What's the Irish Dope on Claddagh rings?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This is part GQ, part IMHO; I figured I’d play it safe and put it here. :slight_smile:

I am an American (of half-Irish descent) who has been wearing a Claddagh ring – crown down, on my left ring finger – for many years. I recently flipped it over, as the result of meeting my SO, and switched it to my left middle finger in the belief that it’s the more “traditional” Claddagh ring finger, because people used to believe that a vein from the heart went directly through the middle finger. At least, that’s what I remember hearing.

Anyway, flipping it over got me wondering: is it actually common for Irish people to wear these rings, or is it something that has been popularized outside of Ireland? If they are worn, is the “crown down = available” convention typically followed?

I did a little (very little) research online, and found the following info in the Story of the Claddagh Ring:

I didn’t know about the left hand/right hand thing; I thought the ring was always worn on the left hand. Online sources also seem to indicate that it is always worn on the ring finger (of whichever hand) – I haven’t found anything to back up my “middle finger” theory.

So, what’s the Straight Dope on these things? Left hand? Right hand? Ring finger? Middle finger? Only worn by people who wish they were in Ireland? :wink:

2

My wife and I wear our Claddagh wedding rings on our left ring fingers, crown turned outward (yes, we’re both of Irish descent).

The quoted portion of your post pretty much sums up the way I’ve heard it goes.

3

Married an Irish (Dublin) girl myself; we wear our claddaghs crown-out on our middle fingers; I have to wear mine on my right hand, though, as I get awful eczema on my left hand.
I have been angrily accosted by women who demand to know “Where’s my wedding ring?!?” because of my non-traditional choice. They feel they’re protecting my wife’s interests, but she does quite well on her own, thank you very much…

4

Cecil’s Minions Speak:

5

I’m single (rather permanently so), but I wear it on my left ring finger, as I can’t deal with rings on my right hand. Not to mention, it’s the only finger it fits on well.

6

I (of mostly Irish descent) wear my claddagh ring on my right little finger, crown down, as I am single. I couldn’t find a claddagh ring to fit my freakish ring finger (see Pit rant re: monster hands). I would like one, though. I’m thinking of searching for one.

7

Rings can be resized, Harimad-sol. I can’t see why yours couldn’t be.

8

The band is very thin and I don’t want to do it with this one, especially since I bet having it resized would cost more than the ring did. Plus, almost all the marcasites have fallen out. The ring has been through a lot.

9

Thanks for all of the replies!

I always had the crown up/down thing right, I just wasn’t sure about which hand and which finger. Sounds like the left hand is the more “serious” hand (which makes sense), but that either the middle or ring finger is ok. I also wasn’t sure if this is something that’s often done in Ireland, by actual Irish people, or if it’s something that has simply been popularized outside of Ireland as a way of saying “hey, I’m of Irish descent.” Seems like I wouldn’t get laughed at if I showed up in Dublin with my Claddagh on – or at least, the Claddagh wouldn’t be the reason for the laughter. :wink:

I’ve always known that I don’t want to wear my Claddagh crown-up on my left ring finger unless I’m married: I’d worn it on that finger – crown-down – since I got it, but shortly after I flipped it I ordered a ring that would fit on my middle finger. Now that I know about the right hand/left hand thing, I have moved it to my right hand: the SO and I are just getting started (which probably makes him more of a BF than an SO, but oh well), and while I definitely consider myself “off the market” we have yet to say the “L” word to each other. If/when things get long-term serious, I’ll switch it to my left hand – but still the middle finger.

Some people probably think that I’m getting way too carried away with this, but I’ve always liked the symbolism of the Claddagh and I figure if I’m going to wear it, I may as well wear it “right.” :slight_smile: It’s not something anyone else ever notices, anyway. The BF/SO doesn’t even know about the symbolism, though he has noticed that I wear a Claddagh – he just thinks it means I’m Irish. I might tell him about the other stuff someday. :wink:

If you don’t mind a very simple look, in either silver or gold, I can highly recommend ShopIrish.com. I own 4 Claddaghs (I wear both silver and gold, so I have 1 of each for my ring finger and 1 of each for my middle finger), and got 3 of them from this site – 2 just last month. Decent prices, good service. :slight_smile:

10

Just wanted to let you know that this Paddy wasn’t ignoring you. I just didn’t have a fucking clue about the use of Claddagh rings although a lot of people have them over here :slight_smile:

I only knew about which way to put the heart if you’re attached/not attached.

11

So if you’re single, the ‘point’ of the heart points toward your fingertip, and the ‘lobes’ point toward your hand? (Or: If you’re single, the heart is upright when you’re punching someone in the face?)