As any Irish person will tell you, we simply love a good old fashioned tale.
I suppose that is why there are many legends surrounding the actual origins of the Claddagh ring. The one that seems most widely accepted is the one about Richard Joyce, a silversmith from Galway in the early 1700's.
Legend has it, he created the Claddagh jewelry designs we use today. All Claddaghs are designed with hands representing friendship encircling a heart that depicts love, topped with a crown signifigning loyalty.
The tales goes something like this ~ Joyce was captured and enslaved by Algerian Corsairs around 1675 while on a passage to the West Indies and was later sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith who taught him the craft.
After fourteen years of slavery, Joyce was released and returned to Galway when King William III decreed the release of all British subject. Joyce brought the ring that he had created while in captivity back to Galwa, gave it to his sweetheart whom he later married, and became a goldsmith with "considerable success."
His initials are inscribed in one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings, however it is important to note, there are three other rings also found which were made during that time, those bearing the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade, so it is difficult to surmise who was the teacher and who was the student?
However, like any good legend, the truth lies not always in the facts, but rather in the story you want to believe.
unique irish design