Jewish, Irish Roots Mingle Over Centuries

By J. Herbert Silverman
Special to The Irish American Post

If your name happens to be Murphy, there's no question that your roots are firmly planted in Ireland — to be exact, in Co. Wexford. The Murphys, who edge out the Kellys with the most popular family name in the Emerald Isle, stem from the 12th century King of Leinster, "Murchadh," which means "Sea Warrior," or "Pirate." Murchadh, in turn, was descended from a long line of princes and kings including the fourth century ruler, Enda Kinsella.

If, on the other hand, you are a MacCarthy, you can trace your heritage back to "Olliol Olum" whose middle son, "Owen Mor," was the chief of another line of warriors. His descendant was "King Carthach" (the loving one) of Munster and it was from this worthy that the MacCarthys (Mac Carthach, son of Carthach) got their name.

Finally, if you're a Ryan, chances are you are descended from "Cathaeir Mor," a third century king who ruled all of Ireland from his seat in Leinster.

However, as odd as it may seem, if your name is Levin, Goldberg or even Disraeli, you might have Irish roots.

In fact, it is recorded in Co. Limerick that in 1788, one Jacob Schweitzer from Germany and a resident of Ballingarry, married a Cork lady by the name of Fanny Levy. The Schweitzers had a flour mill in the district which is still known as Schweitzer's Mill.

The heritage of the Jewish people in Ireland, however, goes back to still earlier centuries. The Annals of Innisfallen reveal that five Jews arrived from France in 1O62 bringing gifts to Turlough O'Brien, King of Munster and a grandson of Brian Boru.

Even before this visit, records in Dublin's National Library (a treasure of a building) note that the Lia Fail or "Stone of Destiny" was brought to Ireland via Spain during mythical times by Scota, daughter of a Pharaoh, who had discovered the stone to be the pillow used by the patriarch Jacob when he dreamed of the Heavenly Ladder. The stone was brought to Tara in Co. Meath and used for the coronation of Irish kings. Later, it was taken to Scotland but somehow ended up in Westminster.

At some point in time, the Tuath-de Danaan (The "God" tribes) were deified and became the "Shee" or fairies of Ireland living in great castles in sepulchral caverns.

They were thought to be a branch of the Tribe of Dan and are mentioned in Judges V:17 as a tribe that had "remained in ships."

Jumping the centuries, Shillman's definitive A Short History of the Jews of Ireland records that David Sollom, a merchant, bought the estate of Syddan in Co. Meath in the year 1678. About the same time, Portuguese Jews arrived in Dublin where they became "opulent merchants and founded the first synagogue in Ireland."

It's interesting to observe that in 173O, the teacher of Hebrew at Trinity College in Dublin was Abraham Judah and the language was considered to be an important part of the curriculum.

On a folksy note, Reilly's Dublin Newsletter stated on Dec. 30, 1738, "There was Jews musick to be had at the Sign of the Fiddle and Dulcimer in Copper Alley played by Archibald Williamson, known as the "Irish Jew."

By the 183O's, more Jewish families from the continent had settled in Dublin north of the River Liffey and built a synagog at Mary's Abbey. About this time, a few set off for Cork and Waterford to practice the exacting trade of goldsmithing.

Later in the 19th century, a new Jewish presence developed in Ireland, albeit as a tiny influx, when the infamous "May Laws" of Czarist Russia forced Lithuanian Jews to flee from Eastern Europe.

Landing in Dublin, some thought they had arrived in New York, only to find they had been dropped there by unscrupulous sea captains who had duped them because of language difficulties.

These were the families who either stayed in Dublin, such as the Briscoes whose son, Robert, became one of the best known Jews in Ireland serving as Lord Mayor of Dublin, or went to Cork like the Goldbergs whose son, Gerald, not quite so famous but equally successful, became Lord Mayor of that city. Goldberg's father actually walked the 2OO miles from Dublin to Cork, sleeping in barns offered by friendly Irish farmers.

The first arrivals, with little money and skills not adapted to agricultural Ireland, became "peddlars (sic), hawkers and traders." But in subsequent decades, these families produced doctors, solicitors and successful businessmen. Robert Briscoe's family owned a major interest in a successful furniture business, Lawlor Briscoe. If you walk on Lower Ormand Quay, you can still see the sign of their business.

Some of the early settlers stayed in Ireland for a half century and then emigrated in the wake of that Civil War to the United States.

Irish Jews fought for the "cause" during the troubles of 1916. Robert Briscoe served as adjutant to Eamonn de Valera and Emmanuel Kahane was killed during the Irish Civil War in 1922.

After World War II, many of the early arrivals' descendants left for Australia, South Africa and Israel where they established a kibbutz. 

In turn, there was an immigration wave of Jewish families from England who replenished their ranks. A president of Israel, Chaim Herzog, was the son of the chief rabbi of Belfast.

Library records show a fact of great interest and some surprise to current day Irish. The mother of Charles Stewart Parnell, the great 19th century patriot, known as the uncrowned king of Ireland, was Jewish. Born Delia Tudor, she once said, "My son is descended from a line of a tribe of Judah who had taken refuge in Spain." And the fourth Countess of Descart was born Ellen Odette Bischhoffsheim and married that Irish peer in 1881.