Irish Jewish Museum

Irish Jewish Museum
Músaem Giúdach na hÉireann
Wall plaques at the Irish Jewish Museum
Location within Dublin
Established	June 1985 (1985-06)
Location	Portobello, Dublin, Ireland
Coordinates	53°19′51″N 6°16′11″W / 53.3307°N 6.2696°W / 53.3307; -6.2696Coordinates: 53°19′51″N 6°16′11″W / 53.3307°N 6.2696°W / 53.3307; -6.2696
Website	www.jewishireland.org

The Irish Jewish Museum (Irish: Músaem Giúdach na hÉireann) is a small museum located in the once highly Jewish populated area of Portobello, around the South Circular Road, Dublin 8, dedicated to the history of the Irish Jewish community.

The museum was opened in June 1985 by Chaim Herzog who was then president of Israel and was born in Ireland. The museum is in a former Synagogue built in 1917 in two adjoining terraced house on Walworth Road, off the South Circular Road. The surrounding area, known as Portobello, was previously a Jewish area, however, the large scale emigration that affected Ireland in the 1950s had a particularly strong effect on the Jewish population; there was also a migration to the suburbs and Dublin's main synagogue is now in Terenure. The synagogue is preserved, there are also artifacts on display and the museum houses genealogical records.

Contents and displays

The Museum contains a substantial collection of memorabilia relating to the Irish Jewish communities and their various associations and contributions to present day Ireland. The material relates to the last 150 years and is associated with the communities of Belfast, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Dublin, Limerick and Waterford.

The Museum is divided into several distinct areas. In the entrance area and corridors there is a display of photographs, paintings, certificates and testimonials. The ground floor contains a general display relating to the commercial and social life of the Jewish community. A special feature adjoining the area is the kitchen depicting a typical Sabbath/Festival meal setting in a Jewish home in the late 19th/early 20th century in the neighbourhood.

Upstairs, the original Synagogue, with all its ritual fittings, is on view and also the Harold Smerling gallery containing Jewish religious objects.

2005 attacks

In 2005, the museum was sprayed several times with anti-Semitic slogans. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern visited the museum to express Government support for the museum and the Jewish community.^[1] Ahern's actions were praised by Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.^[2] The culprit was identified from CCTV images and arrested. At trial, his lawyers stated that the attacks were a result of his ongoing schizophrenia and he was sentenced to six months of probation. Raphael Siev, curator of the museum, said the attacks had caused "great terror" and "great upset" but the trial judge prevented him from continuing, citing the uncertain legal status of victim impact statements in cases of this sort.^[3]

Proposed development

In 2012, the museum began a fundraising campaign to expand and develop the site, under the auspices of the Office of Public Works. In December 2013, An Bord Pleanála voted 5 to 3 in favour of the plan, granting planning permission with a number of conditions. The plans include demolition of the original synagogue at numbers 3 and 4 Walworth Road, as well as the demolition of 3 houses at numbers 5 to 7 Walworth Road, a 6-metre basement excavation, and construction of a facsimile 19th century facade.^[4]^[5] Taoiseach Enda Kenny supported the plan, describing it as an "exciting project... for the regeneration of the city”. ^[6] The plans were criticised by some local residents, councillors, and architects. 25 formal objections were submitted, citing facadism, destruction of the original synagogue, and lack of public engagement as the main reasons for opposition.^[7]^[8]^[9]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Irish Jewish Museum.

Official website
Zeitlin, Marilyn (March 13, 2007). "A Slice of Ireland A Museum Struggles To Survive (issue of March 16, 2007)". The Forward. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
A review of the museum from September 2001 with photographs
A personal webpage about the Jewish Museum
The Irish Jewish Museum on visitdublin.com, the official tourist website
News item about Dermot Ahern's visit

Museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland by province

Connacht	Arigna Mining Experience Galway City Museum Glengowla Mines James Mitchell Museum Museum of Country Life Roscommon County Museum Sligo County Museum

Munster	Allihies Copper Mine Museum Clare Museum Cobh Heritage Centre Connemara Heritage and History Centre Cork Butter Museum Cork Public Museum Craggaunowen Crawford Art Gallery Hunt Museum Kerry County Museum Waterford County Museum Waterford Museum of Treasures

Leinster	An Post Museum Carlow County Museum Chester Beatty Library County Carlow Military Museum County Museum Dundalk The Douglas Hyde Gallery Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane Dublin Writers Museum Irish Agricultural Museum Irish Jewish Museum Irish Museum of Modern Art James Joyce Centre James Joyce Tower and Museum Kilmainham Gaol Luan Gallery Marsh's Library National 1798 Rebellion Centre National Gallery of Ireland National Leprechaun Museum National Library of Ireland National Maritime Museum of Ireland National Museum of Ireland National Photographic Archive National Print Museum National Transport Museum of Ireland National Wax Museum Natural History Museum Number Twenty Nine - Georgian House Museum Pearse Museum Science Gallery State Heraldic Museum Temple Bar Gallery and Studios Ye Olde Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio

Ulster	Cavan County Museum Donegal County Museum Donegal Railway Centre Monaghan County Museum

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