Ian Morton investigates the myths and legends linked to Ireland s favourite plant.
Firstly, we have the Irish question. No, not that one, this one: what is shamrock and what is clover? The sentimental claim of the Emerald Isle to the exclusivity of shamrock was never better expressed than in the 1914 song A Little Bit of Heaven by American songwriter J. Keirn Brennan, which features the lines:
So they sprinkled it with stardust, Just to make the shamrocks grow,’Tis the only place you’ll find them, No matter where you go.
Pure blarney. Shamrock and clover are botanically the same and there are 245 recognised species worldwide. To my mind, if there’s a collective noun for clover, it’s a complexity.