The Limerick boycott · Ireland · 1904 to 1906
A priest's incitement leads to an anti-Jewish boycott and assaults, while other Irish voices condemn the campaign.
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1904 to 1906
The Limerick boycott · An accusation threatens neighbours' livelihoods
A priest's incitement leads to an anti-Jewish boycott and assaults, while other Irish voices condemn the campaign.
Authority gives prejudice a platform
In January 1904, the Redemptorist priest John Creagh preached against Limerick's small Jewish community. He falsely portrayed Jewish traders as exploiters. Religious authority helped turn suspicion into a public campaign against neighbours identified by their Jewishness, giving an economic grievance an entire minority to blame.
A boycott has material consequences
The boycott lasted about two years and was accompanied by assaults and intimidation. Customers were pressured to avoid Jewish businesses, and many families left as their livelihoods failed. The episode involved economic exclusion and physical violence. Describing it only as an argument about commerce would conceal those harms.
The campaign meets opposition
Michael Davitt publicly condemned Creagh's accusations. Some families who fled to Cork found a welcome there; the family of future Cork lord mayor Gerald Goldberg was among them. These responses show that the boycott did not express one unanimous Irish position. People could resist the campaign and help those it displaced.