by Jaimela King

Created on: March 07, 2009   Last Updated: March 12, 2009

The shamrock has been intricately linked with Ireland for centuries. We have come to regard the shamrock as a symbolic three- leaf plant, but it is interesting to note that "shamrock" is not the official name of a plant but rather the Irish name for the clover plant, of which there are hundreds of varieties. If you live in North America, you probably have seen the white and red clover make their appearance on your lawn during Spring. For the Irish, however, the shamrock is a symbolic representation of an identity - one that started with the long journey of St Patrick to Ireland.

About the late 19th century, Nathaniel Colgan identified one species of the clover, the Trifolium Repens, or a variation of this plant which is the White Clover or also referred to as the Dutch Clover. This is by far the most common of the species around the world. The Academic American Encyclopedia (1990) has identified the Trifolium Repens Forma Minus, family Leguminosae, (White Clover), as the original shamrock of Ireland, as has other similar sources.

The clovers have historically played an important symbolic role. The early Celts of Wales saw the White Clover as having the power to ward off evil spirits. Later, early Christians adopted this belief and used it as a symbol of the Holy Trinity for the people of Ireland. While some see no historical link between St Patrick and the shamrock, other historical sources claim that Saint Patrick was one of those early Christian leaders to use the plant as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

When Patrick became a Priest, he returned to Ireland as a Priest, he worked tirelessly to convert many pagans to christianity. As the story is told, St Patrick was looking for a way to explain the Holy Trinity to his would-be converts. An idea came to him as he was walking by a field of clovers, noticing the three leaves on one plant. St Patrick used a shamrock (the name given to the plant by the Irish), to illustrate the teaching that while there were three parts to the Shamrock, there was only one God.

Further evidence of the symbolism of the clover or shamrock is found in a book about wild flowers of Ireland, by Dr Caleb Threlkeld. He stated that the White Clover was worn by people in their hats on the 17th of March, St Patrick's Day, with the belief that this three-leafed grass represented the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

From all historic accounts, the shamrock has been worn since the late 1600s, as referenced in the early literature. In earlier times it was

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