Our area has an interesting connection with the history of the tradition of shamrock in Ireland. In the late 19th century an amateur botanist by the name of Nathaniel Colgan lived at No. 1 Belgrave Road. It was at this time that he carried out his research to identify which species of plant were commonly used as "shamrock" in different parts of the country. Wikipedia states:

"Colgan is noted for his work in identifying the botanical species meant by the term 'shamrock' in the 1890s. He did this by requesting people from around Ireland send him specimens of what they believed to be an Irish shamrock. After tending these specimens until they flowered, Colgan identified five most common plant species. The most common was yellow clover, followed by white clover, red clover, black medic and finally wood sorrel."  [Full article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Colgan ]