The shamrock, or trefoil (three-leafed), is a type of small herb with leaves
made up of three leaflets and belongs to the family "Leguminosae."
Shamrock is actually a common name for any of several three-leafed clovers
native to Ireland, including the white clover, red clover and black medic.
However it is the green shamrock, or trefoil, that is the National symbol
of Ireland.
The Shamrock, at one time called the "Seamroy," symbolizes the Holy Trinity.
Before the Christian era, it was a sacred plant of the Druids of Ireland
because its leaves formed a triad. "Three" was a mystical and sacred number
to the Druids and the ancient Irish (Celtic) religion. It may have represented
totality: past, present, and future; behind, before, and here; sky, earth,
and underworld.
According to legend, St. Patrick, preaching in the open air on the doctrine
of the Trinity, is said to have illustrated the existence of the "Three-In-One"
by plucking a shamrock from the grass growing at his feet and showing it
to his congregation. The simple beauty of this explanation convinced his
congregation, who had been skeptical, and from that day the shamrock has
been revered throughout Ireland.
The legend of the shamrock is also connected with that of the banishment
of the serpent tribe from Ireland by a tradition that snakes are never seen
on trefoil and that it is a remedy against the stings of snakes and scorpions. |
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