Many years ago my wife's relatives organized a family reunion. The invitations were festooned with green clip-art shamrocks. Even though the gathering was a picnic in the summer, the party decorations had a sort of Saint Patrick's Day theme. As a professional designer craftsman who specializes in Celtic art, I was disappointed with what I was perceiving as a kitschy portrayal of the American family's Irish roots.

Handcrafted Shamrock Jewelry

Authentic Irish symbols crafted with the same care as medieval masterpieces. Each piece honors both traditional heritage and artistic excellence.

Shamrock Pendants → Shamrock Crosses → Shamrock Earrings →

Celebrate Irish Heritage

From shamrocks to Claddagh rings and Celtic crosses, explore symbols that carry centuries of Irish history.

Browse Celtic Jewelry → Irish Pendants →

It has been nearly twenty years since I shed my aversion to shamrockery. I am convinced that the shamrockery of the American descendants of Irish immigrants preserves something from an earlier time. I no longer cringe when I see the over-the-top get-ups at festivals and parades. Some of the relatives at that family reunion now own, and hopefully treasure, shamrock jewelry that I designed and made. If any of you are reading this, please forgive my arrogance. You were right and I didn't get it. Embrace the shamrock!

Learn More About Irish Symbols

• What is a Shamrock? Irish Symbol History
• Claddagh Ring History & Meaning
• Celtic Cross Symbolism
• Celtic Knotwork Meanings
• Origins of Celtic Interlace Design

About the Author

Stephen Walker is the founder and Master Craftsman at Walker Metalsmiths. With over 40 years of experience in Celtic design, Stephen has traveled extensively throughout Ireland and Scotland, studying ancient Celtic art and building relationships with traditional craftsmen. His work is informed by rigorous historical research combined with masterful metalworking technique.

At Walker Metalsmiths we follow the tradition of making a new Saint Brigid cross design every year. The feast day of Saint Brigid is February 1st, marking the beginning of the spring season of Imbolc—a time of renewal and light returning to the world.

A reed cross photographed at Saint Brigid's well on Dun I, Isle of Iona, Scotland

Our Annual St. Brigid's Cross Tradition

Our jewelry making process takes longer than weaving straw, so we start our annual cross projects in the week before February 1st. Feeding gold or silver jewelry to your animals is not likely to go well, so we advise our customers to treat their Saint Brigid crosses as heirlooms—to be kept for a lifetime and passed to future generations, just as these stories and traditions have been passed on to us from previous generations.

St. Brigid's Spiral Cross in Sterling Silver →

Stephen Walker at Saint Brigid's well on Dun I, Isle of Iona, Scotland, 2017. Saint Brigid's well is a pool of water near the summit of Dun I, the highest point on the island. This remarkable pool of water is believed to have healing properties and was described in the 1905 classic Celtic Revival book "Isle of Dreams" by Fiona MacLeod.

Cross of Cong Research

Saint Patrick's Day, the biggest party day of the year for Irish Americans, falls during the somber religious season of Lent. Why then is this the season that cow pies would be used to recreate an ancient Celtic treasure? A goofy question, but there is a real answer.

Gathering some "materials" for the project.

I will be traveling to Ireland this spring to meet with curators at the National Museum in Dublin. The quest relates to an experimental project that will reproduce a lost part from the legendary 12th century Cross of Cong. I have been making Celtic crosses as jewelry for my entire career. Usually I make a special effort to create new cross designs during the Lenten season leading up to Easter. This year I will also copy a very old one. It just happens that the timeline for this project falls during Lent.

The Cross of Cong was commissioned by King Turlough O'Connor as a reliquary for a fragment of the True Cross that was brought to Ireland in 1123 A.D.

The missing panel on the Cross of Cong.

The project was suggested by Dr. Griffin Murray, one of Ireland's leading experts on medieval Celtic metalwork. Murray has devoted many years to the study of the Cross of Cong, resulting in a book which is a complete and definitive report on this Celtic masterpiece. One aspect of the cross which Murray did not delve into in any great detail is the method by which the intricate bronze decorative panels on the cross were cast. I intend to duplicate a panel which is missing from the Cross of Cong, but also do it in a way that demonstrates the original craftsman's method.

My theory is that the intricate panels of open interlaced animal designs were cast in molds made of a mixture of clay and cow dung. It seems kind of yucky and unsanitary to our modern sensibilities, but that mixture is a remarkable material with a long history of use from everything from plastering walls to casting metal.

Stephen Walker studying the Cross of Cong at the National Museum of Ireland, January 2016.

If my effort is successful, after Easter I will make the trip to Ireland to compare my facsimile to the original and have it photographed in place. Then I will make another trip to make a presentation to the International Insular Art Conference, a gathering of Celtic art scholars, archaeologists and museum curators, in Glasgow, Scotland in July 2017.

I really love these old Celtic masterpieces and enjoy the opportunity to work on some of the mysteries about how they were made. The curators and art historians that study these things have been wonderfully supportive of my projects. I have been able to establish something of a reputation at some earlier Insular Art conferences by similar presentations of how artistically challenging Celtic metalwork would have been created.

Replicas of the St. Ninian's Isle Brooches, made in 2011.

In 2011 in York, England, I gave a presentation on the St. Ninian's Isle treasure, 8th century silver brooches found in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. Studies of these pieces revealed a long lost method of creating a style of interlace known to archaeologists as kerbschnitt. In 2014 I demonstrated a plausible solution to the problem that had long vexed art historians of how the cylindrical kerbschnitt stem of the 8th century Ardagh Chalice was molded and cast. Both of these presentations involved actually making facsimiles of the ancient pieces.

The Ardagh Chalice.

Griffin Murray was instrumental in helping me arrange to have the chalice, one of Ireland's most precious and iconic treasures, removed from the showcase at the National Museum so that I could examine it under a microscope. Last year I visited the museum for a preliminary examination of the Cross of Cong in preparation for the current project.

About Stephen Walker

Stephen Walker has presented his research on medieval Celtic metalwork at International Insular Art Conferences alongside leading scholars, archaeologists, and museum curators. He is co-author of The Modern History of Celtic Jewellery: 1840-1980 and serves on the advisory panel for the George Bain Collection at Groam House Museum, Scotland.

Learn more about Stephen & Susan Walker →

From the recovery after the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s to the booming Celtic Tiger of the 1990s, a revival of the ancient traditions of Celtic jewelry has become a part of how the Irish, as well as the Scots, Welsh and other Celts have expressed their cultural identity. Usually the story of this tradition focuses on very old prototypes—the museum pieces turned up by archaeologists or the legend of the original Claddagh ring. In our imagination, we connect the popular Celtic jewelry of today with the distant past. But that link with the ancient style was very much influenced by what others had done in more recent history.

Four Experts, 150 Years of History

The story is told by four authors, each bringing unique expertise to this comprehensive history:

Why History Matters to Our Craft

Understanding the history of Celtic jewelry isn't just academic interest—it directly informs the work we do at Walker Metalsmiths. When Stephen designs a new Celtic cross or trinity knot piece, he draws on decades of research into how these traditions evolved. This scholarly foundation is what separates authentic Celtic jewelry from mass-produced imitations.

The Celtic Revival masters like George Bain and the Ritchies of Iona established the visual language that contemporary Celtic artists like John Urban and Stephen Walker continue today. This unbroken lineage of craft knowledge is what we mean by "Celtic Renaissance."

About Stephen Walker

Stephen Walker is co-author of The Modern History of Celtic Jewellery: 1840-1980, serves on the advisory panel for the George Bain Collection at Groam House Museum in Scotland, and has been handcrafting Celtic jewelry in Andover, NY since 1984. His scholarly research directly informs every piece created at Walker Metalsmiths.

Learn more about Stephen & Susan Walker →

The Problem of Interpreting Ancient Symbols

When talking about things Celtic we have to remember that things change through time and place. What meaning may or may not have been for the monks that illuminated masterpieces such as the 9th century Book of Kells is not necessarily the same meaning expressed by users of Celtic design in more recent years, but there is a popularly held notion that it is or ought to be.

While it may be reckless speculation to claim a certain symbolic meaning as the original intent of an artist working in the Dark Ages, we should not dismiss that an artist working in our own times intends a symbolic message in the same type of design and that that meaning is valid in context. The problems that occur are a result of there being very little consensus among artists about Celtic symbolism and the perception that the symbolism suggested has been gleaned from an ancient source. The naive believer hopes that the symbolism offered by a modern artist or craftsman is an authentic legacy from the past. The skeptic thinks this is very unlikely and considers it fanciful fakery.

Trinity Knot Jewelry Collection →

What Art Historians Say About Symbolism

The more you study Celtic Art, the less urgent the issue of symbolism becomes. Art historians are consumed with problems of timeline, place of origin and migration of styles and ideas. Artists and designers who work with Celtic themes today are more interested in creative applications and technique. Work with a message is likely to be spelled out in words or conveyed with figurative images or more universally recognized symbols such as crosses, doves or hearts. Yet the most common question from the public about knotwork is, "What does it mean?"

For the contemporary Celtic artist or craftsman, explanation of symbolism can be more of an answer to what may be an awkward question. "Can you show me the knots that means 'love, health or strength'?" What an opportunity for creative marketing! We have absolutely no hard evidence that any such meaning were ever intended by the ancients, but this has not stopped modern designers from attributing such meanings. Art historians have been very shy about even speculating about the possible symbolism of Celtic Interlace. To look for a pat explanation from the scholars is a disappointment. Many go as far as stating that interlace was historically used purely for decoration and that suggestions of any symbolic intent are not supported by credible research.

The Triquetra: A Case Study in Interpretation

The case of the triquetra or three-fold knot is a good example of the difficulty that one faces when trying to assign specific meaning to Celtic designs. Sacred numbers and the symbolism of numerology offer a promising basis for the interpretation of Early Christian Celtic ornament. The triquetra is an obvious sign of the Holy Trinity. Other knots could represent the four directions, the twelve Apostles and so on. But as important as numbers are in Scripture, legends and poetry, the connection remains elusive and evidence circumstantial.

Triquetra Earrings

The Triquetra in Modern Times

When the triquetra stands alone it certainly looks like a symbol, but in early Christian Celtic venues it rarely does. If the triquetra had formerly been used as it is now, we would have no reason to doubt its function as a symbol. In modern times it has been customary to display designs alone that would have been details in older work. These stand-alone details are frequently seen in books about Celtic Art or on modern day Celtic craft objects.

When a single knot appears alone, as say a pendant that is a single triquetra, it seems as if it must be a symbol. Given the Celt's penchant for blessings and invoking the Holy Trinity, the meaning of the triquetra seems more obvious than any other knotwork. The triquetra is quite commonly called the "Trinity knot" and has been consciously used as a Christian symbol during the 150 years of the Celtic Revival. In recent decades it has also been appropriated as an emblem of the "Triple Goddess" by Pagan revivalists. When someone plucked the triquetra out of antiquity and it stood alone in modern times, this was a creative act and the triquetra was no longer just a pretty space filler.

Celtic Cross Jewelry Collection →

From International Style to Symbol of Identity

Celtic interlace, or attempts at something that looked like it have been made in every century since the Insular style first emerged in the 7th century. At first interlace was being used to decorate Gospels and symbols of Christian faith such as crosses. Religious and secular use of Celtic Art cannot be seen as expressing any national identity prior to the Norman invasion, especially when it is recognized that at this time several peoples—the Irish, the Picts, the Scots of Dal Riada and the Northumbrians—all had artists that excelled in the style.

The nearest neighbors, the southern Anglo-Saxons, the Welsh and many continental religious communities also produced manuscript decorations in the Celtic or "Hiberno-Saxon" tradition. During the "Golden Age" of Celtic art, 7th to 10th centuries, the style and vocabulary of ornament was an international style throughout the region.

The Celtic Revival: 19th Century Renaissance

Weapons and jewellery associated with the Jacobite movement continued to be decorated with knotwork until 1745. At this point the longest gap appears in the continuity of use. Little, if any knotwork was produced from then until the dawn of the Celtic Revival in the mid-1800's.

The earliest Celtic Revival monuments are from the 1860's. In both Scotland and Ireland monumental carving was and remains the most conspicuous uses of Celtic design. Many of the most elaborate earlier monuments of the Celtic Revival are the gravestones of priests. Recognition of the legacy of the Celtic Church was being expressed with the creation of new "High Crosses" both as public monuments and as grave markers.

Common Modern Interpretations

Why would it be that continuum would be such an important concept that an elaborate symbology as knotwork would be contrived? In modern times those who maintain an interest in Celtic things, be it Celtic music, dance, religion, folklore or history, may relate to the idea of continuum in their desire to affirm and preserve a culture they value, nobly surviving despite centuries on the margins of European mainstream.

Among Celtic Diaspora, those emigrants and their descendants whose interest in their roots have become a passion are especially likely to relate to a message of continuum as they strive to maintain an identity with their heritage in the multi-cultural melting pot of the New World. If the modern motive for creating or viewing Celtic knotwork involves a sense of heritage, the message of continuum seems to work.

About the Author

Stephen Walker

Stephen Walker is the founder and Master Craftsman at Walker Metalsmiths. With decades of study in Celtic art history and hands-on experience creating traditional designs, Stephen brings both scholarly knowledge and artistic practice to understanding Celtic symbolism.

Note from the author: My thanks to members of Celtic_Art @ eGroups for their discussion and debate of the issues of meaning and symbolism during January 2001. The chance to kick around these ideas with a cross-section of imaginative, passionate and knowledgeable contemporary Celtic artists and designers was of immense value.

Learn more about Stephen & Susan Walker →
Read Stephen's book: "The Modern History of Celtic Jewelry" →