The Great Famine, also known as the Irish Potato Famine, was a famine in Ireland that began in 1845 and ended in 1852, causing disease and massive emigration. The fungus, which destroyed 40% of the potatoes planted in 1845 and all of them the following year, affected not only the potatoes in the fields but also the potatoes in the granaries. As a result, the population starved for seven years. The most severe year of the famine was 1847, when there was no improvement in the crops. In that year, known in history as the "Black 47", help came from an unexpected and distant source: the Ottoman Empire. Thousands of kilometers away in Istanbul, Sultan Abdülmecid was informed about the situation by the dentist from Ireland. The Sultan urgently offered £10,000 to help the starving Irish. However, at the time, Queen Victoria had given £2,000 and Britain was unwilling to accept an amount that exceeded the Queen's aid.
In response, Sultan Abdülmecid reluctantly reduced the aid and sent 1000 pounds sterling to Ireland. Knowing that this was not enough, the Sultan sought for more aid. Sultan Abdülmecid wanted to do more and ordered three ships to take food, medicine and other urgent needs to Ireland. Knowing that the historic relief operation was being carried out in secret and that the British navy would not allow any foreign ships to dock in the capital Dublin or Cork, the Ottoman ships decided to take the aid further north to the port of Drogheda. Despite the 177 years that have passed, the generosity of the Ottoman Empire continues to be remembered by the Irish, immortalized in monuments and images. Even the Drogheda football club showed their gratitude to the Ottomans by adding the moon and star to their crest.
