Fresh take on the Claddagh ring gives a helping hand!
From this week's Galway City Tribune - A redesigned Claddagh ring targeting the gay community has proved a lifeline for a local jewellery business during lockdown.
The Pride Claddagh Ring is the brainchild of Niall McNelis, a Labour councillor who runs the Claddagh and Celtic Jewellery Shop on Quay Lane in the city.
The sterling silver piece features the traditional heart, crown and hands emblem of the Claddagh ring with six coloured stones inspired by the Gay Pride rainbow flag – red representing life, orange for healing, yellow for the sun, green for nature, blue for harmony and violet for spirit.
During the marriage equality referendum, Cllr McNelis spotted a mural with two women embracing and one of them was wearing a Claddagh ring.
He had his workshop in Enniscrone in County Sligo come up with a stylish Claddagh redesign that would appeal to the LGBT+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community while doing justice to the iconic Galway symbol.
Since it was launched in December, the €55 Pride ring has been embraced worldwide, with orders flying in from as far as Australia, America, France, Germany and England. This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see this week's Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.