More Irish were sold as slaves than Africans?

More Irish were sold as slaves than Africans?

Or more exactly “that from 1600 to 1699, far more Irish were
sold as slaves than Africans”. This is the claim from this article.

Reading the article, there is a certain amount of sense there but I can’t verify any of the facts or info on it as I’m not a big history buff. If it is true, how did I miss this in my Irish history class in school? Why is it something that’s ignored by modern Irishculture? It would seem to me to be a greater tragedy than the potato famine.

The Irish slaves, apparently, even got treated worse than other slaves because they were cheaper and Catholic:

Although the Africans and Irish were housed together and were the property of the planter owners, the Africans received much better treatment, food and housing. In the British West Indies the planters routinely tortured white slaves for any infraction. Owners would hang Irish slaves by their hands and set their hands or feet afire as a means of punishment. To end this barbarity, Colonel William Brayne wrote to English authorities in 1656 urging the importation of Negro slaves on the grounds that, “as the planters would have to pay much more for them, they would have an interest in preserving their lives, which was wanting in the case of (Irish)….” many of whom, he charged, were killed by overwork and cruel treatment. African Negroes cost generally about 20 to 50 pounds Sterling, compared to 900 pounds of cotton (about 5 pounds Sterling) for an Irish. They were also more durable in the hot climate, and caused fewer problems. The biggest bonus with the Africans though, was they were NOT Catholic, and any heathen pagan was better than an Irish Papist.