The Claddagh Ring - Irish Tradition turned into commerce?

Evenstar1002

Hey everyone!

I'm a student, doing a research paper on the Claddagh Ring. I'm trying to answer the question if the Claddagh ring is still solely an Irish tradition or if rather it has turned into an object of commerce.

If you could help me with that little poll above, I'd be forever thankful!

And if you have a few more minutes and could answer the question of how much you know about the origin of the ring, I'd be even more greatful.

Thank you in advance!

wantacookie

I think they were/are a symbol of your relationship status, depending on what way the heart is pointing and what hand it is on?

I googled it out of curiosity and the wikipedia page on them confirmed what I thought.

They are typically worn by Irish people and they are a twist on a European design from years ago.

From what I looked up, it seems I've been wearing mine on the wrong hand! (didn't know of the significance of the hand, just the direction of the heart)

Evenstar1002

Thank you for your quick reply, wantacookie!

I have been googling the topic for quiet a while now (and learned all about the different ways of wearing it, it's legend and so on) but I could not find answers to some of my questions.

Like, if it's still just Irish people wearing the ring or if it's more the tourists who buy the ring. Is it still popular among the Irish or gone out of fashion? These kind of things, you know? So I hope that some of you guys here can help me answer those questions. If there even are answers to them, of course :-)

But thank you again for your answer, wantacookie!