The Jewish community in Ireland, although small, has made "a tremendous contribution" to our national heritage, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday.
Speaking during a visit to the Irish Jewish Museum in Portobello, Dublin, Mr Ahern praised the role of Jews in the development of Irish life, especially in the first half of the last century when the country experienced significant Jewish immigration and "Ireland was seen as a refuge from the victimisation and pogroms of the east".
"Ireland's Jews have always been people of ability and industry. They have participated fully in all walks of life, in the professions, trades and manufacturing."
Mr Ahern made the appearance at the invitation of the museum's curator, Raphael Siev, and Mr Justice Henry Barron, the museum's honorary president, who had asked Mr Ahern to mark the official opening of the museum's showcase on Jewish life in Cork.
Ireland's Chief Rabbi Dr Yaakov Pearlman accompanied Mr Ahern on a tour of the museum's exhibitions, including a display on Irish Jewish politicians which featured Gerald Goldberg, lord mayor of Cork in 1977. Mr Ahern described Mr Goldberg as "a great friend of Jack Lynch".
"While it can be a source of pride for your community that these men were Jews, it is important for me that their religion did not matter to people generally," he said. "They were acknowledged to be Irishmen contributing to the public life of the nation."
The museum, housed in a former synagogue in what was once Dublin's Jewish quarter, celebrated its 20th anniversary in June.