The Story Behind Claddagh

Two hands clasping a heart is a romantic feature of the legendary symbol of love; with a crown surmounted on the head; claddagh. This adventurous symbol has an Irish origin but has been used by a wide range of cultures as a symbol to correspond with love (the heart), friendship (the hands) and loyalty (the crown). The claddagh has been associated to imply that "I will give you my heart with my hands, and crown it with love" as the distinctive design features.

Traditionally, the claddagh has been worn as a ring to express a person's availability to romantic relationship. If the ring was worn with the heart spotting away from the wearer's body on the right hand finger, it meant that the person wearing it was not in any romantic relationship with any one and was ready for an engagement. If claddagh was worn on the right hand finger while the heart pointing towards the body of the wearer, it signified that the person wearing it was in relationship and did not require any other lover as she/he ha already "worn someone heart". If the ring was worn on the left hand finger pointing away from the wearer's body indicated that the wearer was in an engagement, while if it was pointing towards the body of the wearer on the left hand finger it meant that the person wearing it is married.

The claddagh sign began many centuries ago from a fishing village known as Claddagh, an Irish township. The fishermen from the river Corrib; where it meets the Galway bay used the sign as a title and crest; "fishing Kings of Claddagh". As time went on, the sign started being used by the village as an emblem before being coined by travelers who used to pass by the river while visiting abroad. One legendary tale that explains the emergence and popularity of the claddagh is that which involves an Irishwoman by the name of Margaret Joyce way back in the 16th century. Margaret had been married to a wealthy merchant of Spanish origin and followed him to his homeland. After some years together, the merchant died and left Margaret with great wealth. She later on returned to her homeland and married again to Galway's mayor. She used the money she had to various community projects such as building of bridges in the Connacht province. As the myth explicates, one day a mythical dropped a ring as it was flying up in the sky as a reward to her community charity work. And that is how the claddagh ring came into existence.

There are numerous explanatory mythical tales that tries to explain how the claddagh came into being. The Margaret story alleges that while she was exploring West Indies, she was kidnapped and sold as a slave to a goldsmith. This is where she mastered the art and made her first claddagh ring. The locals loved it and wanted her to do more for money. She therefore opened up a goldsmith shop and started doing more for money. Till this date the ring has spread to various parts of the world and has been used widely as a sign of romance and authenticity.