The Story of the Claddagh Ring (Celtic Ireland) Book

"Let love and friendship reign!" is the motto of the famous Irish Claddagh ring. This lovely token of fealty - a ring in gold or silver comprising two hands surrounding a heart and surmounted by a crown - takes its name from the Claddagh, an ancient fishing village that is now part of Galway city. The earliest surviving examples are from about 1700 but it is known that the rings were popular much earlier than this. Tradition has it that in the Claddagh these rings were handed down from mother to daughter. Now the Claddagh ring is a sought-after piece of jewelery and a symbol of romance the world over. About the Author Sean McMahon was born in Derry in 1931 and he educated at St Derrys Columbs College and in Queen's University in Belfast. He returned to Derry to teach in St Columbs and taught Mathematics until his retirement in 1988. During his teaching years he staged many productions of works by Shakespeare and modern dramatists both for St Columbs and for amateur theater groups in Derry. He also wrote the lyrics for musical shows. His literary career properly began with his anthology The Best from the Bell, which was followed by A Book of Irish Quotations and Rich and Rare, an anthology of prose and verse. Over the past twenty years he has written and edited dozens of books, including biographies of Ulster writers Sam Hanna Bell and Robert Lynd, the bestselling A Short History of Ireland and books on all aspects of Irish life and culture, including A Short History of Ulster, The Island of Saints and Scholars and Irish Names for Children. His next book will be a Derry anthology.Read More