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The Legend of The Shamrock
The trefoil or Shamrock, at one time called the
"Seamroy", symbolises the cross and blessed trinity.
Before the Christian era it was a sacred plant of the
Druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad.
The well known legend of the Shamrock connects it
definitely to St. Patrick and his teaching. Preaching in
the open air on the doctrine of the trinity, he 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 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.
The trefoil in Arabia is called shamrakh and was
sacred in Iran as an emblem of the Persian triads. The
trefoil, as noted above, being a sacred plant among the
Druids, and three being a mystical number in the Celtic
religion as well as all others, it is probable that St. Patrick
must have been aware of the significance of his illustration.
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