The Irish National Cycling Championships are annual cycling races to decide the Irish cycling champion for several disciplines, across several categories of rider.
73-400: The men's road championship is usually held on a Sunday at end of June; the women's race is held the previous day. The winning élite rider wears the national champion's jersey for all road races in the following 12 months. Unlike most countries, the jersey does not contain the national flag or stripes from the flags colours; instead, the jersey has a wide green band superimposed with a shamrock ,
146-474: A countermeasure to fight the global pollinator decline . Several species of clover are extensively cultivated as fodder plants . The most widely cultivated clovers are white clover , Trifolium repens , and red clover , Trifolium pratense . Clover, either sown alone or in mixture with ryegrass , has for a long time formed a staple crop for silaging, for several reasons: it grows freely, shooting up again after repeated mowings; it produces an abundant crop; it
219-597: A feature since the earliest days. It should be remembered that time trials became so popular in the United Kingdom because cycle racing on the open road was illegal. Riders wore sports jackets and tights as part of the strategy to avoid detection and prosecution. Once independence was achieved in part of Ireland time trialling escaped from these stifling rules and gradually massed start road racing became popular and championships were held. The classic time trial distances were 25, 50 and 100 miles and 12 and 24 hours. From
292-594: A figure of St Patrick preaching to a crowd while holding a shamrock, presumably to explain the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. When Saint Patrick arrived in Ireland in 431, he used the shamrock to teach pagans the Holy Trinity. In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the Irish had many triple deities , which could have aided St Patrick in his evangelisation efforts. Patricia Monaghan states that "There
365-424: A native Irish plant and had only been introduced into Ireland in the middle of the 17th century, and based his argument on the same comments by Elizabethan authors that shamrock had been eaten. Bicheno argued that this fitted the wood sorrel better than clover, as wood sorrel was often eaten as a green and used to flavour food. Bicheno's argument has not been generally accepted however, as the weight of evidence favours
438-521: A particular date. There were occasional "Youths" championships which at one time meant under 20 years on a specified date but this may not have been consistent. Women's racing goes back to at least the 1930s but only a small number of championships are recorded before the 1980s. At various times there was more than one body organising cycling in Ireland and each promoted their own championship. These are all regarded as being of equal merit in this listing. The overlaps are: Information not referenced above
511-457: A plant particularly associated with the Irish, but only with a confused notion that the shamrock was a plant eaten by them. To a herbalist like Gerard it is clear that the shamrock is clover, but other English writers do not appear to know the botanical identity of the shamrock. This is not surprising, as they probably received their information at second or third hand. It is notable that there is no mention anywhere in these writings of St. Patrick or
584-460: A soft hairy plant with minute white or pale pink flowers and feathery sepals; Trifolium fragiferum , strawberry clover, with globose, rose-purple heads and swollen calyxes; Trifolium campestre , hop trefoil, on dry pastures and roadsides, the heads of pale yellow flowers suggesting miniature hops; and the somewhat similar Trifolium dubium , common in pastures and roadsides, with smaller heads and small yellow flowers turning dark brown. Clover
657-511: A species of clover. A more scientific approach was taken by English botanists James Britten and Robert Holland, who stated in their Dictionary of English Plant Names published in 1878, that their investigations had revealed that Trifolium dubium was the species sold most frequently in Covent Garden as shamrock on St. Patrick's Day , and that it was worn in at least 13 counties in Ireland. Finally, detailed investigations to settle
730-462: A sweet breath. There is nothing in Dineley's account of the legend of St. Patrick using the shamrock to teach the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and this story does not appear in writing anywhere until a 1726 work by the botanist Caleb Threlkeld . Threlkeld identifies the shamrock as White Field Clover ( Trifolium pratense album ) and comments rather acerbically on St. Patrick's Day customs including
803-702: Is 63, set on August 2, 2023, by Yoshiharu Watanabe in Japan. The previous record holder, Shigeo Obara, had discovered an 18-leaf clover in 2002, a 21-leaf clover in 2008 and a 56-leaf clover in 2009, also in Japan. The first extensive classification of Trifolium had been done by Michael Zohary and David Heller, and it was subsequently released in 1984. They divided the genus into eight sections: Lotoidea, Paramesus, Mistyllus, Vesicamridula, Chronosemium, Trifolium, Trichoecephalum, and Involucrarium, with Lotoidea placed most basally . Within this classification system, Trifolium repens falls within section Lotoidea ,
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#1732798008395876-437: Is a result of their marginal hand-to-mouth existence as bandits. Moryson claims that the Irish "willingly eat the herbe Schamrock being of a sharpe taste which as they run and are chased to and fro they snatch like beasts out of the ditches." The reference to a sharp taste is suggestive of the bitter taste of wood sorrel. What is clear is that by the end of the sixteenth century the shamrock had become known to English writers as
949-443: Is foraged for by wildlife such as bears, game animals, and birds. Clover is edible by humans, although red clover should be avoided by pregnant women. The plant is a traditional Native American food, which is eaten both raw and after drying and smoking the roots. The seeds from the blossoms are used to make bread. It is also possible to make tea from the blossoms. Shamrock , the traditional Irish symbol, which according to legend
1022-431: Is known as "clover sickness". When crop rotations are managed so that clover does not recur at intervals shorter than eight years, it grows with much of its pristine vigor. Clovers are most efficiently pollinated by bumblebees , which have declined as a result of agricultural intensification. Honeybees can also pollinate clover, and beekeepers are often in heavy demand from farmers with clover pastures. Farmers reap
1095-494: Is no evidence that the clover or wood sorrel (both of which are called shamrocks) were sacred to the Celts". However, Jack Santino speculates that "The shamrock was probably associated with the earth and assumed by the druids to be symbolic of the regenerative powers of nature ... Nevertheless, the shamrock, whatever its history as a folk symbol, today has its meaning in a Christian context. Pictures of Saint Patrick depict him driving
1168-431: Is palatable to and nutritious for livestock ; it fixes nitrogen using symbiotic bacteria in its root nodules , reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers ; it grows in a great range of soils and climates ; and it is appropriate for either pasturage or green composting . In many areas, particularly on acidic soil , clover is short-lived because of a combination of insect pests, diseases and nutrient balance; this
1241-463: Is purple field clover, and which they eat to make them speedy and of nimble strength'). Linnaeus based his information that the Irish ate shamrock on the comments of English Elizabethan authors such as Edmund Spenser who remarked that the shamrock used to be eaten by the Irish, especially in times of hardship and famine. It has since been argued however, that the Elizabethans were confused by
1314-669: Is still not a consensus over the precise botanical species of clover that is the "true" shamrock. John Gerard in his herbal of 1597 defined the shamrock as Trifolium pratense or Trifolium pratense flore albo , meaning red or white clover. He described the plant in English as "Three leaved grasse" or "Medow Trefoile", "which are called in Irish Shamrockes ". The Irish botanist Caleb Threlkeld , writing in 1726 in his work entitled Synopsis Stirpium Hibernicarum or A Treatise on Native Irish Plants followed Gerard in identifying
1387-456: Is the official emblem of Irish football club Shamrock Rovers . Shamrock commonly appear as part of the emblem of many organisations in countries overseas with communities of Irish descent. Outside Ireland, various organisations, businesses and places also use the symbol to advertise a connection with the island. These uses include: Clover subg. Chronosemium subg. Trifolium Clovers , also called trefoils , are plants of
1460-521: Is used in the emblems of many state organisations, both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . Some of these are all-Ireland bodies, (such as 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 ). The Irish Postal Service An Post , regularly features the shamrock on its series of stamps . The airline Aer Lingus uses
1533-552: 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
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#17327980083951606-560: The genus Trifolium (from Latin tres 'three' and folium 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversity in the temperate Northern Hemisphere , but many species also occur in South America and Africa , including at high altitudes on mountains in
1679-459: The thistle of Scotland to symbolise the unity of the three kingdoms. Since then, the shamrock has regularly appeared alongside the rose, thistle and (sometimes) leek for Wales in British coins such as the two shilling and crown, and in stamps . The rose, thistle and shamrock motif also appears regularly on British public buildings such as Buckingham Palace . Throughout the nineteenth century
1752-443: The "local" began to die in Ireland. Sports meetings faded out with showbands. People became less interested in going down the road to see local heroes when they could sit at home and look into the pores of the best competitors in the world on television. This brought a contraction in the number of track championships back to the core distances and disciplines. Road racing was less affected by economics and fashion. Time trials have been
1825-404: The 20th century substantially displaced clover as a crop, with negative effects on pollinators, but in the 1990s and 2010s, the cost of industrially-fixed nitrogen rose substantially, approximately doubling, and reviving interest in forage mixes that include clover. As the fixation process in energy-intensive, prices are closely tied to energy prices. The 21st century also took interest in clover as
1898-548: The 2nd 100ml championship Inter Club Team Championship: 1886, 1887: Leinster C.C. 1895 track: J. Mackey 1896 &1898 L. R. Oswald-Healy of DUBC won an Irish championship 1904 motor paced: Harry Mussen 1962 5,000m point to point: Dan Ahearne M40 – Glyn O'Brien M50 – Robin Seymour (* Demo Event) The Irish National Cycling Championships are annual cycling races to decide the Irish cycling champion for several disciplines, across several categories of rider. Through
1971-739: The German Supreme Court in 1985. Since 1969, a bowl of shamrocks in a special Waterford Crystal bowl featuring a shamrock design is flown from Ireland to Washington, D.C. , and presented to the President of the United States every St. Patrick's Day. Shamrock is also used in emblems of UK organisations with an association with Ireland, such as the Irish Guards . Soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment of
2044-832: The Harp and Lion Bar in Listowel , County Kerry. It also appears on street furniture, such as old lamp standards like those in Mountjoy Square in Dublin, and on monuments like the Parnell Monument, and the O'Connell Monument , both in O'Connell Street , Dublin. Shamrocks also appeared on decorative items such as glass, china, jewellery, poplin and Irish lace . Belleek Pottery in County Fermanagh, for example, regularly features shamrock motifs. The shamrock
2117-729: The Irish Kidney Donors Association. In addition many sporting organisations representing Ireland use the shamrock in their logos and emblems. Examples include the Irish Football Association (Northern Ireland), Irish Rugby Football Union , Swim Ireland , Cricket Ireland , and the Olympic Council of Ireland . A sprig of shamrock represents the Lough Derg Yacht Club Tipperary, (est. 1835). The shamrock
2190-411: The Irish ate shamrock was widely repeated in later works and seems to be a confusion with the Irish word seamsóg or wood sorrel (Oxalis). There is no evidence from any Irish source that the Irish ate clover, but there is evidence that the Irish ate wood sorrel. For example, in the medieval Irish work Buile Shuibhne ( The Frenzy of Sweeney ), the king Sweeney, who has gone mad and is living in
2263-533: The Lord; error generally leading to debauchery. The Rev Threlkeld's remarks on liquor undoubtedly refer to the custom of toasting St. Patrick's memory with "St. Patrick's Pot", or "drowning the shamrock" as it is otherwise known. After mass on St. Patrick's Day the traditional custom of the menfolk was to lift the usual fasting restrictions of Lent and repair to the nearest tavern to mark the occasion with as many St. Patrick's Pots as they deemed necessary. The drowning of
Irish National Cycling Championships - Misplaced Pages Continue
2336-489: The Olympic Games abandoned the amateur ruling, cycling internationally adopted a system of over 23 Elite and under 23 with no distinction between amateurs and professionals. The term "Junior" has had many meanings. At one time the gradings were Novice (who had not won 3 prizes), Junior (who had won 3 prizes) and Senior (who had gained a place in the first three in a Senior championship). Later "Junior" meant under 18 on
2409-606: The Shamrock embodies the Victorian spirit of sentimentality. It was immensely popular and contributed to raising the profile of the shamrock as an image of Ireland: Oh The Shamrock - Through Erin's Isle, To sport awhile, As Love and Valor wander'd With Wit, the sprite, Whose quiver bright A thousand arrows squander'd. Where'er they pass, A triple grass Shoots up, with dew-drops streaming, As softly green As emeralds seen Through purest crystal gleaming. Oh
2482-487: The Shamrock, the green immortal Shamrock! Chosen leaf Of Bard and Chief, Old Erin's native Shamrock! Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the shamrock continued to appear in a variety of settings. For example, the shamrock appeared on many buildings in Ireland as a decorative motif, such as on the facade of the Kildare Street Club building in Dublin, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh , and
2555-523: The basal position of Lotoidea , because they were ancestral. Aside from considering this section basal, they did not propose relationships between other sections. Since then, molecular data has both questioned and confirmed the proposed phylogeny from Zohary and Heller. A genus-wide molecular study has since proposed a new classification system, made up of two subgenera, Chronosemium and Trifolium. This recent reclassification further divides subgenus Trifolium into eight sections. The molecular data supports
2628-401: The benefits of increased reseeding that occurs with increased bee activity, which means that future clover yields remain abundant. Beekeepers benefit from the clover bloom, as clover is one of the main nectar sources for honeybees . Trifolium repens , white or Dutch clover, is a perennial abundant in meadows and good pastures. The flowers are white or pinkish, becoming brown and deflexed as
2701-407: The bottom of the glass and thrown over the left shoulder. The shamrock is still chiefly associated with Saint Patrick's Day , which has become the Irish national holiday, and is observed with parades and celebrations worldwide. The custom of wearing shamrock on the day is still observed and depictions of shamrocks are habitually seen during the celebrations. As St. Patrick is Ireland's patron saint,
2774-514: The carrions .... and if they found a plott of water cresses or shamrockes theyr they flocked as to a feast for the time, yett not able long to contynewe therewithall. The idea that the Irish ate shamrock is repeated in the writing of Fynes Moryson , one-time secretary to the Lord Deputy of Ireland . In his 1617 work An itinerary thorow Twelve Dominions , Moryson describes the "wild Irish", and in this case their supposed habit of eating shamrock
2847-586: The conception of the shamrock in Ireland had changed little in almost a hundred years. The results of the surveys are shown in the table below. The results show that there is no one "true" species of shamrock, but that Trifolium dubium (lesser clover) is considered to be the shamrock by roughly half of Irish people, and Trifolium repens (white clover) by another third, with the remaining sixth split between Trifolium pratense (red clover), Medicago lupulina (black medick), Oxalis acetosella (wood sorrel), and various other species of Trifolium and Oxalis . None of
2920-604: The corolla fades. Trifolium hybridum , alsike or Swedish clover, is a perennial which was introduced early in the 19th century and has now become naturalized in Britain. The flowers are white or rosy, and resemble those of Trifolium repens . Trifolium medium , meadow or zigzag clover, a perennial with straggling flexuous stems and rose-purple flowers, has potential for interbreeding with T. pratense to produce perennial crop plants. Other species are: Trifolium arvense , hare's-foot trefoil; found in fields and dry pastures,
2993-494: The early 1960s the longer events faded away. Although the 25 miles remained on the books there was sometimes a slight variation in the distance and out and home courses were not always used. Massed start championships for men were initially held at more than one distance each year but by the early 1960s settled into one event of at least 100 miles/160 km. Racing as recorded in Ireland was almost completely amateur and no professional stand-alone championships were ever held. When
Irish National Cycling Championships - Misplaced Pages Continue
3066-467: The emblem in its logos, and its air traffic control call sign is "SHAMROCK". The shamrock has been registered as a trademark by the Government of Ireland . In the early 1980s, Ireland defended its right to use the shamrock as its national symbol in a German trademark case, which included high-level representation from Taoiseach Charles Haughey . Having originally lost, Ireland won on appeal to
3139-681: The flags of the Limerick Volunteers, the Castle Ray Fencibles and the Braid Volunteers. The United Irishmen adopted green as their revolutionary colour and wore green uniforms or ribbons in their hats, and the green concerned was often associated with the shamrock. The song The Wearing of the Green commemorated their exploits and various versions exist which mention the shamrock. The Erin go bragh flag
3212-419: The largest and least heterogeneous section. Lotoidea contains species from America, Africa, and Eurasia, considered a clade because of their inflorescence shape, floral structure, and legume that protrudes from the calyx. However, these traits are not unique to the section, and are shared with many other species in other sections. Zohary and Heller argued that the presence of these traits in other sections proved
3285-482: The legend of his using the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. However, there are two possible references to the custom of "drowning the shamrock" in "usquebagh" or whiskey . In 1607, the playwright Edward Sharpham in his play The Fleire included a reference to "Maister Oscabath the Irishman ... and Maister Shamrough his lackey". Later, a 1630 work entitled Sir Gregory Nonsence by the poet John Taylor contains
3358-734: The lines: "Whilste all the Hibernian Kernes in multitudes, /Did feast with shamerags steeved in Usquebagh." Traditionally, shamrock is said to have been used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity when Christianising Ireland in the 5th century. The first evidence of a link between St Patrick and the shamrock appears in 1675 on the St Patrick's Coppers or Halpennies. These appear to show
3431-404: The link does not appear until 1681, in the account of Thomas Dineley, an English traveller to Ireland. Dineley writes: The 17th day of March yeerly is St Patricks, an immoveable feast, when ye Irish of all stations and condicions were crosses in their hatts, some of pinns, some of green ribbon, and the vulgar superstitiously wear shamroges, 3 leav'd grass, which they likewise eat (they say) to cause
3504-631: The literature in Irish makes no distinction between clover and shamrock, and it is only in English that shamrock emerges as a distinct word. The first mention of shamrock in the English language occurs in 1571 in the work of the English Elizabethan scholar Edmund Campion . In his work Boke of the Histories of Irelande , Campion describes the habits of the "wild Irish" and states that the Irish ate shamrock: "Shamrotes, watercresses, rootes, and other herbes they feed upon". The statement that
3577-721: The matter were carried out in two separate botanical surveys in Ireland, one in 1893 and the other in 1988. The 1893 survey was carried out by Nathaniel Colgan , an amateur naturalist working as a clerk in Dublin ; while the 1988 survey was carried out by E. Charles Nelson , Director of the Irish National Botanic Gardens . Both surveys involved asking people from all across Ireland to send in examples of shamrock, which were then planted and allowed to flower, so that their botanical species could be identified. The results of both surveys were very similar, showing that
3650-409: The motive for putting them on the calendar these championships were keenly contested and the winners are due as much respect as those who won the events that have persisted through the years. Championships were raced on a mixture of hard surfaces and on grass depending on where they were held. Championships were not designated as grass track or hard track but rather as distances. After the late 1960s
3723-693: The national flower of Ireland. The men's under-23 champion is awarded to the first under-23 in the élite race. The junior road races are held on the same day as the élite and the time-trial championship is earlier in the week. The national criteriums are later in the summer. Courtesy Quay Cycles, Drogheda 1875–1905: Richard J. Mecredy , Arthur du Cros, Charlie Pease, Bob Reynolds 9 Championships each, Harry Reynolds 5 Championships, R. Hassard 6 Championships 25ml track: 1889: Arthur du Cros; 1890 & 1891 R.J. Mecredy; 1895: Harry Large; 1896: Harry Reynolds; 1909 Sam Cochrane; 1924 Culvenor Gibson. 50ml track: 1876: H. H. Law; 1896: M. S. Walsh; 1890s R. J. Mecredy won
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#17327980083953796-675: 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. The shamrock also appears in the emblems of a wide range of voluntary and non-state organisations in Ireland, such as the Irish Farmers Association , the Boy Scouts of Ireland association, Scouting Ireland Irish Girl Guides, and
3869-489: The organisers of meetings demanding a championship (county, provincial or national) to attract bigger gates. The number of championships was increased to meet this demand and this has created difficulties in compiling these lists because one cannot be sure that the absence of a result for an event is due to lack of research or the fact that the event did not take place in a particular year. There were, of course, core distances that were regularly raced for many years. No matter what
3942-430: The popularity of the shamrock as a symbol of Ireland grew, and it was depicted in many illustrations on items such as book covers and St. Patrick's Day postcards. It was also mentioned in many songs and ballads of the time. For example, a popular ballad called The Shamrock Shore lamented the state of Ireland in the nineteenth century. Another typical example of such a ballad appears in the works of Thomas Moore whose Oh
4015-459: The rural landscape; adding clover made livestock feed more nutritious. Honey production also rose drastically, and clover remained the main nectar source for bees until the mid-twentieth century. Clover was carried around the world as a crop by European colonists , and some clover species became invasive in some areas. Imports of guano and the development of the Haber-Bosch process in
4088-617: The series of medieval metrical poems about various Irish places called the Metrical Dindshenchus , a poem about Tailtiu or Teltown in County Meath describes it as a plain blossoming with flowering clover ( mag scothach scothshemrach ). Similarly, another story tells of how St. Brigid decided to stay in County Kildare when she saw the delightful plain covered in clover blossom ( scoth-shemrach ). However,
4161-407: The shamrock as Trifolium pratense , calling it White Field Clover. The botanist Carl Linnaeus in his 1737 work Flora Lapponica identifies the shamrock as Trifolium pratense , mentioning it by name as Chambroch , with the following curious remark: " Hiberni suo Chambroch, quod est Trifolium pratense purpureum, aluntur, celeres & promtissimi roburis " ('The Irish call it shamrock, which
4234-584: The shamrock has been used as a symbol of Ireland since the 18th century. The shamrock first began to evolve from a symbol purely associated with St. Patrick to an Irish national symbol when it was taken up as an emblem by rival militias during the turbulent politics of the late eighteenth century. On one side were the Volunteers (also known as the Irish Volunteers ), who were local militias in late 18th century Ireland , raised to defend Ireland from
4307-425: The shamrock was accompanied by a certain amount of ritual as one account explains: "The drowning of the shamrock" by no means implies it was necessary to get drunk in doing so. At the end of the day the shamrock which has been worn in the coat or the hat is removed and put into the final glass of grog or tumbler of punch; and when the health has been drunk or the toast honoured, the shamrock should be picked out from
4380-406: The similarity between the Irish (Gaelic) name for young clover seamróg , and the name for wood sorrel seamsóg . The situation regarding the identity of the shamrock was further confused by a London botanist James Ebenezer Bicheno , who proclaimed in a dissertation in 1830 that the real shamrock was Oxalis acetosella , a species of wood sorrel. Bichino falsely claimed that clover was not
4453-527: The small, few-seeded pods are enclosed in the calyx . Other closely related genera often called clovers include Melilotus (sweet clover) and Medicago ( alfalfa or Calvary clover ). As legumes , clovers fix nitrogen using symbiotic bacteria in their root nodules , and are used as an alternative or supplement to synthetic nitrogen fertilizers . They are also valuable food source for grazing livestock and bees. The domestication of clover caused substantial increases in agricultural productivity. Clover
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#17327980083954526-637: The snakes out of Ireland with a cross in one hand and a sprig of shamrocks in the other." Roger Homan writes, "We can perhaps see St Patrick drawing upon the visual concept of the triskele when he uses the shamrock to explain the Trinity". Why the Celts to whom St Patrick was preaching would have needed an explanation of the concept of a triple deity is not clear, since at least two separate triple goddesses are known to have been worshipped in pagan Ireland - Ériu , Fódla and Banba ; and Badb Catha , Macha and The Morrígan . The first written mention of
4599-482: The species Trifolium dubium (lesser/yellow clover, Irish: seamair bhuí ) or Trifolium repens (white clover, Irish: seamair bhán ). However, other three-leaved plants—such as Medicago lupulina , Trifolium pratense , and Oxalis acetosella —are sometimes called shamrocks. The shamrock was traditionally used for its medicinal properties, and was a popular motif in Victorian times. There
4672-420: The species in the survey are unique to Ireland, and all are common European species, so there is no botanical basis for the belief that the shamrock is a unique species of plant that only grows in Ireland. The word shamrock derives from seamair óg or young clover, and references to semair or clover appear in early Irish literature, generally as a description of a flowering clovered plain. For example, in
4745-743: The threat of French and Spanish invasion when regular British soldiers were withdrawn from Ireland to fight during the American Revolutionary War . On the other side were revolutionary nationalist groups, such as the United Irishmen . Among the Volunteers, examples of the use of the shamrock include its appearance on the guidon of the Royal Glin Hussars formed in July 1779 by the Knight of Glin , and its appearance on
4818-418: The tropics. They are small annual , biennial , or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants, typically growing up to 30 cm (12 in) tall. The leaves are trifoliate (rarely, they have four or more leaflets; the more leaflets the leaf has, the rarer it is; see four-leaf clover ), with stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers;
4891-457: The wearing of shamrocks: This plant is worn by the people in their hats upon the 17. Day of March yearly, (which is called St. Patrick's Day.) It being a current tradition, that by this Three Leafed Grass, he emblematically set forth to them the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. However that be, when they wet their Seamar-oge, they often commit excess in liquor, which is not a right keeping of a day to
4964-638: The woods as a hermit, lists wood sorrel among the plants he feeds upon. The English Elizabethan poet Edmund Spenser , writing soon after in 1596, described his observations of war-torn Munster after the Desmond Rebellion in his work A View of the Present State of Ireland . Here shamrock is described as a food eaten as a last resort by starving people desperate for any nourishment during a post-war famine: Anatomies of death, they spake like ghosts, crying out of theire graves; they did eat of
5037-400: The years there have been new championships added and older championships dropped as social and sporting attitudes changed. Up to the late 1960s the distances for track championships were affected by economic factors. Combined athletic and cycling meetings were held in every part of the country and attracted large attendances, the outstanding cyclists of the day were household names. This led to
5110-521: Was coined by Saint Patrick for the Holy Trinity , is commonly associated with clover, although alternatively sometimes with the various species within the genus Oxalis , which are also trifoliate. Clovers occasionally have four leaflets, instead of the usual three. These four-leaf clovers , like other rarities, are considered lucky. Clovers can also have five, six, or more leaflets, but these are rarer still. The clover's outer leaf structure varies in physical orientation. The record for most leaflets
5183-526: Was first domesticated in Spain in around the year 1000. During European urbanization, crop rotations involving clover became essential for replacing the fixed nitrogen exported to cities as food. Increased soil nitrogen levels from the spreading use of clover were one of the main reasons why European agricultural production in 1880 was about 275% of the production in 1750. Fields of clover, used as forage and newly-invented silage , became an important part of
5256-523: Was gleaned from: Shamrock A shamrock is a type of clover , used as a symbol of Ireland . Saint Patrick , one of Ireland's patron saints, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity . The name shamrock comes from Irish seamróg ( [ˈʃamˠɾˠoːɡ] ), which is the diminutive of the Irish word seamair and simply means "young clover". At most times , Shamrock refers to either
5329-476: Was used as their standard and was often depicted accompanied by shamrocks, and in 1799 a revolutionary journal entitled The Shamroc briefly appeared in which the aims of the rebellion were supported. Since the 1800 Acts of Union between Britain and Ireland the shamrock was incorporated into the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom , depicted growing from a single stem alongside the rose of England, and
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