The Irish Famine
and The Sultan (part 1)
By Asim Ahmad
The year is 1845. A blight strikes a highly nutritious potato
called the lumper potato, which is the staple diet of over
7-8 million people in Ireland. The infestation begins a fouryear
struggle for survival as the blight successively wipes
out one-third of the crop in 1845 and three fourth by the
second year. The record number of deaths by starvation,
according to historian Joel Mokyr, tops 1.9 million between
1845 to 1849. A mass exodus takes place for those who can
afford to emigrate, triggering the largest emigration to
America between 1845-1855. Over 1.5 million Irish settle
down in Boston and NYC.
By the turn of the century, Ireland had lost half its population
to emigration and starvation. The global response to
the crisis at the time was not the same. In such times of adversity,
we would expect our humanity to unite and help us
transcend our cultural, political, and religious boundaries.
But in the case of the famine, which is usually endemic to a
The Malahide Castle perfectly
illustrates the dominance of
England over the Irish in their
own land. Built by King Henry II
of England for his friend Richard
Talbot, the castle remained in the
possession of the Talbot family for
the next 800 years until 1975.
10 January – February 2021 | AL-MADINAH