The Dear Little Shamrock of Ireland

                                        
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The shamrock has been an important symbol in Irish culture for hundreds of years. Now the symbol of luck and good fortune, most especially on and around St. Patrick’s Day, it was not always such a cheerful part of Irish society.

The word “shamrock” itself is a derivative of an ancient Irish word, not the name of an actual plant. From the word “seamrog” meaning “little clover,” the Irish shamrock is any one of a number of species of 3-leaved clovers. Most authorities, however, believe the true shamrock to be the white clover, a common lawn weed indigenous to Ireland. In 1893, the shamrock was officially defined as the white clover by Nathaniel Colgan. Occasionally, this clover will produce a fourth leaf on the stem, producing the supposedly lucky four-leaf clover.

According to legend, the shamrock first became important back in the time of the Druids. Those who followed the Celtic religion believed the number three was particularly significant and mystical. The Druids, therefore, found the shamrock to be sacred due to the triad formed by the three leaves.

Many years later, when St. Patrick was attempting to spread Catholicism throughout Ireland in the 5th century, he ran into a bit of difficulty trying to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to the Irish people. As legend has it, he then turned to the shamrock, still sacred amongst the Irish people. He used the shamrock as an analogy for the Holy Trinity – three parts commonly joined to form a single stem. This special little three-leaf clover then helped to convert many Irish to Catholicism and thus became part of the legend of St. Patrick. The first written reference to wearing the shamrock during the Feast of St. Patrick dates back to 1681.

Throughout the next several centuries, the shamrock regularly made appearances in Irish life. Medieval tombs and copper coins have been found embossed with the shamrock, which became known as St. Patrick’s money. This included the old English six pence coin.

The shamrock, however, hasn’t always had a happy meaning. During the 19th century, the shamrock was a symbol of rebellion. Anyone caught wearing it could be hanged to death. This tense period in Irish history spawned the phrase "the wearin' o' the green". People would wear crosses made of red and green paper instead of the shamrock as a symbol of their Irish pride.

Today, the shamrock is recognized the world over as the symbol of the Irish. This is especially true on St. Patrick's Day when everyone is Irish for a day! It is not, however, the official symbol of Ireland (that would be the harp). The Irish airline Aer Lingus does use the shamrock as part of their logo; each St. Patrick’s Day, Aer Lingus flies fresh shamrock to Irish embassies all over the world to use in National Day diplomatic functions.
In the words of a traditional Irish blessing:

There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
'Twas Saint Patrick himself, sure, that set it;
And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It grows through the bog, through the brake, through the mireland
And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland

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