Irish Celtic Jewelry

... of early Christian-era Irish art, and is housed and displayed in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.

Made in about 700 AD, the seven-inch long brooch is composed primarily of silver gilt and is embellished with intricate abstract decoration (termed "Irish interlace") both front and back. The beads contain images of over 20 wolves' heads and dragons' faces.

The design, the techniques of workmanship (including filigree and inlaying) and the gold, silver, copper, amber and glass are all of high quality, and exemplify the advanced state of goldsmithing in Ireland in the seventh century. The brooch is made in the pseudo-penannular style, meaning it wasn't meant to be a brooch to hold clothing, but to be decorative. It contains no Christian motifs, making it pagan, but it also contains no pagan religious symbols - whoever had it made was a wealthy patron who wanted a personal expression of power.

Although the brooch is named after the Hill of Tara, seat of the mythological High Kings of Ireland, the Tara Brooch in fact has no known connection to either the Hill of Tara or the High Kings of Ireland, and was discovered in County Meath in Laytown along the seashore. It was sold to an antiques dealer who saw its value and who renamed it the "Tara Brooch" to make it more appealing.

At the end of the 19th century there was a revival of Irish culture following the discovery of treasures such as the Tara Brooch and the Ardagh Chalice.

Some brooches were very large (8-12" across) but by law no part of a brooch could extend beyond the wearers shoulders (to possibly injure passers-by with the sword-like pin).

Get yours in gold at:
O'Reilly's Jewellers Online Store Dublin company since 1956.

or at Thomas Dillon's, established in 1750.

The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the old walls of the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th Century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though elements of the design are much older.

The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a heart, and usually surmounted by a crown. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown). The expression which was associated with these symbols in the giving of the ring was: "With these hands I give you my heart and I crown it with my love."

The way that a Claddagh ring is worn on the hand is usually intended to convey the wearer's romantic availability, or lack thereof. Traditionally, if the ring is on the right hand with the heart facing outward and away from the body, this indicates that the person wearing the ring is not in any serious relationship, and may in fact be single and looking for a relationship: "their heart is open." When worn on the right hand but with the heart facing inward toward the body, this indicates the person wearing the ring is in a relationship, or that "someone has captured their heart". A Claddagh worn on the left hand ring finger facing outward away from the body generally indicates that the wearer is engaged. When the ring is on the left hand ring finger and facing inward toward the body, it generally means that the person wearing the ring is married.

Visit Thomas Dillon's Claddagh Gold The oldest makers of the Claddagh ring since 1750. They ship to US, UK and Europe - not sure about the rest of the world, waiting for answer from them.

While you are there try and win a Claddagh gold pendant.

... and visit their museum.

Claddagh is pronounced clah-da (clah as in clam, da as in dad) - just so you know how to ask for the ring ;-)

The traditional Claddagh ring in a modern version.

Wishbone shape Claddagh ring, channel set with peridot, topaz, garnet, amethyst and blue topaz, which makes it stand out in a most beautiful way.

It measures 10 mm at the widest point and cost $234 was $267.

Get it here: James Murtagh Jewllers, Westport, Ireland

Triquetra is a word derived from the Latin tri- ("three") and quetrus ("cornered"); pronounced [try-KWET-ra] Its original meaning was simply "triangle" and it has been used to refer to various three-cornered shapes. Nowadays, it has come to refer exclusively to a certain more complicated shape formed of three vesicae piscis, sometimes with an added circle in or around it. The photo is of the The Funbo Runestone from Uppland - Sweden.

Resemblance to valknut
The triquetra has been found on runestones in northern Europe, and upon early Scandinavian coins. It presumably had pagan religious meaning, and it bears a resemblance to the Odin Knot or Valknut. Some have suggested that, like the valknut, triquetrae may have been a symbol of Odin.
Celtic art
The triquetra is often found in Insular art, most notably metal work and in illuminated manuscripts like the Book of Kells. While it is uncertain what the symbol may have meant to the Celts, it is often found as a design element in larger drawings of triskeles or triple spirals.
Christian use
The symbol was later used by Christians as a symbol of the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). This appropriation was particularly easy because the
triquetra conveniently incorporated three shapes that could be interpreted as Christian symbols.

Modern use
The symbol has become especially popular due to its use on the cover of the "Book of Shadows" used by the three sisters on the American TV show Charmed.

It is also one of the four symbols on the cover of the Led Zeppelin album, Led Zeppelin IV, where it represented bassist John Paul Jones. The band Payable on Death (P.O.D.) also uses this symbol on most of their CD covers. In Switchfoot's music video for the song "We Are One Tonight", the symbol was prominently tattooed on an actor's back.

The Triquetra is used as a symbol to represent the Trinity on The New King James Version Bibles, published by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

The symbol is also seen on the cover of the Dungeons & Dragons game, Forgotten Realms Campaign. It has recently been adopted as the new logo of the Ontario New Democratic Party in Canada.

Check out the group by clicking here