Fashion house Hermes have made a major faux pax – and branded a four leaf clover as Ireland’s national symbol on an exclusive one-off handbag.

The Irish Times reports that the Paris based company has produced a crocodile-skin handbag to honor Ireland but with the clover and not the shamrock as the emblem.

The bag, labelled a Passe-Guide Ireland by the company, is expected to sell for almost $40,000 when it is auctioned in London next month.

Famous for its silk ties, scarves and leather bags, Hermes have made the same mistake as the producers of an O-Bama t-shirt in New York who also featured a four-leaf clover instead of the three leaf shamrock.

A spokeswoman for the company said: “The romanticism and mystery of the Emerald Isle is captured in the vivid green crocodile skin.

“The colour is a deep shade developed by Hermès specifically for this project and christened Irish green. The handbag has silver fittings and an interior lined with butter-soft lambskin.

“The pièce de résistance is an attached lucky charm, an over-sized four- leaf clover – also in Irish green crocodile.”

Hermes introduced the Passe-Guide model in 1975. The report states that all Passe-Guide bags have metallic fittings and the name and clasp refer to the ring at the front of Roman chariots that kept the reins of the carriage in place.

Auctioneers Christies said: “Hermès have created four one-of-a-kind versions of its Passe- Guide handbag, representing England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales; a tribute to the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“Each one features a “special lucky charm attachment; a humorous tribute to each country.

“The England version has a black fur charm; a nod to the iconic bearskin hats of the Queen’s Guard. The Wales bag has a fierce Welsh dragon and the Scotland bag bears a jumbo kilt pin.”