Ireland Jewish Records

History
Although there is some evidence that Jews had visited Ireland over 1,000 years ago, the modern history starts in 1660 when Ireland's first synagogue was founded in Dublin. In the early 1700's, the Dublin community established the Ballybough Cemetery in the Fairview district of Dublin, where there was a small group of Jews.

From the early 18th century, the majority of Ireland's Jews have lived in Dublin. From census records, we know that in 1871, there were only 258 Jews in Ireland. Immigartion from Eastern Europe brought that total to over 3,700, of whom 2,200 lived in Dublin. This growth led to the establishment of new synagogues and schools. These were built within the areas where these new citizens established their homes and businesses. The Jewish population of Ireland peaked in the late 1940's when the state of Israel was established as many families moved there.

Synagogues
Ireland has only a few Jewish synagogues. Jewish records have been deposited in the Irish Jewish Museum. The museum contains records from synagogues and from Jewish communal institutions. These records include registrations of births, marriages, and deaths. For more information about these records, write the museum at the following address:

Irish Jewish Museum 3/4 Walworth Road South Circular Road Dublin 8 IRELAND (EIRE) Internet: http://www.eecs.tufts.edu/~zblocker/ijm/

Vital Records
The collection of the Family History Library has very few records of birth, marriage or deaths of the Irish Jews. However, in his book,The Jews of Ireland from earliest times to 1910, Louis Hyman has included a transcript of the register of births and deaths (1820-1879) of the Dublin Hebrew Congregation.

Collections
Many records of the Irish Jews have been added to the Knowles Collection: the Jews of the British Isles. These records include birth, marriage, death, census records and burial records. This database, which links people together in families, is contiually being added to and is freely searchable.

Irish Jewish Roots ($) is the online home of The Irish Jewish Family History Database. This collection, which is the work of Stuart Rosenblatt P.C. FGSI. contains the records of over 54,000 individuals who have lived in Ireland between 1700 and today. Searching by name is free; it will cost to see the record.

Non Jewish Records
Dublin Alien Registrations for World War I (1914-1922). Each non-british citizen had to report to the local police district to prove who they were, and provide information on themselves and thier families. While it is not a Jewish record, it does contain a lot of Jews. The information provided can help identify the place where the person immigrated from.The record contains the following information:

• head of the household’s name, nationality, occupation, and address;

• birth date and place;

• date of arrival in Ireland;

• previous residence before coming to Ireland;

• name, ages (or birth dates), and birthplaces of spouse, children, and others living with the family;

• spouse’s date of arrival and previous residence before coming to Ireland.

The original records of this collection are housed at the National Archives of Ireland in Dublin.