Forty famous fans of this Irish Ring: The ultimate Claddagh list

The Claddagh ring is a famous Irish symbol of love, loyalty and friendship that has been exchanged and worn in Ireland for well over 300 years.

With beautiful symbolism and plenty of superstitions and traditions around how they are worn, the Claddah is a design that is easy to love and over the years, it has been cherished by many, many famous faces! Our list of 40 famous fans of the Claddagh brings together an unlikely mix of rock gods, royalty and the undead, not to mention actors, directors, politicians and sportspeople! We always knew the Claddagh had a broad and enduring appeal but this list certainly proves it!

Can you guess all 40?

1. Queen Victoria

The OG influencer, Queen Victoria played a significant role in popularising the Claddagh ring outside of Ireland. After a trip to to the emerald isle, its reported that the Queen was quite taken with the Claddagh, and regularly wore one. It was also apparently at her request that Colonel and Mrs. Hall wrote about the Claddagh, and Ireland in a bestselling travel book in 1841, bringing the ring and its lovely story to a broad audience.

2. Prince Edward VII and 3. Princess Alexandra

So Queen Victoria was clearly a fan, but so was her son, Prince Edward VII. He and his Danish wife, Princess Alexandra, owned and regularly wore the Irish design and were highly regarded as a very stylish pair at the time - so stylish it became a point of contention between the then "playboy Prince" and the Queen!

4. Prince Rainier and 5. Princess Grace of Monaco

More recent royal Claddagh fans include Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco. The royal pair were given a set of rings on a landmark state visit to Ireland in 1961. The Princess was certainly taken with her ring, as she was photographed wearing it at many state functions.

6. John F. Kennedy. 7. Ronald Reagan and 8. Bill Clinton

The Claddagh became a go-to Irish gift for visiting dignitaries, and several American presidents seemed quite taken with them! When President John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie visited Galway in 1963, they were presented with a pair of Claddagh rings to honour Kennedy's Irish roots. He was photographed wearing the ring during the trip, so it seems he was a fan.

It seems the Claddagh held appeal across the political spectrum, with both President Ronald Reagan and President Bill Clinton photographed wearing the rings they received on state visits

9. Sonia O’Sullivan

Next we have royalty of a different sort, one of the most famous athletes and beloved Irish icon Sonia O’Sullivan. Sonia famously secured gold on the track in the 5000 m in the World Championships in 1995 and she was regularly photographed wearing a gold Claddagh ring - even when racing.

12. John Wayne, 13. Maureen O’Hara & 14. Barry Fitzgerald

Three more fans of the Claddagh were silver screen icons, John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, and Barry Fitzgerald. They were given Claddagh rings while filming John Ford’s Oscar winning sensation, The Quiet Man on location in Co. Mayo in 1951.

15. Peter O’Tooole

An actor that holds a dubious record for the most Oscar nominations for acting without a win, was another fan of the Claddagh. Though you wont see him wearing it in his standout role in Lawrence of Arabia, from the 1980s onwards you might spot him wearing his own Claddagh ring on the third finger of his right hand onscreen.

16. Mia Farrow

This American actress is regularly spotted wearing a Claddagh ring. Farrows’ mother was the famous Irish actress Maureen O'Sullivan, who played Jane in the Tarzan movies of the 1930s. So the Claddagh likely held some significance for Mia as a connection to her mother and her Irish heritage.

17. Daniel Day Lewis

With strong connections to Ireland through his father, his home in Co. Wicklow, and a few of his most memorable roles, this Oscar winning actor is rarely seen without his chunky claddagh ring on his hand - with heart pointing in for anyone interested!

18. Julia Roberts

Legend has it that Daniel Day Lewis shared his grá for the Claddagh ring design with Julia Roberts. If rumours are to be believed, the pair had a brief romance in the 1990s and Julia was spotted wearing a Claddagh ring at the time.

19. Gabriel Byrne

Like Daniel Day Lewis, Gabriel Byrne is a fan of a chunky Claddagh and he also wears it heart pointing in for those keeping track! With two Oscar nominations to his name, the Dublin-born actor has always been a proud cultural ambassador for Ireland.

20. Tommy Tiernan

Less well known outside Ireland, Gabriel was interviewed by a fellow chunky Claddagh fan in the comedian and actor, Tommy Tiernan. Those outside Ireland probably know Tommy best as the stressed out father Gerry in the hit series, Derry Girls.

21. Colin Farrel

Back to Hollywood leading men, Colin Farrel shows that the “rules” for wearing the Claddagh are there to be broken, regularly spotted wearing a silver ring on his pinky - at various points pointing in and out. Make of that what you will!

22. Brian O'Halloran

This American actor is best known for playing Dante in 1990’s cult classic, Clerks. Like Peter O’Toole before him, O’Halloran himself wore his own ring in character, posting that Dante wore the Claddagh ring in all three Clerks movies to bring a little bit of himself to the screen

23. Liam Neeson & 24.Natasha Richardson

Another Hollywood leading man from the island hailing from Ballymena, the Claddagh was an important symbol for Liam and his lovely late wife, Natasha Richardson.

25. Winona Ryder

And lest this start to look like a bit of a boy’s club, there are plenty of famous female actors that are fans of the Claddagh too! I had the great pleasure of helping Ms. Ryder pick her own Claddagh Ring some years ago in Dublin.

And despite only discovering her own Irish roots relatively recently, this talented actress has always had a real soft spot for Ireland and its culture - she was even accepted to Trinity College in Dublin to study, but couldn’t take up the place after landing a role in The Heathers!

26. Millie Bobbie Brown

It seems Winona was really a fan of the design as she later gave a version of her own Claddagh to her young co-star in Stranger Things, Millie Bobbie Brown. The star posted online about receiving the very special birthday gift from Ryder, wearing the ring, and explaining the lovely symbolism of the design in many subsequent interviews.

27. Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller was also given a Claddagh, by her partner on and off, Jude Law. In 2006 the star was quoted as saying that she continued wearing the ring after they split with the heart pointing inwards, because Jude still had her heart.

28. Jennifer Aniston

The Friends superstar was given a Claddagh by her co-star, Tate Donovan. The pair were a couple both off and on screen with Aniston's character Rachel rapidly scaring away her boyfriend Joshua, played by Donovan, with a marriage proposal and answering the door in a wedding dress! Their offscreen romance lasted significantly longer, dating for several years, with the pair exchanging Claddagh rings on their first anniversary.

29. Sarah Jessica Parker

A regular visitor to Irish shores with herself and husband Matthew Broderick decamping to their holiday home in Co. Donegal. Many in Ireland have said the Sex and the City actress deserves honorary citizenship for all the promotion of Irish culture - she regularly posts about the superiority of Irish butter (she is right). She is reportedly a fan of Irish design and materials too - and if some are to be believed, that includes the Claddagh.

30. Saiorse Ronan and 31. Jack Lowden

Saoirse Ronan is known for her roles in films like “Attonement,” “Brooklyn,” "Lady Bird" and "Little Women," and for having a name that is very tricky to pronounce! She was photographed wearing a classic gold Claddagh ring back in 2018 and eagle eyed fans on Reddit quickly noticed that her Scottish co-star in “Mary Queen of Scots" Jack Lowden, was wearing a matching gold Claddagh ring. Rumors of their romance bubbled up over the next few years, with the happy pair making it official and tying the knot with a small ceremony in 2024.

32. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 33. Angel

Saoirse and Jack’s Claddagh rings follow a romantic tradition celebrated in Ireland for centuries, and famously in 1990s cult TV show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The titular character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar was famously given a Claddagh ring by her vampire boyfriend, Angel. Despite the name, Angel was apparently an Irish man a long long time ago, and gives a Claddagh to Buffy as a romantic gesture for her birthday in Season 2, episode 13, "Surprise."

34. Jim Morrison and 35. Patricia Kennealy

If we have strayed a little in name-checking characters rather than real people, we are firmly back on solid ground with rock god and lead singer of the Doors, Jim Morrison and his partner, author and journalist, Patricia Kennealy. They exchanged Claddagh rings, his gold, hers silver, in a Celtic wedding ceremony in the 1960s - with the event appearing in Oliver Stone's controversial 1991 movie, The Doors.

36. Noel Gallagher and 37. Liam Gallagher

Next up are a musical couple of a different sort. Fans of the band Oasis will know that despite being brothers, Liam and Noel agree on very little with a notoriously fractious relationship. One thing the pair seem to agree on is the Claddagh. Noel famously wears the ring in the video for their hit “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and was also spotted wearing a rather fancy ruby studded version.

Liam also wore a Claddagh ring in the 1990s when he was engaged to Patsy Kensit. Their obvious affection for the design is perhaps unsurprising given their strong Irish connections. The lads holidayed in Co. Mayo throughout their childhood in their mother’s hometown of Charlestown.

38. Bing Crosby

Known for his pride in his Irish roots and love of Ireland, Bing made several visits to the emerald isle, including a 1966 trip where he was persuaded to sing "Galway Bay" which famously namechecks Claddagh - the area from which legend has it the ring design originated over 300 years ago.

39. Danny O'Donoghue

Dubliner and lead singer with The Script, O'Donoghue sold over 12 million albums worldwide making him another famous musician who also happens to be a fan of the Claddagh Ring - regularly photographed wearing a chunky silver version on his right hand.

40. Bono

Bono is another famous fan of the Claddagh that has to make the list for multiple reasons. Regularly spotted wearing one both onstage and when signing autographs for the many many fans of U2 worldwide, the artist seems to like the symbol so much he has incorporated it into his signature - the “Bonogram.” Super-fans have even been known to get his autograph featuring the heart, hands and crown of the Claddagh as a tattoo! Now that is dedication!

Want to join the list?

So there you have it! Forty famous faces who are fans of the iconic Irish Claddagh ring. We are sure we have just scratched the surface too! Let us know in the comments below who we should add to the list. Of course if you would like to join these famous faces and wear a Claddagh ring of your own, you can find our selection below. Need help choosing? Just get in touch. I would be happy to use my many years of experience to find the perfect Claddagh for you!