There are Mass rocks in Irish fields that we still regard as holy. Under the Penal Laws of the 18th century, Catholics gathered at them in secret. Lookouts were posted on high ground, and the time and place were passed around quietly by word of mouth. Priests still say Mass at some of those rocks today, so we can remember the risks people once took just to gather together as a community of faith. Today, the Chief Rabbi of Ireland, Yoni Wieder, explained that Dublin's main synagogue held no public memorial on the third anniversary of October 7th because the risk was too high that someone might try to physically attack the participants. He points to recent fatal attacks on synagogues and other Jewish events in the UK, the US, and Australia. A commemoration will go ahead at an unspecified time and place, but those who register won't learn the details until 24 hours beforehand. The small Jewish community is also concerned that vigils and commemorations will attract pro-Palestinian protesters. "I don’t think that a grieving daughter who has come to mourn her father, who was murdered by terrorists, should have to walk past somebody shouting at her that she’s a ‘baby killer’," the Chief Rabbi said. What he asks for is modest and reasonable: "a basic human boundary around people who are simply coming to mourn their dead." No law forbids religious worship in Ireland anymore. There are no priest-hunters and no bounties. Article 44 of the Irish constitution states: "Freedom of conscience and the free profession and practice of religion are, subject to public order and morality, guaranteed to every citizen." And yet, in a country with fewer than 2,200 Jews, many now gather at undisclosed locations out of fear. That climate did not arise by itself. It has been fostered by the Irish state, whose leaders have made denouncing Israel a test of national virtue and have rarely taken responsibility for where that rhetoric leads. We built much of our national memory around people who were forced to gather in secret. We of all nations should recognise it when it happens again. irishtimes.com/ireland/2026/…