Shamrock
The shamrock is a three-leafed old white clover. It is known as a symbol of Ireland. The name shamrock is derived from Irish seamróg, which is the diminutive version of the Irish word for clover (seamair).
It is sometimes of the variety Trifolium repens (white clover, Irish: seamair bhán) but today usually Trifolium dubium (lesser clover, Irish: seamair bhuí). However, other three-leafed plants — such as Medicago lupulina, Trifolium pratense, and Oxalis — are sometimes designated as shamrocks. The shamrock was traditionally used for its medical properties and was a popular motif in Victorian times.
Symbol of Ireland
Traditionally, shamrock is said to have been used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity when cristianising Ireland in the 6th century. However, this is described by the Oxford English Dictionary a "a late tradition", first recorded in 1726, and is probably false. None the less, since the 18th century, shamrock has been used as a symbol of Ireland in a similar way to how a rose is used for England, thistle for Scotland and leek for Wales.
Shamrock commonly appears as part of the emblem of sporting and official organisations representing both the whole of Ireland (such as the Irish Rugby Football Union or Tourism Ireland) as well as organisations specific to the Republic of Ireland (such as IDA Ireland) and Northern Ireland (such as Police Service of Northern Ireland). Shamrock is also used in emblems of UK organisations with an association with Ireland, such as the Irish Guards. Outside Ireland, various organisations, businesses and places use the symbol to advertise a connection with the island. For example, basketball team, Boston Celtics, in the USA incorporate the shamrock in their logo and the US cereal, Lucky Charms, uses it on the product's mascot and as a shape in the cereal itself.
The shamrock has been registered as a trademark by the Government of Ireland.[1] Traditionally in Ireland, and in many places throughout the world, the shamrock is worn on the lapel on St. Patrick's Day.
Example uses
- The shamrock signified the First Division of the Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War, which contained the Irish Brigade. It was red as were all of the division insignia of that corps and still be seen on the regimental coat of arms of "The Fighting Sixty-Ninth"
- The flag of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada has a shamrock that is located in the lower right quadrant. The shamrock represents the Irish population, one of the four major ethnic groups that made up the population of the city in the 19th century when the arms were designed.
- The shamrock is featured in Canadian Coat of arms.
- The shamrock is featured on the passport stamp of Montserrat, many of whose citizens are of Irish descent.
- The airline Aer Lingus uses the emblem in its logos, and its air traffic control call sign is "SHAMROCK".
- The Erin Go Bragh flag, originally of Saint Patrick's Battalion, uses an angelic Cláirseach, a medieval Irish harp, cradled in a wreath of clover. A flag strongly symbolic of Irish nationalism, it is often seen on Saint Patrick's Day, usually displayed during the parades.* Soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment of the British army use the shamrock as their emblem, and wear a sprig of shamrock on Saint Patrick's Day. Shamrock are exported to wherever the regiment is stationed throughout the world. Queen Victoria decreed over a hundred years ago that soldiers from Ireland should wear a sprig of shamrock in recognition of fellow Irish soldiers who had fought bravely in the Boer War, a tradition continued by British army soldiers from both the north and the south of Ireland following partition in 1921.
- The coat of arms on the flag of the Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation was cradled in a wreath of shamrock.[2]
- During the Russian Civil War a British officer Col. P.J. Woods, of Belfast, established a Karelian Regiment which had a shamrock on an orange field as its regimental badge.
- The shamrock is the official emblem of Irish Side Shamrock Rovers F.C and the Greek multi-sport club Panathinaikos AO and Cypriot sports club AC Omonia.
- The Danish football club Viborg FF uses a shamrock in its badge and it has become a symbol of the town of Viborg.
- The German football club SpVgg Greuther Fürth also has a shamrock in its badge as it is a symbol of the city of Fürth.
- The shamrock is among the symbols of the Aryan Brotherhood, a prison gang.
- Former NBA player Shaquille O'Neal nicknamed himself the "Big Shamrock" after joining the Boston Celtics.
- In the fantasy novel series, Harry Potter, the fictitious Irish National Quidditch team use the shamrock as part of their emblem.
See also
Notes
References
- Nelson, E. Charles; Loughin, Bernard (1991). Shamrock: Botany and History of an Irish Myth: A Biography of the Shamrock in History, Literature, Music and Art. Boethius Press. ISBN 0-86314-199-4.
External links