The secret of the Claddagh ring

Many of you members here might have bought or offered to someone you know a ring that you found on a market stall or in a jewelers because you either knew the symbolism of offering this ring or thought it looked good or quite simply because you saw other people who had one and wanted the same…

This one :



Having Irish origins and knowing the significance of the Claddagh ring (and proud of my celtic ancestory I am), about 14 years ago I decided to offer this ring to Mrs R, (please consider that we are not married but living in happy sin with no intention of one day signing a piece of paper just to say that we have deep love for each other and are sleeping in the same bed)!

Mrs R who is French BUT has celtic origins too (Brittany), did not know the full meaning of this ring so I explained to her the symbolism when I offered it to her (I obtained one from an Irish Goldsmith in Claddagh for both of us). She of course happily accepted...

This is the one that we both wear :



The full story of the Claddagh ring is as follows :

The meaning, significance and history of the Irish Claddagh ring has a rich ancient past that dates back to over 300 years.

The design of the Claddagh ring and even the way the ring is worn are all deeply rooted in Irish tradition.

Today, the meaning of the Claddagh ring and the significance of wearing Claddagh rings has spread far and wide. The Claddagh ring is traditionally made and worn far beyond the small fishing village in Ireland where the story apparently started.

So… what is this ring and what do Claddagh rings symbolise?

The meaning of the Claddagh ring is what gives the ring it's significance.

The hands of the ring holding the heart and the hands show friendship and togetherness, the heart itself means love and the crown in the claddagh ring signifies loyalty

The extremely deep and true meaning of the Claddagh ring has also put it into a group of rings referred to as faith rings.

Let Love and Friendhsip Reign Forever.

Story of the Claddagh ring.

The history of the Claddagh ring dates back to over 350 years in a tiny fishing village in Ireland called The Claddagh

Link here :

www.claddaghns.ie...

The word Claddagh itself comes from the Irish term 'An Cladach' that means a 'flat stony shore'.

Two theories explain the first occurence of the Claddagh Irish ring.

Theory 1 :

Margaret Joyce inherited a huge amount of money from her late husband Domingo de Rona. A rich Spanish merchant in Ireland. Later on she married the Mayor of Galway in 1596 (Oliver Og French)and and used her inherited wealth to construct many bridges in Connacht.

The first Claddagh ring was supposed to be her providential reward and was dropped by an eagle into her lap.

Personally I believe this to be a load of Beau Locks...

Theory 2…

For which I personally adhere to : A Galway man called Richard Joyce was captured by the Algerians and sold as a slave to a Moorish goldsmith.

In the late 1600s William III of England demanded the release of all British subjects and Richard was released from slavery too. The goldsmith offered Dick (or Richard if you prefer) major portion of his wealth and also his only daughter in marriage, if he agreed to stay in Algeria.

Story says that, Richard refused the offer and made his way back to his native village with the first Claddagh ring.

An addition to this story states that before his capture he had promised marriage to a young lady from Claddagh and upon his return from captivity she was still waiting for him and thus they married using the ring as a bond...

Now... how do you wear the Claddagh ring? :

The full significance of the Claddagh ring is not just the crown, heart and hands, it extends also to the hand on which the ring is worn and direction in which the crown on the ring points.

In case of a married or engaged person Claddagh rings are worn on the left hand with the crown pointing away from the heart. For a person considering love or partenership the ring is worn on the right hand with the crown pointing away from the heart.

For a person with no interest in a relationship, the ring is worn on the right hand with the crown pointing towards the heart.

Something that Mrs R and i have also personally added to this tradition is that NEVER do we take our rings off unless really neccessary...

If however, one of us has does take our ring off, we have both decided that the other half should put the ring back on...

As i said earlier on at the beginning of this post, we are living in sin so to speak.

We both wear our rings on the right hand with the point of the heart in direction of our own heart... the day that (AND... IF) we decide to get married, of course the ring will change hands and direction.

Hope this story was of some interest to you folks and remember, this ring can be offered to a friend or a loved one...

Kindest respects

Rodinus

Ps. Sorry if i do not follow up with all answers this wfor the next couple of days, but we are away for the weekend visiting the famous site of Rennes-le-Château in the Languedoc (remember the story of the tresure?)

Link here : www.languedocmysteries.info...

reply to post by Rodinus


lovely! Nice to see the Claddagh ring is still popular.

Me and some friends used to have great fun wearing them as teenagers, using them to show each other our relationship status

I love your version of the ring an like the idea of incorporating it into a wedding band, im engaged at the moment :-)

S+F

Originally posted by Lady_Tuatha
reply to post by Rodinus

 

lovely! Nice to see the Claddagh ring is still popular.

Me and some friends used to have great fun wearing them as teenagers, using them to show each other our relationship status

I love your version of the ring an like the idea of incorporating it into a wedding band, im engaged at the moment :-)

S+F

Funny in a way...

I live in France and many people wear it because they find it nice looking, it is always great to see their reaction when i tell them the story

And of course in these times of not having alot of money, what more could you ask for (engagement/wedding ring with a wonderful story all rolled into one!?

Kindest respects

Rodinus

My sister gave me a claddah ring 25 years ago, when we were travelling through Ireland. It meant the world to me. more than just a ring. She is my best friend, my kindred spirit.
I gave it to someone years ago along with my heart.
Hope that one day I get it back But I dare say it is gone.

reply to post by Rodinus


Thank you for sharing about the ring. Theory 2 sounds about right and the way it should be.

please consider that we are not married but living in happy sin with no intention of one day signing a piece of paper just to say that we have deep love for each other and are sleeping in the same bed

Theres an easy work around and if done this way can not be undone. There is no need for any governments permission either. All you have to do is find a pastor or parson to marry you and record it in the family bible. There is a page for this provided in almost all bibles. Once the ceremony is preformed the pastor/parson signs the page along with you and your wife plus two witnesses. The nice part is that no court of law will touch it as it is out of there jurisdiction to do so. The government and its courts are not made a part of the marriage via a government license.

This is what my wife and I did as we are committed to each other for life and beyond. We cut out the death do us part bit. Would have loved to had ours done with Claddagh wedding rings. Also wanted Celtic knots but nothing was available.

Great post Rodinus S&F

Theres an easy work around and if done this way can not be undone. There is no need for any governments permission either. All you have to do is find a pastor or parson to marry you and record it in the family bible. There is a page for this provided in almost all bibles. Once the ceremony is preformed the pastor/parson signs the page along with you and your wife plus two witnesses. The nice part is that no court of law will touch it as it is out of there jurisdiction to do so. The government and its courts are not made a part of the marriage via a government license.

My pleasure

Thanks for the tip about marriage, but to be totally honest with you, neither Mrs R or myself are believers so the bible would not change anything for us.

We are in France so the laws are not the same as they would be in the USA, if one day we wanted to "officialise" our reunion for legal reasons there is a solution over here which exists called PACS (Civil solidarity pact) : A form of civil union between two adults (same-sex or opposite-sex) for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage. The PACS was voted by the French Parliament in November 1999

Link here : en.wikipedia.org...

But... we are happy as we are "Living in sin" so to speak.

Kindest respects

Rodinus