challenged by nationalism and republicanism. The parallels of social experience and religious affiliation were being challenged. Nonetheless, Ireland was seen as a refuge from the victimisation and pogroms of the East. Whether they were coming to stay or struggling West towards the New World, Ireland received about 2,000 Jews at this time and the Jewish community eventually grew to reach approximately 5,500 by the late 1940’s.
The experience of Ireland’s Jews has generally been positive. They have endured difficulties from time to time and unpleasant incidents are not unknown even today. However, the disposition of our society should not be assessed by the occasional adverse experience. The Constitution of Ireland, introduced in 1937, gave specific recognition and protection to Ireland’s Jews. Today, although the Constitution has changed, we have a legal framework and an absolute determination to afford protection to all from discrimination or abuse.
Ireland’s Jews have always been people of ability and industry. They have participated fully in all walks of life, in the professions, trades, and manufacturing. The honour of having the first Jewish Mayor in Ireland goes to the town of Youghal in Co. Cork, where a Mr. William Annyas was elected to that position in 1555. Since then, Mr. Robert Briscoe was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1956 and 1961, his son Mr. Ben Briscoe was Lord Mayor in 1988, and Mr. Gerald Goldberg was Lord Mayor of Cork in 1977. While it can be a source of pride for your community that these men were Jews, it is important for me that their religion did not matter to people generally. They were acknowledged to be Irishmen contributing to the public life of the nation.
There is no doubting the integration of Ireland’s Jews. However, assimilation can threaten the continued distinct identities of small communities. I am aware that the number of Ireland’s Jews today is much smaller than it used to be. Marriages outside the faith reduced the community and there was also a constant drift of the young people towards larger Jewish communities abroad. Zionism attracted quite a few. Indeed, it is observed that there are today more Irish born Jews in Israel than in Ireland. That historical circumstance was manifest here when Chaim Herzog, the Dublin born President of Israel, opened this museum in 1985.
The defining event for European Jews in the 20th century was the Holocaust. Although insulated somewhat from the nightmare, the Jewish community in Ireland could not be unaffected by the enormous horror being perpetrated across Europe. Commemorated on a plaque here in this room, we remember an Irish born Jewish victim of that horror - Ettie Steinberg - who died with her Belgian husband and their son, Leon. Joe Briscoe lost 156 relatives.
The Holocaust was the greatest failure of humanity in the 20th century. It cannot however be consigned to history because the poisonous influences that brought it about have not passed from our world. I am grateful to the Jewish community, acting in partnership with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and representatives of the other communities caught in that inferno, for the inauguration in recent years of an annual Holocaust Memorial Day in Ireland. It is fundamentally necessary for us all to remember the past to ensure that we never again witness such evil prevail. Mindful that this year is the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the camps, I was especially grateful to be invited to this commemoration ceremony last January. As the generations that endured these horrors decline, it is especially important that we acknowledge their suffering and ensure the memory is not lost.
I want to thank you all for the work that this Museum does. It is not only for Jews to visit and not simply the repository of a significant part of Dublin’s history. This Museum also serves as an introduction for many Irish people, especially at school age, to one of the great religions of the world and the roots of the Christian faith. Coming here to learn of Jewish tradition and ceremonies is a valuable developmental experience. Your commitment to openness and your willingness to share your splendid heritage are to be commended. It is a privilege to be allowed to see your Torah scrolls and other artefacts. Your Curator and guides provide an insight that cannot be rivalled by study or media impressions. This Museum exemplifies the tremendous difference between seeing something and understanding it. Here we can see your community heritage, an Irish heritage, generously shared with the wider community.
The world we live in is increasingly globalised. Mutual understanding is essential to the progress of mankind as diverse cultures engage ever more directly. As you know, I have recently commenced on a dialogue with Irish churches, faith communities and non-confessional organisations, intended to explore issues of mutual concern and interest. I am very grateful for the positive response received from the Chief Rabbi and I am looking forward to the discussions to come.
As part of my visit here today, I was invited specifically to inaugurate the new material in the Museum’s collections relating to the Jews of Cork. It was therefore somewhat unsettling to view the ‘De Groot’ panels in the hall on my way in. It seems that Mr de Groot was dissatisfied with the arrangements for the official opening on a new bridge in Australia, so he took it on himself to open it. He charged through the crowd on his horse, slashing the ribbon with a sabre. I trust that the arrangements today were all agreed!
I am delighted to commend this museum to visitors and I hope that many previous visitors will drop in again to see your new additions. Please accept my best wishes for your continued success and my thanks for your kind hospitality today.
Thank you.
ENDS