In Depth

Souvenir Stories: The Claddagh Ring

The delicate Claddagh (pronounced Clod-uh) ring has become synonymous with Ireland and its diaspora. It originated here, or more precisely, just over the Father Griffin Bridge, on the west bank of the River Corrib, in the town of Claddagh. It's now a residential satellite to Galway, but in ancient times it was a kingdom with its own laws, fleet, and customs. The earliest known Claddagh ring was made in the 17th century for a wedding.

The ring features two hands holding a heart topped by a crown. The hands are said to represent friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart love -- the three ingredients of a perfect marriage. Originally, the ring was a wedding band worn facing out for engagement and facing in for marriage. Though no longer widely worn as a wedding band, it is still frequently worn in Ireland by men and women as a friendship ring and makes a lovely memento.

City of Tribes

By the 15th century, 14 wealthy merchant families ruled the Galway Town, giving it the nickname it still bears today -- "City of Tribes." These families, mostly of Welsh and Norman origin, ruled as an oligarchy, and you still see storefronts and businesses bearing these names today: Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Darcy, Deane, Font, Ffrench, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris, and Skerret.