CORK, Ireland – December 21, 2025 19:03:00 – The Jewish community in Cork marked the final night of hanukkah wiht a poignant art installation lighting in Shalom Park, a tradition known locally as the Evening Echo ritual. It’s a stunning, if bittersweet, celebration for a community that once thrived in the city.
A Dimming Light: Hanukkah in Cork’s ‘Jewtown’
A unique art project illuminates the legacy-and fragility-of cork’s Jewish community during the annual Hanukkah celebration.
- The annual Hanukkah lighting in shalom Park, Cork, is a 15-year tradition acknowledging the jewish community’s impact on the city.
- The art installation features nine electric lamps, with the tallest illuminated for only 30 minutes on the last night of Hanukkah.
- The event took on added meaning this year as attendees expressed solidarity with the Jewish community in Australia following a recent attack in Sydney.
- Shalom Park itself is located in an area historically known as ‘Jewtown’
“This artwork acquires an additional significance because it illustrates the precarious balance and possible disappearance of any small community existing within a changing city,” he added, “Evening Echo continues as a lasting memory of the Jewish community in Cork City.”
Attendees at Shalom Park also voiced their support for the jewish community in Australia following a recent gun attack on Bondi Beach in Sydney. Lisa O’Connell, originally from Australia, shared her distress, saying, “I grew up on the beaches of Australia and I couldn’t imagine anything more horrendous.I especially wanted to be here today and express solidarity with my own community. Ireland is my home, I love Ireland but my heart is with my culture and my australian people.”
Ruti Lachs, a member of the Cork community, described the antisemitism she has experienced in Ireland as subtle but unsettling. “Life for a Jew in Ireland and in the world doesn’t feel very safe, especially after Bondi,” she said.
Shalom Park’s history is rooted in a gift of land from Bord Gáis to Cork City Council in the late 1980s. It was officially re-dedicated as Shalom Park in 1989, solidifying its role as a space for the Jewish community.
Leach’s art project is a response to the unique character of Cork and its Jewish heritage. It incorporates a sequence of custom-built lamps, a remote timing system, and a carefully controlled sense of duration.The project also includes a schedule of future lighting dates,an annual announcement in Cork’s The Echo newspaper,and a formal agreement to continue the tradition.
Now in its 15th year, the project continues to receive support from the Cork Hebrew Congregation, Cork City Council, Bord Gáis, and the local community.
