There is an old saga, recorded in the 8th century A.D. that tells us of the beauty and physical nature of the Celtic people, in this case of a Celtic woman: Edaín, the loveliest girl in Ireland. The legend tells us of her charm and mesmerizing beauty:
"Her upper arms were as white as the snow of a single night, and they were soft and straight; and her clear and lovely cheeks were as red as the foxglove of the moor. [...]
The bright blush of the moon was in her noble face; the lifting of pride in her smooth brows; the ray of love-making in both her royal eyes; a dimple of sport in both her cheeks. [...]
She was the fairest and loveliest and most perfect of the women of the world that the eyes of men had ever seen; they thought she must be of the fairies."
The Tale of the CLADDAGH Rings
Claddagh itself refers to a small fishing village just near Galway city. The Claddagh ring supposedly originated in this area. The ring has a design of a heart being encircled by a pair of delicate hands with a crown above the heart (see picture above). In earlier times this design was the symbol of the "Fishing Kings of Claddagh" meaning 'in love and friendship let us reign'. In the 17th century the symbol was first depicted on a ring which became the fashionable exchange of friends or lovers. In marriage the heart was worn towards the wrist, otherwise towards the fingertips. There are many modern versions of the Claddagh Ring.
The original Claddagh ring is generally attributed to one Richard Joyce, a native of Galway, who, while being transported as a slave to the plantations of the West Indies, was captured by Mediterranean pirates and sold to a Moorish goldsmith who trained him in his craft. In 1689 he was released and returned to Galway and set up his shop in the Claddagh. (The Claddagh is said to be the oldest fishing village in Ireland). By tradition the ring is taken to signify the wish that Love and Friendship should reign supreme. The hands signify friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart love. The ring has become popular outside Connamera since the middle of the last century ~ its spread being helped by the vast exodus from the West during the great Famine in 1847-49. These rings were kept as heirlooms with great pride and passed from mother to daughter. Today, the ring is worn extensively across Ireland, either on the right hand with the heart turned outwards showing that the wearer is "fancy free" or with the heart turned inwards to denote that he or she is "spoken for". The pride of placement is on the left hand, with the heart turned in, indicating that the wearer is happily married.
Here are some folk legends about the Claddagh:
- Way back in the sandy mists of time, so the story went, it seemed there was a King who was madly in love with a peasant woman. But, as she was of a lower class, the love had to go unrequited. In dread despair the king killed himself and had his hands lopped off and placed around his heart as a symbol of his undying love for the woman. It is said to symbolize love (heart), friendship/faith (hands) and loyalty (crown). Two hands joined together in love and crowned by the Glory of Christ.
- There was a Dublin version of this Ring that appeared some 100 years back with two hands and two hearts but no crown. Some call this version the Fenian Claddagh.
- The crown to The Father, the left hand to the Son, and the right hand the Holy Ghost. This explanation is directly correlative to the Shamrock, one of the earliest symbols of the Holy Trinity among the Irish.
- Some will say Beathauile is the crown, Anu is the left hand, and the Dagda Mór is the right hand, while the heart represents the hearts of all mankind and that which gives the everlasting music to the Gael.
As another legend has it, the town developed the ring (originally a sigil to be painted on ships and sails) to be worn by sailors of Claddagh. When these sailors would run into other fishermen in their waters, they would check for the sigil, and if they did not find it, they would kill them.
NOTE: This text about the Claddagh Rings is not mine. It is copyrighted and given to me through numerous hands.
I'm currently trying to track down the author of these words.
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