I have a very strong interest in Ireland. I have never been there but would very much like to go there to visit. Not to mention that I have family there that no one has seen in quite some time.
How many Jews can there be in Ireland, I suspect that there should be some good stories to be had.
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I went to Ireland by myself this past year for my 40th birthday. It was a wonderful trip with wonderful friendly people. I can’t wait to go back. Go Go Go!!
No way. Your next trip needs to be to a place you’ve never visited, yet hold so dear. Cleveland!
I think Ireland should be your next vacation. Do it! =)
Ralphie,
Stranger things have happened. 😉
Stacey,
Shmata, shmata, Shmata,
McAryeh,
Australia is another destination on my list of places to see.
HV,
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it anyway.
oh yeah, fantastic trip! the music and culture in particular were spectacular! still highly highly recommended, even if I never got a shamrock dreidel 🙂
all I was saying that there wasn’t much Jewish about my experiences.
As of 2002, there are supposedly 1,000 Jews, give or take, living in Ireland. Would love to go…and to India, but top on my list is the Australia…
I want to go to India.
A Jewish mayor of Dublin? Whadayaknow… only in America!
I am related to one of those mayors through my grandmother. It still sounds like you had a nice trip.
I went to Ireland for the first time in May-June. There are Jewish companies that run Jewish tours of Ireland (for about double the price of other private tours) and Dublin has actually had Jewish mayors. The country used to have thousands of Jews, and the main character in James Joyce’s Ulysses is actually the son of a Hungarian Jew, I believe.
However, the times they are a changing. I believe Dublin is down to 2 synagogues (they used to have 5). The National Jewish Museum is only open a few hours a day a few days a week and we weren’t able to get there at all. When we arrived in Dublin, we finally got in touch with a local rabbi and asked what Jewish sites we could see that’d be open in the time we’d be there. The Jewish cemetary was the only thing he recommended. How symbolic for Ireland’s Jewish community.
It seems many have intermarried or moved to Israel or the U.S. I spent the entire trip looking for a dreidel with a shamrock on it, and I never found one anywhere.