It's rare, but occasionally I stumble across this icon on a grave stone. It has to be one of the most romantic images I know of. It's a symbol of love created in the small Galway fishing village of Claddagh. The word “Claddagh” comes from the Irish term An Cladach, meaning a flat, stony shore.
The parts of the symbol are broken down as so,
Two hands (friendship) cradling a heart (love) topped by a crown (loyalty).
Legends behind the claddagh are many but one stands out as a triumph of the power that true love can hold...
Richard Joyce, a native of the small fishing village, was captured by Algerian pirates and sold as a slave to a Moorish goldsmith. When William III of England demanded the release of all British subjects, Joyce, too, was released. Not wanting to lose a valuable and skilled apprentice, the Moorish goldsmith offered Joyce a major portion of his wealth and his daughter in marriage, if Joyce would stay on in Algiers. Joyce refused the tempting offer and returned to the village of Claddagh where he had left behind the woman he loved. Some legends say that each day Joyce took a tiny bit of gold and saved it till he had enough to form a ring. Other accounts say he designed the symbol upon his return to Ireland. Either way, the ring he made stood for eternal love and was given, with his heart, to the woman who waited for him at home.
How to wear the Claddagh
If the ring is worn on the right hand with the crown facing out ward, the heart is available and looking for love.
If the crown is turned to face the wearer... love has been found and is being considered.
Once the ring has been transferred to the left hand, love has become eternal.
To find the Claddagh on a gravestone speaks to the love a couple shared in life and their promise to each other that not even death can take it from them.
Seriously... is that romantic or what?
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