Jewish Heritage in Northern Ireland is a Special Collection, held at Queen’s University Belfast. It is a developing collection of material about Jews in Ireland, with a particular focus on Northern Ireland.

Archive Description

As part of Special Collections, Jewish Heritage in Norther Ireland comprises a number of specific collections along with digitised material and a special oral history project.

Reaching back to 1897, the Belfast Hebrew Congregation archive (MS 61)comprises nearly a century’s worth of minutes and records.

The Ross-Rosenzweig Collection is a 1957 bequest by John Ross (formerly Rabbi Jacob Rosenzweig) of his collection of monographs, periodicals and facsimiles relating to a variety of Hebrew and Jewish subjects and studies. It is a beautiful collection and was believed at the time to be the most complete collection of books about the Dead Sea Scrolls in Northern Ireland.

The Rosenfield Collection comprises articles, scripts and other miscellaneous material belonging to Judith and Rachel Rosenfield – two Jewish Belfast sisters who were journalists, writers and critics of art, drama and literature.

We have recently published two Jewish Irish journals online. The Jewish Gazette (Jan – Dec 1933 and Feb 1934), and Belfast Jewish Record (1954 to date), 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 interest, theological discussions, and a variety of fundraising and social events.

The Oral Histories of Jewish refugees in Northern Ireland, an extensive project undertaken by Dr David Warm during the 1990s, are now being digitally preserved and transcribed. These have not yet been released to the public.

Access Information

The archive is open to members of the public, with the exception of the oral history archive. Non-digital collections are available for reference only under supervised access in the Special Collections Reading Room at The McClay Library. An appointment must be made with specialcollections@qub.ac.uk to request access with at least one working day’s notice.

The archive can be visited Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm. New users are required to provide photographic identification and proof of access.

Digital Accessibility

The archive holds digitised copies of the Jewish Gazette and the Belfast Jewish Record which are available to browse online for free.

Street Address

Special Collections
Queen’s University Belfast
University Road, Belfast
BT7 1NN
Northern Ireland