the former

Armagh Jewish Community

& Hebrew Congregation,

Armagh, Northern Ireland

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congregations throughout the British Isles and Gibraltar, both past and present.

City of Armagh

Armagh (Ard Mhacha in Irish), a city in Northern Ireland with a population of approximately 15,000, is considered the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, with two cathedrals (both named after St. Patrick). It was granted city status in 1994. It has been part of the District of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon since 2015, when the former Armagh City and District Council merged with adjoining areas. County Armagh was one of the six traditional counties of Northern Ireland, which are now purely ceremonial (no longer with administrative authority).

Armagh Jewish Community

Based on news reports, a small Jewish community was established in Armagh towards the end of the nineteenth century.⁽ⁱ⁾ However, it does not appear to have survived into the twentieth century.

Congregation Data
Name:	Armagh Hebrew Congregation (presumed name)
Synagogue Address:	Not known
Date Founded:	Founded on 5 March 1895.⁽ⁱⁱ⁾
Current Status:	Believed to have closed not long after its establishment, although services were still being held in October 1896.⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾
Ritual:	Orthodox - Ashkenazi
Ministers	Although the congregation did not appear to have a minister, Rev. Louis Wolfe was in Armargh in 1898/9, shortly after he arrived in the United Kingdom.
Lay Officers (April 1895)^(iv):	Samuel J. Parks - President Abraham Glickman^(v) - Treasurer; Bernard Glick - Secretary Bernard White; Hosea Parks; Isaac Glick; and Henry Glick - Committee members
Cemetery:	There was no Jewish cemetery in Armagh. The only Jewish cemeteries in what is now Northern Ireland are in Belfast. For details, see Belfast Jewish Cemeteries Information on the Belfast home page.
Notes & Sources (↵ returns to text above) (i) The Jewish Chronicle disapproved of small communities, consisting primarily of foreign immigrants, springing up in small provincial towns such as Armagh and on 2 August 1895 carried the following editorial: "Small communities have also quite recently sprang up nearer home in the North-West of our Island, in Chester, Wrexham and Bangor. But what is especially surprising is that such large numbers of immigrants are settling in the Sister Isle, and in addition to joining the congregations long established in Dublin, Belfast and Cork are forming small colonies; in the towns of Limerick, Armagh, Londonderry, Dundalk and Waterford. We must confess that we cannot view without some misgiving the settlement of the foreign immigrant in towns such as these, which unfortunately, cannot be described as prosperous. We think that our Boards of Guardians, both here and in the provinces, should strongly dissuade their applicants from proceeding to any of these towns." ↵ (ii) The principal source of the information on this congregation is The Jewish Chronicle of 26 April 1895, which carried the following paid notice "A CONGREGATION AT ARMAGH. A MINYAN for regular Jewish Service was started at Armagh, Ireland on March fifth, 1895. A general meeting was held on Sunday, April 7th, 1895 for the purpose of electing Officers and making other arrangements. Mr. Samuel J. Parks was elected President; Mr. Abraham Glickman Treasurer; Mr. Bernard Glick. Secretary and Messrs Bernard White and Hosea Parks and Isaac Glick and Henry Glick, members of the committee." Special thanks were accorded to Mr. A. Glickman for his valuable services. ↵ (iii) The Jewish Chronicle of 9 October 1896 contained the following report: "ARMAGH - Many Jews from a distance made Armagh their temporary home during the recent festivals in order to attend public worship. The services were read by Mr. Samuel J. Parks and Mr. Abraham Glickman." ↵ (iv) Based upon the Jewish Chronicle report of 26 April 1895 - see Note (ii). ↵ (v) To view a short profile of A. Glickman, who was later referred to as a Jewish minister, hold the cursor over his name. According to the 1911 census, three of his children were born in Armagh in the 1890s, followed by two in Dundalk, before moving to Dublin by 1903. ↵

Search the All-UK Database

The records in the database associated with Armagh include:

UK Jewish Communal Leaders Database - Armagh records (as of the March 2024 update):
- JCR-UK Listings (records of 9 individuals).

Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Armagh Jewish Community

on third parties' websites

'Armagh' (article entitled "A Congregation in the 1890s") on the Northern Ireland Jewish Heritage Map website, affiliated to JCR-UK.

Jewish Communities & Congregations in Northern Ireland

Page created: 1 April 2022
Page most recently amended: 23 June 2024

Based upon research by Steven Jaffe
Formatting by David Shulman

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