Only six posts in and I'm already straying beyond my stated objective! I'm currently spending quite a bit of time in Galway, so while I'm here I may as well do some posts on similar topics in Galway. Not to worry - I'll still be posting on Dublin.
The building on the right of these pictures is Claddagh Rings, Number 1 William Street (formerly Dillons).
Dillons have been making Claddagh rings since 1750 and continue to do so, although their premises moved from this location down Shop Street to Quay Street in the 1990s. A camera shop is now located at number one, but they have kept the exterior decoration on the upper levels with the small exception of changing the clock face. The chimney stack visible behind the building is gone - the Eyre Square Shopping Centre is now situated there.
Although they've been popular Irish symbols since the eighteenth century, Claddagh rings are less specifically Celtic than you might think. Rings featuring clasped hands were popular throughout Europe as wedding rings during medieval times - and the term 'Claddagh ring' was only coined during the nineteenth century. From that time on though they have been an Irish variation on the clasped hands ring (known as 'fede' rings) and very much associated with the west of Ireland, and Galway in particular.
References:
EAS_2177, National Photographic Archive
'The Claddagh Ring', Ida Dellamer
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