David Vance SubstackRead More
Well, well, well. It looks like the Irish political class have been forced by international outrage into reversing a decision to rename “Herzog Park” in Dublin
Ireland has decided not to rename Dublin’s Herzog Park, citing a “legislative technicality” and an “administrative oversight.”
LOL! Now that smacks of political embarrassment!
Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin said the motion would be “withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with.”
As we now know and as was discussed here the other day, the park was named for Chaim Herzog, the Dublin-raised president of Israel, who was the son of Isaac HaLevi Herzog, the first chief rabbi of Ireland and the father of the current president of Israel, Isaac Herzog.
So HOW exactly was this decision taken in the first place? After all, it didn’t just spontaneously happen±
Well, put simply, the decision to rename Herzog Park was initiated by members of Dublin City Council. The motion to consider removing the name was first brought forward in December 2024 by Sinn Fein affiliated Councillor Mattie Connelly. In July 2025, the council’s Commemorations and Naming Committee recommended the removal of the Herzog name, which then led to broader discussions and proposals for renaming the park. Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan was a prominent voice supporting the renaming, framing it as a gesture of solidarity with the Palestinian people amidst ongoing conflict. The Irish political class are more passionate about Gaza than Dublin.
I think had this not been picked up on and gone viral, full Council would have quietly endorsed the recommendation. But the heat was too great, the scrutiny too intense and the embarrassment too great. So they have retreated on this point – at this time.
One final point.
Whilst this public park named after the 6th President of Israel caused great Irish consternation, the same cannot be said about Ireland’s statue to a Nazi enthusiast. Ireland has a statue of Seán Russell, an IRA leader who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II, located in Fairview Park, Dublin. Dublin is, as far as I can tell, the ONLY Capital in western Europe with a statue to a Nazi sympathiser. It may explain quite a lot and the fact that Israel felt it had to close its Embassy in Dublin this time last year.
Anti-Semitism runs deep in some Irish political DNA,
