Editing Claddagh ring (section)

==Usage and symbolism==
The Claddagh's distinctive design features two hands clasping a [[Heart (symbol)|heart]] and usually surmounted by a [[Crown (headgear)|crown]]. These elements symbolize the qualities of love (the heart), [[friendship]] (the hands), and [[loyalty]] (the crown). A "[[Fenian]]" Claddagh ring, without a crown, is a slightly different take on the design but has not achieved the level of popularity of the crowned version. Claddagh rings are relatively popular among the Irish<ref name="Quinn"/> and those of Irish heritage, such as Irish Americans,<ref>Paddy Sammon. (2002) ''{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061016112002/http://www.greenspeak.info/book/examples/claddagh.ring.php Greenspeak: Ireland in Her Own Words]}}'', Town House Press, Dublin, Ireland. {{ISBN|1-86059-144-2}}.</ref> as cultural symbols and as friendship, engagement, and wedding rings.<ref name="Murphy"/>

While Claddagh rings are sometimes used as friendship rings, they are most commonly used as engagement and wedding rings. Mothers sometimes give these rings to their daughters when they come of age. Several mottos and wishes are associated with the ring, such as: "Let love and friendship reign."<ref>Jo O'Donoghue and Sean McMahon (2004) ''Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable''</ref> In Ireland, the United States, Canada, and other parts of the Irish diaspora, the Claddagh is sometimes handed down mother-to-eldest daughter or grandmother-to-granddaughter.<ref>Patricia McAdoo. (2005) ''Claddagh: The Tale of the Ring: A Galway Tale'', Galway Online. {{ISBN|9780955165207}}.</ref>

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Relationship status
! !! Left hand !! right hand
|-
! Heart pointing in
| Married || In a relationship
|-
! Heart pointing out
| Engaged || Single
|-
|}

According to Irish author Colin Murphy, a Claddagh ring is traditionally worn to convey the wearer's relationship status:<ref name="Murphy">Colin Murphy and Donal O'Dea. (2006) ''The Feckin' Book of Everything Irish'', Barnes & Nobles, New York, NY, p. 126. {{ISBN|0-7607-8219-9}}</ref>
#On the right hand with the point of the heart toward the fingertips: the wearer is single and might be looking for love.
#On the right hand with the point of the heart toward the wrist: the wearer is in a relationship; someone "has captured their heart"
#On the left ring finger with the point of the heart toward the fingertips: the wearer is engaged.
#On the left ring finger with the point of the heart toward the wrist: the wearer is married.

In both Ireland and the Irish diaspora, other localized variations and oral traditions involve the hand and the finger on which the Claddagh is worn. Folklore about the ring is relatively recent, not ancient, with the lore about them almost wholly based in oral tradition; there is "very little native Irish writing about the ring", hence, the difficulty today in finding any scholarly or non-commercial source that explains the traditional ways of wearing the ring.<ref name="McMahon">Seán McMahon. (2005) ''Story of the Claddagh Ring'', Mercier Press, Cork, Ireland.</ref>