Gerald Yael Goldberg (12 April 1912 – 31 December 2003) was an Irish lawyer and politician who in 1977 became the first

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish

Lord Mayor of Cork The Lord Mayor of Cork ( ga, Ard-Mhéara Chathair Chorcaí) is the honorific title of the Chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach) of Cork City Council which is the local government body for the city of Cork in Ireland. The office holder is elected annu ...

. Goldberg was the son of

Lithuanian Jewish Lithuanian Jews or Litvaks () are Jews with roots in the territory of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania (covering present-day Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, the northeastern Suwałki and Białystok regions of Poland, as well as adjacent ...

refugees; his father was put ashore in Cork with other Jews and told that "Cork was the gateway to America."

Early life

Goldberg was born in Cork, the 11th of 12 children to Lithuanian Jewish emigrants Louis and Rachel (''née'' Sandler) Goldberg. His birth name was Yael or Yoel; the anglicised 'Gerald' was chosen for him by his sisters in infancy. Goldberg's father was a peddler and shopkeeper, and his parents were both born in the small village of

Akmenė Akmenė () is a city in northern Lithuania. Following the discovery of large reserves of limestone and clay in the region, in 1947 construction work began on one of the largest cement production complexes in the Baltic States. Nearby, a new town ...

(

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

: ''Akmian'' or ''אוקמיאַן'') and part of a wave of immigrants who fled antisemitism in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century. In 1882, 14-year-old Louis set out from

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the ...

for the United States, but was unaware how far the journey was and went ashore when the boat arrived in

Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...

. At the docks he encountered Isaac Marcus, who regularly met boats to see if any other Jews arrived needing help. In Cork, Louis was invited to stay with the Sandler family, coincidentally also from Akmian, where he met Rachel. They were married nine years later. The Jewish population in southern Ireland was growing steadily. In 1862, there was one Jew in Limerick, 35 in 1888 and 130 in 1890. By 1900, there were 25 families from Lithuania who had settled in Limerick. Louis Goldberg was very well-educated, speaking multiple languages, but worked as a street peddler in Ireland, walking on foot all over the island, before eventually opening a drapery store. He was able to bring his mother and two brothers over. However, he was beaten during the 1904 Limerick pogrom and his store boycotted, leading him to move his growing family to Cork. Gerald Goldberg grew up in a Yiddish-speaking Orthodox home. The family were active

Irish Republicans Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

, dangerous due to raids by the

Black and Tans Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have ...

. His father hung the wedding photo of Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra (later

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

and

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of ...

) on the wall, which satisfied a British officer they were loyal to the crown. It was a similar trick they had used in Russia, when hanging photos of the Tsar to avoid harassment by

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, his father worked as a jam-jar supplier. Goldberg was interested in politics from a young age. He saw the bodies of both Lord Mayors of Cork

Tomás Mac Curtain Tomás Mac Curtain (20 March 1884 – 20 March 1920) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician who served as the Lord Mayor of Cork until he was assassinated by the Royal Irish Constabulary. He was elected in January 1920. Background Tomás Mac Curt ...

and

Terence MacSwiney Terence James MacSwiney (; ga, Toirdhealbhach Mac Suibhne; 28 March 1879 – 25 October 1920) was an Irish playwright, author and politician. He was elected as Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork during the Irish War of Independence in 1920. He ...

lying in state, which had a profound effect on him, as did the four times he saw

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and ...

speak. Gerald was educated at the Christ Church National School (Church of Ireland) and the Cork Central Model School (Roman Catholic), before being sent with his brothers to a Macaulay College, a Jewish boarding school in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...

, England, for a few years. The brothers eventually ran into trouble when they refused to take part in

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

events on account of the deaths of Mac Curtain and MacSwiney, and were given three lashes in punishment. This incensed their father, who ordered them to return to Cork. Goldberg continued his education at Presentation Brothers College (PBC) in Cork and

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

, serving as President of the University Law Society. Earlier he was refused permission to speak at the

UCC Philosophical Society The UCC Philosophical Society, commonly known as ''the Philosoph'', is the largest debating society at University College Cork, Ireland. The Philosoph was founded in 1850, making it the oldest society at UCC. The society carries out a number of ...

, one of UCC's two debating societies (the other being the Law Society) because of his Jewish background. Goldberg received an LLB from UCC and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree from the university in 1968, along with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in Laws in 1993. According to Goldberg's biographical entry in the

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

for 63 years, once representing the noted Cork writer

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on a ...

. He was the first Jewish President of the Incorporated

Law Society A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated ...

of Ireland. Goldberg had a long career as a solicitor, and retired in 1996. He served on the council of the Southern Law Association (the Cork city solicitors' governing body) and became vice‐president, but was not re‐elected to the council in the year he would have become president by rotation. According to his biography in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he set up a committee to assist Jews fleeing

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

, but encountered resistance from various arms of the government, which had discouraged Jewish immigration to Ireland during "The Emergency". Goldberg served in the Douglas unit of the part‐time Local Defence Force during the 1939–45 emergency, and later claimed that Jews suffered discrimination within the force. The Goldbergs made contingency plans which proposed that, in the event of Nazi invasion, the Goldbergs' sons would be sent to live with friends and passed off as their own sons while privately bringing them up as Jews before sending them to US relatives. Although Goldberg was a Zionist and regularly visited Israel, he reportedly turned down several offers of positions in Israel, stating that he felt he "owed a debt to Cork for its hospitality". Throughout his life Goldberg remained a believing and observant Jew; he was a ''cohen'' (descendant of the priestly tribe of Levi), which involved certain religious duties. In 1943 he was elected president of the Cork Hebrew Congregation, and remained the public face of Cork Jewry until his death; he served as cantor and occasionally taught Hebrew classes. His republican views led him to express the opinion that partition and the consequent severance of Belfast Jewry (which remained affiliated to the British rabbinate) had been damaging to Irish Jewry as a whole. Relations with the Dublin Jewish authorities, whom Goldberg always believed looked down on the Cork community, were sometimes fraught, as in April 1947 when, after one dispute, Goldberg withdrew the Cork representative from the Jewish representative council of Ireland.

Political life

Early involvement and city councillor

As a student Goldberg attempted to join the

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, then Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, but best known by the nickname the Blueshirts ( ga, Na Léinte Gorma), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded ...

but was refused on the grounds that only Christians were admitted; this, and experiencing anti‐semitism from some students, gave him a longstanding antipathy to Fine Gael. He was elected an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

Cork Corporation Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act ...

as an independent in 1967. Goldberg unsuccessfully sought the mayoralty in 1970. He accused

Patrick Cooney Patrick Mark Cooney (born 2 March 1931) is a former Irish Fine Gael politician who served as a government minister in the cabinets of Liam Cosgrave (1973–1977) and Garret FitzGerald (1981–1982 and 1982–1987). He served as a Member of the ...

, then

Justice Minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, of condoning

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

of those (mostly

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

s and other advocates of political violence) held under the ''Offences Against the State Act, 1939'' in 1974. Goldberg was among those who condemned the speech in 1970 by the then-Mayor of Limerick, Steve Coughlan, who made justifying references to the 1904 Limerick Pogrom, which had forced Goldberg's family to flee

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

for Cork, and had clashed with a previous Limerick Mayor on the same matter in 1951. Goldberg previously attended a symposium on the Limerick Pogrom in 1965, which had also attracted local opposition, which faded during the reading of the first sermon of Father Creagh, who along with other members of the clergy, including the local bishop, had motivated his

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parishioners to carry out the 1904 pogrom, for which one teenager, John Raleigh, was arrested. He joined Fianna Fáil in 1970, stating that it was impossible for an isolated councillor to achieve anything on the corporation and that Fianna Fáil were the "most honest, progressive and united of the major parties".

Lord Mayor

In 1977–1978, by which time he had moved to representing the south‐east ward, he was elected Lord Mayor of Cork by the corporation, the first Jew to hold this office. He toured the United States as Lord Mayor where he was given the freedom of several cities including

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, New York and

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

. During his term he researched the history of the civic regalia, including the mayoral chain (he published a pamphlet on its connection with Terence MacSwiney) and the mace (leading him to make a public appeal for the British Museum to return to Cork several former Cork maces it had acquired over the years). As Lord Mayor of Cork he was styled "The Rt. Worshipful, Lord Mayor Gerald Yael Goldberg of Cork". During his term of office he opened the Trinity pedestrian bridge. Named after an adjacent church, local wags nicknamed it "the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

". The bridge is also close to the local synagogue on South Terrace, where he had been president, and is approximately a mile from Shalom Park, near the traditionally Jewish area of the city (Monarea Terrace). His mayoralty was a source of pride to him, and he regarded his selection as a successor to MacCurtain and MacSwiney not just as recognition of his individual services but as proof that Cork rejected anti‐semitism and recognised him as "an Irishman and a Jew" (the title of an 1982 RTÉ television documentary about him which he scripted and presented).

Author

Goldberg had an interest in history, especially local history of Cork, and published a number of books including ''The Adventurers of Cork''; ''A History of the Jews of Cork'' and ''Johnathan Swift and contemporary Cork''. He contributed the article on the Jews of Ireland in the ''Encyclopedia of Ireland'' and a chapter on Cork to the ''History of the Jews in Ireland''.

Later life

Following the Israeli

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

in 1982, he received death threats and the Cork synagogue was firebombed, the motivation of which he ascribed to unbalanced reporting in the media. He considered leaving Ireland, but chose to remain. He blamed the Irish media for encouraging anti‐semitism by its Middle Eastern reportage, and openly accused himself of having "betrayed my Jewish heritage" through his attachment to Cork, though this attachment "later reasserted itself". He retired from Cork Corporation in 1985. In 1986, after his retirement from active politics, Goldberg criticised

Charles Haughey Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...

's leadership of FF and was one of the early defectors from Fianna Fáil to the

Progressive Democrats The Progressive Democrats ( ga, An Páirtí Daonlathach, literally "The Democratic Party" ), commonly referred to as the PDs, was a conservative-liberal political party in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 21 December 1985 by Desmond O'Ma ...

. In 1998, he defended the extent of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

apology for

The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

issued by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, in contrast to the disappointment expressed by many prominent Jews such as Israeli Chief Rabbi

Yisrael Meir Lau Yisrael Meir Lau ( he, ישראל מאיר לאו; born 1 June 1937) served as the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, Israel, and chairman of Yad Vashem. He previously served as the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1993 to 2003. Biography Early life ...

. Goldberg noted

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

's stated fear of the consequences of

excommunicating Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

for their persecution of Europe's Jews, saying "These things must be brought to an end, we must put them behind us. Could the man have said more?" Goldberg's life was featured in an

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

documentary, ''An Irishman, a Corkman and a Jew''. He married his wife Sheila Beth Smith (who predeceased her husband), a member of a well known Northern Jewish family, in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1937 and they lived their married lives at "Ben Truda" on Cork's Rochestown Road. Their house was a "gathering place for students, artists and intellectuals". He collected antiques, and the extent of the collection was highlighted in an auction in 2004 that included pictures, bronzes, antique furniture, silver, porcelain and glass. According to the

Dictionary of Irish Biography The ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' (DIB) is a biographical dictionary of notable Irish people and people not born in the country who had notable careers in Ireland, including both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In 1964, Goldberg was honoured by the National Association of Claimants Attorneys of America and in 1987 he received a life membership of the Royal Dublin Society. For much of his life he was active in various sporting codes, and was goalkeeper to the Cork Jewish soccer team "well into middle age". As a young man he was active in the Scouting Association of Ireland, through which he met his wife. He was a freemason, joining the Cork Harmony lodge in 1938. The writer and journalist David Marcus (1924–2009) was his nephew. He was a patron of the arts, who assisted (amongst others) Aloys Fleischmann (qv) and Joan Denise Moriarty (qv). He had a fine private art collection, including glass, ceramics, silver, antique furniture and a large library of Hebrew books. Over the years he presented works of art to many Cork institutions, including Christian Brothers' College, the Augustinian church, and the Cork School of Music. In 1964 he was a government appointee to the board of the National Gallery of Ireland and he was extensively involved, as patron and donor, with Cork's Crawford Art Gallery (where the Goldbergs founded the practice of holding lunchtime concerts). Until his death he remained president of the Cork Orchestral Society. Shortly before his death Goldberg donated his library to University College Cork. Goldberg had served on the Board of Governors of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...

and reportedly had one of the largest private Jewish libraries in Ireland. As a patron of the arts he was involved with the Cork Orchestral Society, Irish Theatre Ballet and Irish National Ballet and the lunchtime concerts in the

Crawford College of Art and Design Cork Institute of Technology (CIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Chorcaí) was an institute of technology, located in Cork, Ireland. Upon its dissolution, the institute had 17,000 students studying in art, business, engineering, music, d ...

. He was said to have been delighted at the announcement that Cork had become the European Capital of Culture in 2005.

Death

In his latter years he tutored students of Irish-Jewish history from

in his home. He died at the age of 91 at Cork's Marymount Hospice. His sons John, Theo and David survived him. He received a Civic Funeral to the Cork Jewish graveyard at Curraghkippane on 4 January 2004; Cork City Council members wore skullcaps in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Gerald 1912 births 2003 deaths Fianna Fáil politicians Jewish mayors Local councillors in Cork (city) Lord Mayors of Cork Alumni of University College Cork Irish people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Jewish Irish politicians People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork