The
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.
