We all associate Ireland with the potato, but it was Sir Walter Raleigh who brought the "Virginia Tuber" back from the New World and planted it on his land grant in Ireland.
Elizabeth I infamously stole land from her Irish peasants and granted it to English noblemen as reward for their deeds.
Sir Francis Drake blockaded the English Channel from the Spanish Armada after he defeated them, forcing the Armada to go the long way around Ireland. The Irish took pity on the starving Spanish sailors and fed them. The Spanish in return, built the Irish two stone churches as a thank you.
Ireland is rich with stories such as these.
There were "starvation boats", when the potato famine caused millions to die. The starvation boats carried the desperate from Ireland to America. Those who survived the journey began their lives anew. And reunited with the beloved potato. :)
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