THE TAOISEACH HAS urged Dublin City Council to withdraw an “overtly divisive” motion seeking to rename Herzog Park in Rathgar.
It had been renamed Herzog Park in 1995, in honour of Chaim Herzog, the then President of Israel who spent many years of his childhood in Dublin and whose father was a Chief Rabbi of Ireland.
A meeting of Dublin City Council tomorrow is scheduled to debate a proposal to remove the park’s existing name and to hold a consultation process on choosing a new one.
It follows an agreement by members of the council’s Commemorations and Naming Committee last July, with one objection, that the name “Herzog” should be removed from the park.
Former Israeli President Chaim Herzog pictured in 1993 Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Micheál Martin said in a statement today that scrapping the name would erase the Jewish community’s “distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life”, which he noted included participation in the War of Independence.
The proposal is a denial of history and will without any doubt be seen as antisemitic.
The Taoiseach described the motion as “overtly divisive and wrong”.
“Our Irish Jewish community’s contribution to our country’s evolution in its many forms should always be cherished and generously acknowledged,” he said.
The Office of the President of Israel called the renaming a “shameful and disgraceful move”.
In a statement on X, it said naming the park after Chaim Herzog three decades ago “expressed appreciation for his legacy and the deep friendship between the Irish and Jewish peoples”.
It said the relationship had “deteriorated in recent years”.
“We still hope for the recovery of these important ties.
“We hope that the legacy of a figure at the forefront of establishing the relations between Israel and Ireland, and the fight against antisemitism and tyranny, will still get the respect it deserves today.”
I completely oppose plans to rename Herzog Park. It is wrong. We are an inclusive Republic. This proposal is offensive to that principle. I urge all Party Leaders to join me in opposition to this.
I agree with the statement from @HMcEntee https://t.co/f08n1nt8Yj
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) November 29, 2025
Tánaiste Simon Harris also said he is “completely opposed” to the proposal.
“It is wrong. We are an inclusive Republic. This proposal is offensive to that principle,” he wrote on X.
“I urge all party leaders to join me in opposition to this.”
Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said Chaim Herzog is an important figure for many people, “particularly for members of Ireland’s Jewish community”.
She said: “The Government has been openly critical of the policies and actions of the government of Israel in Gaza and the West Bank, and rightly so.
“Renaming a Dublin park in this way – to remove the name of an Irish Jewish man – has nothing to do with this and has no place in our inclusive republic.
“In my view this name change should not proceed and I urge Dublin City councillors to vote against it.”
