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| Famine Sculptures on the 'Banks of the Foyle' Derry |
The claim that the Ottoman Empire rescued Ireland during the famine of 1845–1852 is not historically accurate. While there were some instances of humanitarian aid from various sources during the Irish Potato Famine, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that the Ottoman Empire played a significant role in providing relief to Ireland during that period. The primary sources of aid came from within Ireland itself, as well as from other European countries and the United States.
Recently, there has been much talk on the internet and on Islamic propaganda channels such as Al Jazeera, along with other channels and websites that thrive on spreading ignorance and intellectual decay among people, about rumours aimed at whitewashing the image of the Ottoman Empire and the Islamic Caliphate, which achieved nothing except invasions.
And some of the naïve leftists, infatuated with everything illusory, whenever they attempt to embellish a matter, they invent imaginary stories for it — just as they believe in conspiracy theories that remain nothing more than rotten notions circulating without any genuine evidence.
These rumours relate to what is known as the “Irish Famine 1845–1852,” which claimed the lives of approximately one million people due to the failure of the potato crop caused by a plant disease called late blight. This epidemic destroyed hundreds of agricultural crops in Ireland, on which its people heavily relied for food and trade.
The first claim is that the Sultan intended to send a sum of £10,000 but withdrew because Queen Victoria only sent £2,000, and sending a higher amount would have been considered a diplomatic insult — as rumoured.
The second claim is that Great Britain prevented aid from entering Ireland and blockaded the island with its navy.
The third claim is that the “compassionate humanitarian” Sultan, while millions were dying of hunger and being killed in wars and massive upheavals under his rule, supposedly sent three ships that broke the siege and delivered food aid to Irish cities, most notably the city of Drogheda, which allegedly adopted a crescent and star as its emblem to commemorate that act — and that this aid saved Ireland from famine and certain death, “thanks to the magnificence and humanity” of the Ottoman Sultan.
But is this the truth? Absolutely not.
The truth behind this myth is obscured by massive propaganda from Arab, Turkish, and even Irish sources, attempting to tarnish Britain’s image in petty political manoeuvres — all of which can be refuted with just a few hours of research and scrutiny.
The story was first introduced by Irish nationalists in 1851 and later evolved slightly to claim that the “Ottoman Sultan” sent aid when the British government did not. It remained this way until Charles Stewart Parnell, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, toured the United States in 1880 to collect donations. He further developed the story and introduced the three aforementioned lies in an attempt to demonise Britain and present it in a worse light than the Ottoman Empire, which was infamous for its atrocities and massacres during that period. In reality, the myth demonises Britain more than it glorifies the artificial humanity of the Ottomans.
The first rumour: that “the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid I” intended to send £10,000 but withdrew and sent only £1,000 to avoid humiliating Queen Victoria, who had sent £2,000.
This is an extension of Parnell’s false claims about Queen Victoria’s donation, where he alleged that she donated only £5 — the same amount she gave to her dogs.
In reality, the Queen was the largest individual donor with £2,000, while her husband gave £500, and many relatives gave between £500 and £1,000 each, equivalent to millions today. The £5 falsehood remains widespread in Ireland, politically equivalent to millions for any Irish nationalist today. The truth at the time was that the Queen donated from her personal funds. Additionally, she ordered the collection of massive donations from all over the United Kingdom and beyond.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds were collected from across England.
In addition to sending aid, many foreigners also contributed, invited by the Queen, and news of the famine was spread throughout Europe. Among the donors was Sultan Abdulmejid, who in fact donated £1,000. This was the minimum he could send as a gesture of solidarity and diplomacy, similar to many other rulers at the time. It was not unusual or outside international norms.
Kolkata in India alone sent £14,000, according to one record.
The idea that the Sultan intended to send a larger amount but refrained from doing so is a falsehood with no historical basis. In a valuable research paper presented by Welsh writer and researcher Mike Dash, he stated:
“The claim that the Sultan intended to grant £10,000 to the famine-stricken Irish, but was dissuaded by the English ambassador, Lord Cowley (Henry Wellesley), because Her Majesty the Queen, who had contributed only £1,000, would be upset if a foreigner donated a larger amount… is an incorrect statement for two reasons:
Firstly, the Queen donated £2,000 and encouraged everyone to donate any amount to relieve Ireland.
Secondly, Lord Cowley (Henry Wellesley) was the British ambassador to France for 15 years from 1847, and he never went to Turkey in his life. Therefore, he never met the Sultan, and this historical claim is invalid, with no evidence of the Sultan’s intention to send £10,000 at all.”
After reviewing the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul, under the Directorate of State Archives (Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı /devletarsivleri.gov.tr), no results were found in the official database (BOA) indicating any documents that prove Sultan Abdülmecid I sent food aid or ships to Ireland during the years of the Great Famine (1845–1852). Likewise, no official records were found to support the claims of financial donations exceeding the well-documented sum of £1,000.
By contrast, some media outlets such as IrishCentral and Ireland’s Eye have circulated popular stories claiming that the Sultan dispatched between three and five ships loaded with aid.
However, these accounts are not supported by official archival records or contemporary port registers, making them closer to folklore than to historical fact. According to the works of historians such as Christine Kinealy and Cormac Ó Gráda, the donation of £1,000 remains the only historically verified contribution.
One reliable document relevant to this issue is a formal letter of gratitude sent by the nobility and gentry of Ireland to Sultan Abdülmecid I. This letter, written in nineteenth-century formal English with ornate and decorative script, includes embellishments featuring the British crown alongside Ottoman motifs. Its content expresses gratitude for the Sultan’s financial donation, explicitly mentioned as One Thousand Pounds, and bears the signatures of prominent Irish notables at the bottom.
In summary, the letter highlights:
- Praise for the Sultan’s “beneficent act of benevolence and munificence.”
- Confirmation that the donation helped alleviate the suffering of those affected.
- A prayer for his safety and just reward.
- His presentation as a worthy example to the other monarchs of Europe.
The significance of this document lies in its unequivocal confirmation of the £1,000 donation, which is consistent with findings reported by researchers in modern academic studies (e.g., Christine Kinealy and Mike Dash).
By contrast, it does not support claims of larger sums or the dispatch of ships; rather, it specifies the amount precisely, thereby serving as evidence against later legends that became exaggerated in popular and media narratives.
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| Ireland Nobility and Gentry (1847) Address to His Imperial Majesty Sultan Abdülmecid I, Emperor of Turkey, expressing gratitude for his donation of One Thousand Pounds during the Great Irish Famine. Manuscript. |
The letter of gratitude addressed by the Irish nobility and gentry to Sultan Abdülmecid I was neither an exception nor a unique case, but rather part of a broader Irish practice at the time of publicly expressing appreciation to all those who provided support during the years of the Great Famine. Local and religious relief committees, such as the Relief Commission and the Society of Friends (Quakers), regularly issued formal letters and messages of thanks to donors, both from within the British Isles and abroad.
The National Archives of Ireland preserve collections known as the Distress Papers, which include such letters of gratitude directed to prominent figures and families who contributed to relief efforts, among them members of the Rothschild family and businessmen in Britain and America.
Within this context, the letter sent to the Sultan should be seen as a reflection of this Irish tradition of recorded gratitude, not as evidence of Ottoman exceptionalism, but as part of a general social and charitable custom that characterised the Irish response to the catastrophe of the famine.
The second rumour: that Britain prevented aid from entering Ireland and blockaded the island with its navy.
This is a clear falsehood that requires little effort to refute. During the famine, Britain followed a conservative economic policy regarding markets and trade, encouraging ships to enter Ireland and engage in trade on the island. This was an attempt by the British government to bring as much food as possible to Ireland without disrupting British trade.
This policy was, of course, unsuccessful and ineffective in the short term, prompting the government to collect donations on a wide scale.
If any foreign ships had actually arrived with relief supplies, it would have been recorded and documented — whether mentioned by official British sources or not.
Yet there are no records whatsoever of relief ships, Turkish or otherwise.
Historians and writers of the time recorded events of far lesser importance than the arrival of relief ships, so such an event would undoubtedly have been documented.
The third rumour: that the Ottoman Sultan sent three ships carrying food aid to Irish cities, with Drogheda being the most notable.
This is far from truth or historical fact — merely another propaganda lie.
Irish ports at that time recorded all ships entering and leaving, and there is no evidence of any Turkish relief ships in any of those coastal cities. But let us entertain the falsehood for a moment.
The basic rumour claims that the ships entered from the port of Drogheda and distributed food to the hungry despite the supposed British blockade — already debunked above.
The records of Drogheda port, however, were lost and destroyed over time. Thus, no official documents exist about the arrival of any foreign ships to that port. But official records are not the only source used by reputable historians. Historian Mike Dash examined Drogheda newspapers during the famine years.
Reporting on ship movements and their cargoes was crucial information for local traders, widely published due to Britain’s open trade policy to address the famine. Dash’s research into Drogheda’s papers revealed that the arrival of any non-British ship was exceptional.
In fact, during the famine period, only three foreign ships were recorded at that port. Among them was a Prussian vessel and two from provinces that were then part of the Ottoman Empire, both carrying food and agricultural products.
That is all there is to it.
However, those two ships from Ottoman territories did not distribute their cargoes for free.
On the contrary, there were strong criticisms from local newspapers at the time that the food had been imported as a commercial venture. In other words, it was seen as commercial exploitation of a starving market, where prices skyrocketed for even a handful of wheat or a potato.
In 2006, adding to this farce, the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, embellished and exaggerated the rumour further during her visit to Turkey, promoting previous lies and fabrications. She even claimed that “the city of Drogheda adopted the crescent and star as its emblem in honour of the Ottoman stance” — a fabrication.
However, as soon as her trip ended, local historians debunked this falsehood, pointing out that the crescent and star had been part of Drogheda’s emblem since it received its charter from King John of England in the 13th century AD. This emblem had no connection whatsoever to mythical Turkish/Ottoman ships or the famine.
The Star and Crescent coat of arms of Drogheda in fact dates back to the year 1210 AD and perhaps even earlier. NOT in 1845 or afterwards..
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| Saint John's Poor House- English King Richard (“the Lionheart”) adopted the crescent and star in 1192 upon his capture of Cyprus from Byzantine rule and bestowed it, two years later, on the port of Drogheda. |
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| Saint John's Poor House- English King Richard (“the Lionheart”) adopted the crescent and star in 1192 upon his capture of Cyprus from Byzantine rule and bestowed it, two years later, on the port of Drogheda. |
‘In April of the year 1185, the then Prince John made his first visit to Ireland where he granted extensive lands to the trusted Royal Administration with one of these being Bertram de Verdun who was found in Drogheda at this time.
‘During his stay in Ireland the young Prince, who was then only 19 years of age, established the foundation of Administration and Law, which he later expanded upon in his second expedition to Ireland in his reign as King in the year 1210.’
Prince John returned to England in December of the year 1185 and by this time Hugh de Lacy was establishing the town of Drogheda.
Walter de Lacy, son of Hugh was then granted the town’s first Charter in 1194 and by the time King John arrived back in Drogheda in 1210, the town was flourishing.
It is noticeable that the star in Drogheda’s coat of arms has nine points, sometimes eight or seven, and not five points like the star used in the Turkish/Ottoman flag. But when the naïve leftists and Muslims want to convince us that the colour of milk is black, we are expected to agree with them and believe that milk is indeed black!
Finally, this article is not meant to diminish or demean that donation. Rather, it aims to debunk the blind and empty glorification that serves the interests of Islamists today, who desperately seek to polish the image of their religion and glorify the atrocities of the Ottoman Caliphate — a regime whose history testifies against it, with its black pages dripping with blood and terrorism.
Additional sources:
— Charity and the Great Hunger in Ireland: The Kindness of Strangers by Christine Kinealy.
— Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World by Niall Ferguson.
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