THE Republic of Ireland is known as the 'land of a thousand welcomes.' It has welcomed 19,846 Filipinos who are now permanent residents or Irish citizens, data from the country's Census 2022 showed. Ireland's population is small: 5.127 million. The nation has never completely recovered from the devastating famine of 1845, caused by the greed and inequality under British colonial rule that left millions of Irish in dire poverty and surviving on the potato, its staple crop.

The infection of potatoes by blight led to that famine and the country's population starving. As many as a million Irish died of hunger and disease from 1845 to 1851. The British government ruled Ireland with an iron fist and without concern or compassion. It failed to provide sufficient food for thousands of starving people. The wealthy English landlords in Ireland continued to export grain and cattle to their country during the famine.