M&S has introduced the Lumper potato, which predates the Irish famine of the 1840s, to stores ahead of St Patrick’s Day.

Potatoes went on sale in Irish stores last week but it has since upped stocks and is rolling it out into UK stores this week, priced at £2 for a 1kg bag.

The potato, which is exclusive to M&S, has been specially developed and grown from a handful of rare seedlings. It has not been produced on a commercial scale since the potato famine of the 1840s.

M&S hopes the potato will prove popular on St Patrick’s Day as it is perfect for mashing and making a colcannon mash.

“Despite the unfortunate history, the Lumper is a great tasting spud, which we’re sure will be a hit with customers,” said M&S potato expert Peter Tinkler.

M&S is not the only food organisation to be jumping on the St Patrick’s Day bandwagon. Bord Bia has created a Facebook app – developed by creative agency Spinnaker – which allows users to put together a “virtual feast” in a bid to create “the biggest St Patrick’s Day feast ever”.