‘We lost a great Jew and a great Irishman’

THE man who kept the memory of ‘Jewish Cork’ alive for countless schoolchildren was laid to rest yesterday, less than a year after the closure of the city’s synagogue.

Fred Rosehill, aged 88, was buried yesterday in the Jewish cemetery at Curraghkippane, following a service in the cemetery’s prayer house. He had been instrumental in ensuring the construction of the prayer house.

Members of the Jewish faith gathered at the cemetery with members of his family to say farewell to Mr Rosehill.

Funeral of Fred Rosehill, at The Curraghkippane Jewish Cemetery, Kerry Pike. The Coffin leaving the Prayer House. Picture: Jim Coughlan.

The chairman of the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland, Maurice Cohen, said Mr Rosehill had been responsible for making sure the cemetery was looked after. He added; “He was instrumental in the construction of the new prayer house and saw to it that the Cork City Council would look after the graveyard, when he would no longer be able to do so himself.” Mr Cohen described Fred Rosehill as indispensable.

And he said: “By telling the story of the Cork community to countless schoolchildren, he kept the memory of Jewish Cork alive and vibrant, and it is a tribute to him that the synagogue remained open till closed, not in the 70s or 80s, not even in the 90s or the turn of the century, but in 2016.”

Fred Rosehill at the Cork Synagogue on South Terrace. Picture: Des Barry

Mr Cohen added: “The synagogue and congregation went on for probably 50 years past when most congregations would have thrown in the towel.”

Mr Rosehill was instrumental in establishing Shalom Park in Cork in 1989. Mr Cohen said: “It is a fitting and permanent memorial to the old Jewish neighbourhood, ‘Jewtown’, and to the man himself. Jewish children played in and around the site for decades, but it wasn’t until the late 1980s that it was rendered into a safe, permanent play space.”

The Jewish community in Cork first settled in the city in the 1880s and at one point, boasted 400 members. The Jewish settlers arrived in Cork from Lithuania. The synagogue on South Terrace was the community’s centre of worship since 1905 but closed in February because of dwindling numbers in the community.

The Jewish cemetery in Curraghkippane includes graves of Jewish passengers who were on board the Lusitania. It was established in 1887.

In his tribute, Mr Cohen said: “In his passing, a chapter on Cork’s life is well and truly closed, but the story goes on. It is our role to remember it – remember him – and to teach it to our children diligently. It is well and good to say that the Jewish Community in Ireland has lost a great Jew. But indeed, Cork has lost a great Irishman.”

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