The Irish Claddagh Symbol

This week I listed an OOAK Connemara marble pendant featuring a vintage, sterling silver Claddagh charm.

The Claddagh heart is a well-known and internationally popular Irish design.  The Claddagh ring was the original format, and has been about for 300 years or so, but charms, pins and engravings based on the design are also found. This particular charm that I used is a sold silver pendant from the 1980s.

This famous design features a crowned heart clasped by two hands, which are clothed in gauntlet gloves. The hands symbolise friendship, the heart, love and the crown stands for loyalty. There are many modern variations in the design, including those with two hearts instead of one.

There also exists a variation without a crown, called the Fenian Claddagh. Historically it was adopted by Irish rebels who refused to recognise British rule.

ORIGINS

 

This class of ring belongs to a wide group of rings called Fede rings, which involve clasped hands in the design. Fede, (or Faith) finger rings date back to the Romans. However, it is not known when exactly the first Claddagh ring incorporating a heart was made, though it is believed to be a 17th Century development. It wouldn't be Irish without a few stories and legends surrounding its origin...

Claddagh was a small village outside Galway city, but is now part of the city itself. The oldest surviving Claddagh rings date back to the 1600s. Some of those bear the signature of Galway artisan, Bartholemew Fallon. 

There is a popular belief however, that the artist who first made the ring was a contemporary of Fallon's, fellow Galway man, Richard Joyce. He was kidnapped by pirates and sold to a Moorish goldsmith as a slave. He meticulously learned his master's craft and gained the respect of the goldsmith. When he was eventually released, he returned to Ireland where he put his smithing skills to use and created the famous ring. His branding and initials are also believed to be on some of the oldest surviving of these rings. 

However, Irish stories nearly always involve things happening thrice, so not surprisingly, there is a third goldsmith from the era also accredited with designing the ring, Thomas Meade of Kinsale. 

Who is to say which, if any, of these three jewellers was actually the first to design this famous emblem?

Those who prefer a more mythical view will tell you that the first Claddagh ring was dropped by an eagle into the lap of one Margaret Joyce, widow to a Spanish merchant named Domingo De Rona. Allegedly the majestic bird gave it to her as a reward for her charitable works.

Connemara marble Claddagh pendant

Today the  Claddagh ring is popular, particularly with the Irish diaspora, as a wedding or engagement ring.

The pendant and other variations are more often given as a gift of friendship. Whatever shape or form it comes in, the Claddagh motif is a powerful symbol of pride in Irish heritage.  I thought it very fitting to team the Claddagh charm with a gorgeous slab of indigenous Connemara marble, another intrinsically Irish treasure.

More from this blog:
Celtic Influences in my Designs
A little about Connemara marble 

A Little About Cork Red Marble

 

Ireland boasts a fair share of rare marbles. Cork red marble is a little less known in the jewellery world than the famous Connemara marble. This gorgeous, fiery stone is more often found in public buildings, and sometimes rosary beads, than in personal accessories. I am very proud to include this indigenous stone in my craft whenever I can get my hands on some beads. 

Cork red marble is mined in the South West of Ireland, in the region of Munster. Here's the science bit...It is a resedimented limestone, containing mollusks and other sea fossils suspended in red clay. It is thought these components were lifted from the ocean in turbulent storms and deposited on the land thousands of years ago.  Heat and pressure from rock and other deposits building up over centuries and centuries resulted in the formation of this hard marble known as Cork red.

The colour ranges in shade from a pale, pinkish coral tones to a deeper, or browner, brick red. The marbling is usually a pale, rose white-wash. Check out these images from the British Geological Survey. 

The paler varieties are often referred to as Rose Marble. The darker reds are not unlike red jasper in appearance but have distinctive marbling or patches. Historically, the stone was known as 'Rouge Royale.'

 

Famously it can be seen in the Chapel of St Patrick and the Saints of Ireland at Westminster Cathedral, London, alongside other Irish stones. (photo credit: Westminster Cathedral website)

Here in Dublin, the interior columns of John's Lane Church, Thomas St. are formed of Cork red marble.

If you are lucky owner of a piece of jewellery made of this rare stone, be careful how you treat it. It is a hard stone so shouldn't shatter as easily as some gemstones, but it wont take kindly to acids and chemical cleaners. Avoid ultra sonic cleaners too.

The kindest way to keep your Cork red marble and precious metal pieces looking well is to regularly use a silver polishing cloth on the metal and to store the piece wrapped in such a cloth or in an anti-tarnish box or baggie. Wipe any grime and residual perfumes cosmetics etc off the stone with a dry, lint free cloth or kitchen paper. An occasional wash in mild soapy water will keep silver or gold bright without damaging the marble. Pat the piece dry with kitchen paper and leave on a towel for a couple of hours at room temperature. Polish the metal parts with an appropriate cloth before storing.

Click for Rare Irish marble jewellery for sale on Etsy  

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