SHAMROCKS

"You tell us that there are three gods and yet one," the puzzled Irish said when St. Patrick was preaching the gospel to them in the 5th century AD. "How can that be?" The saint bent down and plucked a shamrock. "Do you not see," he said, "how in this wildflower three leaves are united on one stalk, and will you not then believe that there are indeed three persons and yet one God?"

Thus, according to Irish legend, Ireland's patron saint chose the shamrock as a symbol of the Trinity of the Christian church. To this day the shamrock remains the national emblem of Ireland and is worn proudly by Irish people the world over on St. Patrick's Day (March 17).

No one can agree on which plant is the shamrock picked by St. Patrick. Many claim it is the small hop clover (Trifolium procumbens), a plant with yellow flowers and blue-green leaflets. Others believe it is a variety of white clover (T. repens) or the black medic (Medicago lupulina). These plants are native to Europe and naturalized in North America. The European wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella), which grows in Europe and Asia, is also often considered to be the true shamrock.

WHAT IS A SHAMROCK???

A tiny wild green trefoil that comes up out of a blown-in seedpod, uniquely on this island? or
Dutch Clover, or Wood Sorrel

The Shamrock is a fragile little plant, and doesn't keep long out of its habitat. A fresh sprig in the morning will have dried and withered by noon, and can look a bit limp.

Recently some bright sparks have invented a little lapel sachet in which the Shamrock is both grown and worn, and will bloom until the last of Patrick's Pot is drunk.

The Irish have had a few difficulties translating ingenuity into gold over the last few thousand years, but being Green wasn't one of them.

The Shamrock is not an official emblem of Ireland. That honour is reserved for The Harp. But it is used as a popular 'national' brand by all sorts of State Bodies and commercial concerns.

Probably the most visible of these internationally is the Irish national airline Aer Lingus, with its heart-shaped trefoil on the tail of each plane.

On St. Patrick's Day every year, Aer Lingus flies fresh shamrock to Irish Embassies all over the globe for their traditional National Day diplomatic parties. Irish uniformed personnel everywhere are also presented with Shamrock to wear for the day.

As a symbol of Ireland it has long been integrated into the symbology of the United Kingdom, along with the Rose, the Thistle and the Leek of England, Scotland and Wales.

So today, on St. Patrick's Day, a member of the British Royal Family presents Shamrock to the Irish Guards regiment of the British Army.

Three is Ireland's magic number. And so the Shamrock.

Crone, Mother and Virgin.
Love, Valour and Wit.
Faith, Hope and Charity.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Everything good in Ireland comes in threes.

The rhythm of story telling in the Irish tradition is based on threefold repetition.

Even today in quality pub talk, a raconteur can rarely resist a third adjective, especially if it means stretching a point.

"Three accomplishments well regarded in Ireland: a clever verse, music on the harp, the art of shaving faces."

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