the former

Walworth Road Synagogue

Dublin, Ireland

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

3/4 Walworth Road in September 2014.
The building now houses The Irish Jewish Museum
© David Shulman 2014

Congregation Data

Name

Walworth Road Synagogue

Former Name:

Beth Hamedresh Hagadol Synagogue until about 1955⁽ⁱⁱ⁾

Address:

3/4 Walworth Road, Dublin 8,⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ in the midst of the Portobello area, around the South Circular Road, in which the majority of Dublin's Jews had once been concentrated. The Synagogue was situated on the first floor and could accommodate 150/160 congregants. Since 1984 the building has housed the Irish Jewish Museum.

Date Formed:

Founded in 1912.^(iv)

Closure:

Following the move of most of the Jewish population from the area to Dublin's suburbs, the Synagogue ceased to function by about 1970. It lay in disuse until converted into the museum in 1984.^(v)

Ritual:

Ashkenazi Orthodox

Ministers:
(To view a short profile of a minister - hold the cursor over his name.)

Rabbi Michael Osher Matlin - minister from about 1925 until about 1938^(ix)

Dayan S. Zalmon Yosef Alony - minister from 1939 until about 1954^(x)

The congregation was also served by the various Chief Rabbis of Ireland who, particularly from the 1950s, occupied by rotation the pulpits of the various orthodox congregations in Dublin.

Readers:

Rev. H. Lev - reader from about 1953 until about 1955^(xiii)

Rev. D. Roith - reader from about 1955 until about 1965^(xiv)

Lay Officers from 1896:

The following data on lay officers has been extracted from Jewish Year Books, which subsequent to 1956 generally ceased to provide details of lay officers other than the secretary. ^(xvii)

Presidents

at least 1925-1938 - E.S. Watchman

1938-1953 - Morris Ellman^(xviii)

1953-at least 1956 - S. Verby

Treasurers

1945-1947 - J. Solomons

1947-1948 - S. Solomons

1948-1952 - M. Wine

1952-1954 - P. Epstein

1954-at least 1956 - L.W. Woolfson

Vice President

1946-1951 - S. Verby

Hon. Secretaries

1945-1948 - R.B. Isaacson

1948-1952 - A. Siev

1952-1954 - I. Woolfson

1954-1955 - R.B. Isaacson

1955-1957 - R.B. Alexander

1957-1964 - S. Zeider

1964-1977 - Raphael Siev

Membership Data:

Number of Seatholders - Jewish Year Books^(xix)

1953 - 120

1962 - 70

Cemetery Data:

See Dublin Jewish Cemeteries Information on the Dublin home page.

The Irish Jewish Museum:

The Irish Jewish Museum was the brainchild of Rafael Sief, the served as its curator until his death in 2009. Mr. Sief proposed, in the early 1980's, to turn the Walworth Road Synagogue, which had laid in a state of disuse and disrepair for some years, unto the Irish Jewish Museum. On 29 June 1985, the then President of the State of Israel, Irish-born Chaim Herzog, officially opened the Museum during his State Visit to the Republic of Ireland. The Museum is situated in the two terraced houses that housed the Walworth Road Synagogue, the Synagogue itself (which has been restored to its original) was situated on the first floor of the building. In order to meet the needs of the Museum, an expansion project has been approved to redevelop the site (including the three adjacent terraced houses to the right, which had been bequeathed to the Museum by Raphael Sief), which would substantially increase the size of the Museum, but generally retain the facade of the terraced houses on Walworth Road.

Website: http://jewishmuseum.ie

© David Shulman 2014
Two plaques on the front of the building. The upper plaques reads in Hebrew: "Beth Hamedresh Hagadol".
The lower plaques commemorates the opening of the Irish Jewish Museum by then President of Israel, Chaim Herzog

© David Shulman 2014	© David Shulman 2014
Two photographs of the interior of the Walworth Road Synagogue, as preserved on the first floor of the Irish Jewish Museum, taken in September 2014

Online Articles and Other Material
relating to the Congregation

On Third Party websites

Walworth Road Synagogue - blog by Patrick Comerford, no. 13 from his Synagogues of Dublin series (full list), 11 October 2019.

Notes & Sources
(↵ returns to text above)

(i) Reserved.
(ii) The congregation was listed under this name in Jewish Year Books 1945/6 through 1952. ↵
(iii) This was the listed address in all Jewish Year Books. ↵
(iv) Blog by Patrick Comerford of 11 October 2019 (See lower part of this page). It was not listed in Jewish Year Books until 1926. ↵
(v) Blog by Patrick Comerford of 11 October 2019. (See lower part of this page.) ↵
(vi) to (viii) Reserved.
(ix) Based upon the listing of Rabbi O. Matlin as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Book 1926 through 1939 ↵
(x) Based upon Jewish Chronicle obituary of 10 January 2003 and Rabbi Alony's listing as minister of the congregation in Jewish Year Books 1947 through 1954. ↵
(xi) and (xii) Reserved.
(xiii) Based upon the listing of Rev. Lev's as reader of the congregation in Jewish Year Book 1954 and 1955. ↵
(xiv) Based upon the listing of Rev. Roith's as reader of the congregation in the Jewish Year Book. ↵
(xv) and (xvi) Reserved.
(xvii) Where a person is first listed in a year book as holding a particular office, it has been assumed that his term of office commenced in the year of publication of the relevant year book and that he continued in office until the commencement of office of his successor, unless the office was vacant. Year books were published generally towards the end of the year prior to the year appearing in the title of the year book. For example, if an officer is listed in Jewish Year Books 1929 through 1934, it is assumed that he commenced office in 1928 and continued in office until 1934. However, it should be noted that this is only an assumption and, accordingly, his actual years of office may differ somewhat from those shown here. ↵
(xviii) As M. Ellman was listed as president of the congregation in Jewish Year Books both before (1939 and 1940) and after (from 1945/6 through 1953) the cessation of publication during World War II, it is assumed that he also served as president of the congregation throughout the war. ↵
(xix) As listed in the Jewish Year Book for the relevant year. ↵

Dublin Jewish Community home page

JCR-UK Ireland home page

Page created: 13 June 2006
Data significantly expanded and notes first added: 11 November 2022
Page most recently amended: 11 September 2024

Research and formatting by David Shulman

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