The Shamrock

Commonly associated with Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day, the shamrock is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. Derived from the Gaelic word seamair óg, meaning young clover, shamrocks began to appear in early Irish literature to describe a flowering clovered plain. The association of the Shamrock with the Irish by the outside world began in the 16th century, when English writers began to describe the habits of “wild and uncivilized” Irish who, according to them, ate shamrocks. This claim would be repeated in English works for the next three centuries.  Traditionally, the Shamrock has been associated with Irelands most famous saint, Saint Patrick, which has symbolized the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity when Ireland was Christianized in the 5th century. The story of the association that has been handed down for generations is when Saint Patrick first arrived in Ireland, he used the first item he could see to explain the holy trinity to the Irish pagans, which was the