Cork Turkish Baths: 30 South Mall:
entrance to the private Jewish bath (mikveh)

Entrance to the mikveh
< Detail from 1897 Goad fire insurance map

In the courtyard, behind the hot rooms, there was a room labelled 'Private Jewish Bath'. This was a mikveh, a pool of running water used by religious Jewish women, and less frequently by Jewish men, for ritual cleansing. They could be found in a number of Turkish baths in areas such as Leeds or, more recently, Bournemouth, where there was a sizable Jewish community.

Those requiring to use the mikveh would make an appointment and, since the most frequent use was by women, access would be need to be provided which did not require the bather to pass through the men's bath. Here in Cork, there was an entrance through a covered way (arrowed 0n the map) just to the right of Number 7 Charlotte Quay (now Fr Mathew Quay).

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Cork Turkish Baths: 30 South Mall

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