Irish Taoiseach hits out at ‘false accusations’ of antisemitism following HMD row

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said his attendance at the 80th-anniversary commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz was especially significant due to the “false accusations about antisemitism in Ireland” following a row in the country on Holocaust Memorial Day.

Speaking on RTÉ radio, Martin explained his decision to travel to Poland for the International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, which took place on January 27.

He attended the event alongside other world leaders to honour the victims of the Holocaust, marking a solemn moment in the fight against hatred and prejudice.

During the interview he lashed out at allegations of rising antisemitism in Ireland amid ongoing tensions regarding the country’s stance on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

He said: “I went to Auschwitz… I think it was important for Ireland to be represented there given a lot of false accusations about antisemitism in Ireland and so forth.

“The Holocaust was an appalling, as we know, atrocity committed against the Jewish people worldwide.

"It was important for Ireland to be there.

“I was actually very anxious that Government talks [following his election] would be completed to enable me to attend the Auschwitz ceremony, particularly when there are fewer and fewer survivors of that horror alive.”

However, concerns has been raised by Jewish groups in Ireland, particularly over the decision to allow President Michael Higgins to speak at the nation’s own Holocaust remembrance event in January, a decision condemned by its Chief Rabbi.

Higgins even used his keynote HMD address to bring up the topic of the war in Gaza.

When he did so, a group of Jewish protestors stood and turned their backs on him before being ejected by security, sparking yet more discontent within the Jewish community in Ireland.

Lior Tibet, one of the protestors dragged out of the event, told the JC that she “fears for the future of her children” in the country thanks to its “extreme anti-Israel policy”.

In 2024, Ireland was one of the nations to join South Africa’s motion before the ICJ accusing Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza.

Martin himself has also accused Israel of committing war crimes in the Strip, calling it “a collective punishment of the people. They are war crimes. It’s genocidal.”

In response, senior Israeli government figures have accused Irish leaders of encouraging antisemitism, with the Israeli embassy in Dublin announcing its closure last year.

Meanwhile Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has previously referred to Martin’s predecessor, Simon Harris, as “antisemitic,” a claim Harris has rejected.