There are many legends about the origins of the ring, particularly concerning Richard Joyce, a silversmith from Galway circa 1700, who is said to have invented the Claddagh design.George Quinn. (1970) The Claddagh Ring, The Mantle, 13:9–13. Legend has it that Joyce was captured and enslaved by Algerian Corsairs around 1675 while on a passage to the West Indies; he was sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith who taught him the craft. King William III sent an ambassador to Algeria to demand the release of any and all British subjects who were enslaved in that country, which at the time would have included Richard Joyce. After fourteen years, Joyce was released and returned to Galway and brought along with him the ring he had fashioned while in captivity: what we've come to know as the Claddagh. He gave the ring to his sweetheart, married, and became a goldsmith with "considerable success".James Hardiman (1820), The History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway, His initials are in one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings, but there are three other rings also made around that time bearing the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade.
There are many legends about the origins of the ring, particularly concerning Richard Joyce a silversmith from Galway circa 1700, who is said to have invented the Claddagh design.George Quinn. (1970) The Claddagh Ring, The Mantle, 13:9–13. Legend has it that Joyce was captured and enslaved by Algerian Corsairs around 1675 while on a passage to the West Indies; he was sold into slavery to a Moorish goldsmith who taught him the craft. King William III sent an ambassador to Algeria to demand the release of any and all British subjects who were enslaved in that country, which at the time would have included Richard Joyce. After fourteen years, Joyce was released and returned to Galway and brought along with him the ring he had fashioned while in captivity: what we've come to know as the Claddagh. He gave the ring to his sweetheart, married, and became a goldsmith with "considerable success".James Hardiman (1820), The History of the Town and County, of the Town of Galway, His initials are in one of the earliest surviving Claddagh rings, but there are three other rings also made around that time bearing the mark of goldsmith Thomas Meade.