Memorandum to Government by the Department of Justice concerning the admission of Jewish children to Ireland

ADMISSION OF ONE HUNDRED JEWISH CHILDREN

1. The Minister for Justice wishes to bring to the notice of the Department the fact that permission was granted in November 1946 ¹ for the entry into this country of one hundred Jewish orphan children from Poland and that on 26th March an attempt was made to burn Clonyn Castle, near Mullingar, where it is proposed to accommodate the children.
2. The application for permission for the entry of these children was made by a London Jewish organisation, 'The Chief Rabbi's Religious Emergency Council.' The Council stated that they proposed to bring in children of both sexes between the ages of seven and sixteen years and that the children concerned would be orphans from Poland. They stated that they acquired (through a member of their organisation, Mr. J. Levy of Manchester) Clonyn Castle, Delvin, County Westmeath. The Castle contains over seventy rooms and over one hundred acres are attached to it. They stated that they would undertake entire responsibility for the transport of the children and their maintenance in this country. They stated that they 'would be prepared to follow the advice of the Éire authorities' in regard to the ultimate settlement of the children, mentioning that the children might remain in this country or that, alternatively, the Council would undertake to make arrangements for their emigration after a specified period.
3. It has always been the policy of the Minister for Justice to restrict the admission of Jewish aliens, for the reason that any substantial increase in our Jewish population might give rise to an anti-Semitic problem. In accordance with this policy, despite the humanitarian aspect of the case, the Minister for Justice rejected, in August 1946, the application for the admission of the one hundred children.
4. In September 1946, Dr. Hertzog, the Chief Rabbi of Palestine, while on a visit to London, came to Dublin and called on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice. During his conversations with the Taoiseach and the Minister he raised the question of the admission of the children and it appears that the Taoiseach committed himself to granting the application. Accordingly, in November 1946, the Department of Justice authorised the admission of the children, 'on the understanding that they would be removed to some other country as soon as arrangements could be made, and that the Chief Rabbi's Religious Emergency Council would take full responsibility for the proper care and maintenance of the children while they remained in this country.' The Council had asked for the admission of a limited number of adult aliens to look after the children, but the Department of Justice rejected this application.
5. The children have not yet arrived, and the Department of Justice have no information as to when they will arrive. It is understood, however, that the Chief Rabbi's Religious Emergency Council have been engaged for over twelve months on renovating Clonyn Castle, and, accordingly, it seems likely that the project to bring the children here has not been dropped.
6. The attempt which was made on the 26th March to burn Clonyn Castle did very little damage. The Castle was forcibly entered in the early morning of the 26th and petrol was sprinkled on the floors of five rooms. An attempt was made to set fire to the floors, but they did not take fire, and the only damage done was a scorching of the wood. The police state that, while numbers of the local people do not like the proposal to house Jewish children in the Castle, there is not, as far as the police are aware, any local organised agitation against the admission of the children. A large number of workmen have been employed on renovation work at the Castle for the past twelve months.