Claddagh Ring - Origins

Origins

The Claddagh ring belongs to a group of European finger rings called "fede rings". The name "fede" comes from the Italian phrase mani in fede ("hands in faith" or "hands in loyalty"). These rings date from Roman times, when the gesture of clasped hands was a symbol of pledging vows, and they were used as engagement/wedding rings in medieval and Renaissance Europe.

Fede rings are cast in the form of two clasped hands, symbolizing faith, trust, or “plighted troth". The Claddagh ring is a variation on the fede ring, while the hands, heart, and crown motif was used in England in the early 18th century.

Galway has produced Claddagh rings continuously since at least 1700, but the name "Claddagh ring" was not used before the 1840s.

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.

There are many legends about the origins of the ring, particularly concerning Richard Joyce, a silversmith from Galway circa 1700, who is said to have invented the Claddagh design as we know it. His initials are in one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings but there are three other rings also made around that time, bearing the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade.

A more mystical legend is also associated with the Joyce family: Margaret Joyce used her inheritance (from her late husband) to build bridges in the province of Connacht, and in 1596 she remarried. She was rewarded for her charity works by an eagle which dropped the Claddagh Ring on her lap.

The Victorian antiquarian Sir William Jones described the Claddagh, and gives Chambers' Book of Days as the source, in his book Finger-Ring Lore. Jones says:

The clasped hands ... are... still the fashion, and in constant use in ... community Claddugh at Galway.... rarely with others than their own people. The wedding-ring is a heirloom in the family... transferred from the mother to the daughter who is first married, and so passes to her descendants. Many of these ... are very old.

There is a 1906 account by William Dillon. Dillon, a Galway jeweller, claimed that the "Claddagh" ring was worn in the Aran Isles, Connemara and beyond. Knowledge of the ring and its customs spread within the British Isles during the Victorian period, and this is when its name became established. Galway jewellers began to market it beyond the local area in the 19th century, More "widespread recognition" came in the 20th century.

American mineralogist and ring expert George Frederick Kunz does not mention the Claddagh ring in the text of his book, but he shows a photo of one, captioned with its correct name. Kunz merely addresses the importance of gold wedding rings in Ireland with absolutely no reference to the Claddagh other than the photo. The true story of the Claddagh ring is too loaded with myth to know what the truth is concerning its origins of design (beyond the Roman fede ring design) or earliest history. It is unclear exactly how and when the ring was brought to the U.S. Interestingly, McCarthy practically fails to address the subject of Irish rings at all.

Today, Claddagh rings are commonly worn, though slightly more commonly by those of Irish heritage. It is generally worn as a cultural symbol and/or as an engagement/wedding ring. Claddagh rings have been used often as plot devices in movies and television.