Irish Jewish Museum

The Irish Jewish Museum collects, preserves & presents for public display material and artefacts relating to the Irish Jewish Community & Judaism in general. The museum’s large collection of documents, memorabilia and photographs provide a virtual treasure trove for anyone wishing to discover more about their Irish Jewish background. A visit to the museum gives an insight into the daily social and religious life of Jews in Ireland over the past one hundred and fifty years. Many visitors to the museum have been overjoyed to find precious remnants of their family’s history or details of lost relatives.

The Museum preserves an important, though small, part of Ireland’s cultural and historic heritage.

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 Museum is an all-Ireland museum and its material represents the Jewish communities of Belfast, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Dublin, Limerick & Waterford and relates mostly to the last 150 years.

The former Synagogue, which could accommodate approximately 150 men and women, consisted of two adjoining terraced houses built in the 1870’s. Due to the movement of the Jewish people from the area to the suburbs of Dublin and with the overall decline in their numbers, the Walworth Road Synagogue fell into disuse and ceased to function in the early 1970’s.

These premises remained locked for almost fifteen years, and were brought back to life again with the establishment of the Irish Jewish Museum Committee in late 1984.

The Museum was officially opened by the Irish born President of Israel Dr. Chaim Herzog on the 20th June 1985 during his State visit to Ireland. The Museum was managed by a Committee of dedicated people, varying in numbers from 20 to 30, who voluntarily give of their time.

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