At Special Collections we have been developing our collections relating to the history of the Jewish community in Ireland, with a particular focus on Northern Ireland. This Subject Guide provides a brief overview of our holdings.
For more information on any of these collections or to make an appointment, please email us at specialcollections@qub.ac.uk.
The Belfast Jewish Record and the Jewish Gazette are incredible resources for anyone interested in the Jewish community in Northern Ireland during the 20th century and onwards. They provide content as wide-ranging as spiritual guidance, political concerns, Rosh Hashanah recipes, children's quizzes, theological discussions, and a variety of fundraising and social events. There is some very straight-talking and plenty of humour, but what stands out clearly is the diversity of viewpoints and the vibrancy of the Jewish social scene set against the challenge of a shrinking community.
Both journals have been digitised and are now accessible online.
The Jewish Gazette (Jan – Dec 1933 and Feb 1934), published online by Queen’s in 2017, was the first journal of Jewish interest in Ireland. It was originally published in Belfast on the brink of a tragic historical era for European Jews.
The Belfast Jewish Record (1954 – 2015), a journal published by and for the Belfast Jewish community, is being released online for the first time in June 2019.
The Belfast Hebrew Congregation has deposited its archive at Queen's Special collections. It comprises nearly a century's worth of various minutes and records from 1897. A partial listing for this archive is available here.
The Hyman Collection is our latest addition to our Irish Jewish resources. It comprises mostly letters and postcards received by Louis Hyman in relation to research for his book The Jews of Ireland: From Earliest Times to the Year 1910, first published in 1972.
Also included in the collection are two very rare Irish Jewish journals from 1935: The Jewish Record: The Journal of Irish Jewry.
You can browse this collection's listing here.
This 1957 bequest by John Ross (formerly Rabbi Jacob Rosenzweig) comprises his collection of monographs, periodicals and facsimiles on or relating to a variety of Hebrew and Jewish subjects and studies.
It is a visually beautiful collection and was believed at the time to be the most complete collection of books about the Dead Sea Scrolls in Northern Ireland, and perhaps further.
All titles in this collection can be found in the Queen's library catalogue and are prefixed t/.
The Rosenfield Collection is a collection of article clippings, scripts and other miscellaneous material belonging to Judith and Rachel ‘Ray’ Rosenfield – two Jewish Belfast sisters who were journalists, writers and critics in the realms of art, drama and literature. Judith and Ray very much paved the way for female journalists in Northern Ireland.
The Hibernica collection - a substantial collection of printed monographs, periodicals and pamphlets of general Irish interest and/or origin, dating from the mid 19th century to the present day - includes titles relating to the Jewish community across the island of Ireland, such as memoirs, biography, history, poetry and short stories. All these titles can be found in the Queen's library catalogue and are prefixed h/.
Our Special Collections book collection comprises books which support research of Special Collections manuscripts. Within this collection, we are continually expanding our collection of Holocaust and WW2 books. Non-Irish Holocaust-related books can be found in the general QUB library catalogue with the prefix SC/. Irish-related Holocaust books can also be found in the library catalogue with the prefix h/.
Over 100 interviews with mostly Jewish refugees in Northern Ireland conducted by Dr David Warm during the 1990s as part of a research project, 'The Northern Ireland Jewish Oral and Documentary History Project'. The original cassettes and CDs have now been digitised and the audio files can be accessed by researchers in Special Collections by appointment only.
Special Collections & Archives
The McClay Library | Queen's University Belfast | 10 College Park | Belfast | BT7 1LP
028 9097 6333 | specialcollections@qub.ac.uk
Head of Special Collections & Archives: Deirdre Wildy | 028 9097 6218 | d.wildy@qub.ac.uk
