Sir, According to The Daily Telegraph (September 12th, "the shamrock is likely to be abandoned as a symbol of Ireland". Apparently Bord Failte wants to get away from the "essentially macho image" of Ireland, and feels that the shamrock is not recognised among people who do not holiday there.
This leaves me somewhat puzzled. What (other than its association with a male saint, or an overly Freudian interpretation of its trilobed pattern) is "macho" about the poor shamrock? And as for not being known just a few days ago, a French newspaper had a crossword puzzle clue involving the word trefle. Since it was a cryptic crossword, it was left to the solver to decide whether that meant dosh (as the clue seemed to suggest), or dover, or trefoil, or dubs(at cards) or what. Since the answer was EIRE, it was quite obvious that the intended meaning was shamrock" same as in l'equipe du trefle for the Irish rugby team.
Since it cannot be assumed that all the crossword puzzle solvers of a French daily, or all French rugby fans, have holidayed in Ireland, the association between the country and its plant emblem must surely be stronger than Bord Failte fears. If it is not too late already, allow me to put in a plea for the preservation of what appears to have become an endangered species the shamrock. Yours, etc., Ditton Road, Surbiton, Surrey.
