The central three-legged symbol on the manhole cover harks all the way back to the Later Stone Age, before the Celts arrived in Ireland. The original meaning of the symbol is not known, but the Celts were quick to appropriate it, and it recurs in both pre-Christian and Christian Celtic symbolism. In addition, the ornamentation features trefoils — the Irish national symbol. According to the legend, Saint Patrick, the Irish Catholic patron saint, used the trefoil as an example of Christianity’s notion of a divine trinity.
The inscriptions also indicate the type of cover (WSCR = 'Water Service Control – Round') as well as the Gaelic word for water, “uisce”. This word also forms part of the term for one of the favourite Irish drinks, “uisce beatha” (water of life). Mispronunciation of this term was the origin of its famous and globally known nickname “whiskey”.
