Perhaps the most fantastic tale claiming to be part
of Claddagh history involves a king who fell in love with a peasant girl. Because of class distinctions between the two, the
king could not marry the girl he loved. His grief was too much for him to bear; and he killed himself. But his dying wish
was for his hands to be chopped off and placed around his heart as a symbol of his undying love. How gruesomely charming.
By tradition the ring is taken to signify the wish
that Love and friendship should reign supreme. The hands signify friendship, the crown loyalty, and the heart love. The ring
has become popular outside Connemara
since the middle of the last century - its spread being helped by the vast exodus from the West during the great Famine in
1847-49. These rings were kept as heirlooms with great pride and passed from mother to daughter. Today, the ring is worn extensively
across Ireland, either on the right hand with the heart turned outwards showing that the wearer is "fancy free" or with the
heart turned inwards to denote that he or she is "spoken for". The pride of place is on the left hand, with the heart turned
in, indicating that the wearer is happily married and the love and friendship will last forever, the two never separated.