Editing Claddagh ring

{{short description|Traditional Irish ring}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
[[Image:Claddaghring.jpg|thumb|Claddagh ring]]

A '''Claddagh ring''' ({{langx|ga|fáinne an Chladaigh}}) is a traditional Irish ring with three primary features: a heart to represent love, a crown to represent loyalty, and two clasped hands which symbolise friendship.<ref name="Kunz">George Frederick Kunz (1911). ''[https://archive.org/details/ringsforfingerf00kunzgoog Rings for the Finger: From the Earliest Known Times, to the Present, with Full Descriptions of the Origin, Early Making, Materials, the Archaeology, History, for Affection, for Love, for Engagement, for Wedding, Commemorative, Mourning, Etc.]'' Philadelphia; London: J. B. Lippincott Co.</ref><ref name="Jones">William Jones (1877). ''[https://archive.org/details/fingerringlorehi00jonerich Finger Ring Lore: Historical, Legendary, Anecdotal]''. London: Chatto and Windus. {{oclc|181875403}}.</ref> The design and customs associated with it originated in [[Claddagh]], [[County Galway]]. Its modern form was first produced in the 17th century.<ref name="Mulveen">Shane Dawson (1994). "Galway Goldsmiths, Their Marks and Ware". ''Journal of the [[Galway Archaeological and Historical Society]]''. {{JSTOR|25535635}}. '''46''':43–64.</ref> Claddagh rings have been used as [[Engagement ring|engagement]] and [[wedding ring]]s in [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and [[Renaissance|Renaissance Europe]]. The oldest surviving examples of the Claddagh ring have been forged by [[Bartholomew Fallon]].

==Description==
The Claddagh ring belongs to a group of European finger rings called [[fede ring]]s.<ref name="Scarisbrick">Scarisbrick and Henig, Finger Rings, Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2003</ref><ref name="Delamer">{{cite journal |author=Delamer |first=Ida |year=1996 |title=The Claddagh Ring |journal=Irish Arts Review |volume=12 |pages=181–187 |jstor=20492901}}</ref> The name derives from the Italian phrase ''{{lang|it|mani in fede}}'' ("hands [joined] in faith" or "hands [joined] in loyalty"). This group dates to [[Ancient Rome]], where the gesture of clasping hands meant pledging vows. Cut or cast in [[bezel (jewellery)|bezel]]s, they were used as [[Engagement ring|engagement]] and [[wedding ring]]s in medieval and Renaissance Europe to signify "plighted troth".<ref name="Jones"/><ref name="Scarisbrick"/><ref>[[John Aubrey|Aubrey, John]], ''Miscellanies'', London, 1696: "I have seen some Rings made for sweet-hearts, with a Heart enamelled held between two right hands."</ref>

In recent years, it has been embellished with interlace designs and combined with other Celtic and Irish symbols, corresponding with its popularity as an emblem of Irish identity.<ref name="Stephen Walker">Stephen Walker (2013) ''The Modern History of Celtic Jewellery: 1840-1980'', Walker Metalsmiths {{ISBN|9780615805290}}.</ref>

==Origins==
[[Galway]] has produced Claddagh rings continuously since at least 1700,<ref name="Mulveen"/> but the name "Claddagh ring" was not used before the 1830s.<ref name="Delamer"/><ref name="places.galwaylibrary.ie">[http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/history/chapter265.html A freely available but incomplete copy of Delamer's article, The Claddagh Ring (1996), without pictures].</ref><ref>Pearsall, Judy [ed.]. (2004) "Claddagh Ring" in ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary'', Oxford University Press.</ref> Although there are various myths and legends around the origin of the Claddagh ring, it is almost certain that it originated in or close to the small fishing village of [[Claddagh]] in Galway.<ref name="places.galwaylibrary.ie"/>

As an example of a maker, [[Bartholomew Fallon]] was a 17th-century Irish [[goldsmith]], based in Galway, who made Claddagh rings until circa 1700. His name first appears in the will of one Dominick Martin, also a jeweller, dated 26 January 1676, in which Martin willed Fallon some of his tools. Fallon continued working as a goldsmith until 1700. His are among the oldest surviving examples of the Claddagh ring, in many cases bearing his signature.<ref>Adrian James Martyn. (2001) ''[[The Tribes of Galway]]'', p.&nbsp;60.</ref>

There are many [[legend]]s about the origins of the ring, particularly concerning [[Richard Joyce (goldsmith)|Richard Joyce]], a [[silversmith]] from Galway ''circa'' 1700, who is said to have invented the Claddagh design.<ref name="Quinn">George Quinn. (1970) [http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/history/chapter267.html The Claddagh Ring], ''The Mantle'', 13:9–13.</ref><ref name="Mulveen"/> Legend has it that Joyce was captured and enslaved by [[Corsairs of Algiers|Algerian Corsairs]] around 1675 while on a passage to the West Indies; he was sold into slavery to a [[Moors|Moorish]] goldsmith who taught him the craft.<ref name="Stephen Walker"/> [[William III of England|King William III]] sent an ambassador to Algeria to demand the release of any and all British subjects who were enslaved in that country, which at the time would have included Richard Joyce. After fourteen years, Joyce was released and returned to Galway and brought along with him the ring he had fashioned while in captivity: what we've come to know as the Claddagh. He gave the ring to his sweetheart, married, and became a goldsmith with "considerable success".<ref>James Hardiman (1820), ''The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway'', {{cite web |url=http://claddagh.com/library/joyes.htm |title=Extracts from the History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway |access-date=2013-09-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003022908/http://claddagh.com/library/joyes.htm |archive-date=3 October 2013 }}</ref> His initials are in one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings,<ref name="Delamer"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://weldons.ie/rare-claddagh-ring-by-richard-joyce/|title=Richard Joyce Claddagh Ring|date=11 May 2011 |publisher=JW Weldon of Dublin}}</ref> but there are three other rings also made around that time bearing the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade.<ref name="Delamer"/>

The Victorian [[antiquarian]] Sir William Jones described the Claddagh, and gives [[Chambers Book of Days|Chambers' ''Book of Days'']]<ref>Robert Chambers. (1863) ''Book of Days: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities''.</ref> as the source, in his book ''Finger-Ring Lore''. Jones says:<ref name="Jones"/> {{blockquote|The clasped hands [style ring]... are... still the fashion, and in constant use in [the]... community [of] Claddugh {{sic}} at [County] Galway.... [They] rarely [intermarry] with others than their own people.}}

An account written in 1906 by William Dillon, a Galway jeweller, claimed that the "Claddagh" ring was worn in the [[Aran Isles]], [[Connemara]] and beyond.<ref name="William Dillon">William Dillon. (1906) ''Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society'', 5.</ref> Knowledge of the ring and its customs spread within Ireland and Britain during the Victorian period, and this is when its name became established.<ref name="Delamer"/> Galway jewellers began to market it beyond the local area in the 19th century.<ref name="Delamer"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.claddaghring.ie/content/8-historical-letters|title=Letters to Dillon's of Galway|publisher=Thomas Dillon's Claddagh Gold Museum}}</ref> Further recognition came in the 20th century.<ref name=McCrum>{{cite journal
|author= McCrum, Elizabeth
|title= Irish Victorian Jewellery
|jstor=20491715
|year=1985
|journal=Irish Arts Review
|volume=2
|issue=1
|pages=18–21}}</ref>

==Usage and symbolism==
The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a [[Heart (symbol)|heart]] and usually surmounted by a [[Crown (headgear)|crown]]. These elements symbolize the qualities of love (the heart), [[friendship]] (the hands), and [[loyalty]] (the crown). A "[[Fenian]]" Claddagh ring, without a crown, is a slightly different take on the design but has not achieved the level of popularity of the crowned version. Claddagh rings are relatively popular among the Irish<ref name="Quinn"/> and those of Irish heritage, such as Irish Americans,<ref>Paddy Sammon. (2002) ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061016112002/http://www.greenspeak.info/book/examples/claddagh.ring.php Greenspeak: Ireland in Her Own Words]}}'', Town House Press, Dublin, Ireland. {{ISBN|1-86059-144-2}}.</ref> as cultural symbols and as friendship, engagement, and wedding rings.<ref name="Murphy"/>

While Claddagh rings are sometimes used as friendship rings, they are most commonly used as engagement and wedding rings. Mothers sometimes give these rings to their daughters when they come of age. Several mottos and wishes are associated with the ring, such as: "Let love and friendship reign."<ref>Jo O'Donoghue and Sean McMahon (2004) ''Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable''</ref> In Ireland, the United States, Canada, and other parts of the Irish diaspora, the Claddagh is sometimes handed down mother-to-eldest daughter or grandmother-to-granddaughter.<ref>Patricia McAdoo. (2005) ''Claddagh: The Tale of the Ring: A Galway Tale'', Galway Online. {{ISBN|9780955165207}}.</ref>

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Relationship status
! !! Left hand !! right hand
|-
! Heart pointing in
| Married || In a relationship
|-
! Heart pointing out
| Engaged || Single
|-
|}

According to Irish author Colin Murphy, a Claddagh ring is traditionally worn to convey the wearer's relationship status:<ref name="Murphy">Colin Murphy and Donal O'Dea. (2006) ''The Feckin' Book of Everything Irish'', Barnes & Nobles, New York, NY, p. 126. {{ISBN|0-7607-8219-9}}</ref>
#On the right hand with the point of the heart toward the fingertips: the wearer is single and might be looking for love.
#On the right hand with the point of the heart toward the wrist: the wearer is in a relationship; someone "has captured their heart"
#On the left ring finger with the point of the heart toward the fingertips: the wearer is engaged.
#On the left ring finger with the point of the heart toward the wrist: the wearer is married.

In both Ireland and the Irish diaspora, other localized variations and oral traditions involve the hand and the finger on which the Claddagh is worn. Folklore about the ring is relatively recent, not ancient, with the lore about them almost wholly based in oral tradition; there is "very little native Irish writing about the ring", hence, the difficulty today in finding any scholarly or non-commercial source that explains the traditional ways of wearing the ring.<ref name="McMahon">Seán McMahon. (2005) ''Story of the Claddagh Ring'', Mercier Press, Cork, Ireland.</ref>

== Modern usage ==
The Claddagh ring can be seen on the fingers of political figures, Hollywood icons, and literary figures. American presidents  [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Bill Clinton]] have worn the Claddagh ring. Kennedy and his wife received theirs on a trip to Galway in 1963. Reagan and Clinton both received the rings as a gift from Ireland. Royalty, such as [[Queen Victoria]], King [[Edward VII]], and Queen Alexandria, were seen wearing the Claddagh ring after 1849 when they traveled to Ireland. After visiting Ireland with his wife, [[Walt Disney]] was seen wearing the Claddagh ring. It is also apparent on the Partners Statue in Disney World. His ring was facing outward on the statue, although he was married.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Famous Claddagh Rings |url=https://www.thecladdagh.com |website=Claddagh Jewellers From Galway with Love.}}</ref>

The ring can be found on actors such as [[Maureen O'Hara]] and [[John Wayne]], who received their rings during the movie "The Quiet Man". [[Peter O'Toole]] and [[Daniel Day-Lewis]] were frequently seen wearing the Claddagh ring, as well as [[Mia Farrow]] and [[Gabriel Byrne]]. [[Jim Morrison]] and [[Patricia Kennealy-Morrison|Patricia Kennealy]] completed their Celtic wedding with Claddagh rings.<ref name=":0" /> Brothers [[Liam Gallagher]] and [[Noel Gallagher]] of English rock band [[Oasis (band)]] are of Irish heritage and have worn matching Claddagh rings over the years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Noel & Liam Gallagher - GQ - February 1998
| date=February 1998 |url=https://oasisinterviews.blogspot.com/1998/02/noel-liam-gallagher-gq-february-1998.html?m=1}}</ref>

In the television show ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', the Claddagh ring is seen when Angel presents the ring to Buffy as a birthday present.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Potts |first=Donna |date=2003-01-01 |title=Convents, Claddagh Rings, and Even The Book of Kells: Representing the Irish in Buffy the Vampire Slayer |url=https://www.academia.edu/399241 |journal=SIMILE: Studies in Media & Information Literacy …}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Ireland}}
<!-- alphabetical order please [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
* {{Annotated link |Ecclesiastical ring}}
* {{Annotated link |Engagement ring}}
* {{Annotated link |Luckenbooth brooch}}
* {{Annotated link |Pre-engagement ring}}
* {{Annotated link |Wedding ring}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O118499/ring/ 18th century Claddagh ring] – [[Victoria and Albert museum]]

[[Category:17th-century introductions]]
[[Category:Culture in Galway (city)]]
[[Category:Engagement]]
[[Category:Culture of Ireland]]
[[Category:Rings (jewellery)]]
[[Category:Wedding objects]]
[[Category:Heart symbols]]