Friday 3 January 2014

Irish Jewish Museum's expansion gets go ahead

The Irish Jewish Museum's plans for expansion have received formal approval from An Bord Pleanala, albeit with a few conditions.

The existing Museum is based at the former Walworth Road Synagogue in Dublin's Portobello area, once the heart of the Jewish community in Ireland. It was founded in 1985, some years after the building ceased to be a place of worship, and was bequeathed adjoining terraced houses about five years ago to facilitate expansion.

Under the terms of the planning permission, these houses, together with the existing Museum, are now ear-marked for demolition so that a new purpose-designed and much larger building, complete with reinstated synagogue, can be constructed.

If you're researching Irish Jewish ancestors, take a look at the excellent Irish Jewish Family History Database; compiled by Stuart Rosenblatt, it holds details of more than 50,000 Jews who lived in Ireland since 1700.