The legend behind the ring is 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 metallurgy, or the process of extracting metals from their ores. King William III sent an ambassador to Algeria to demand the release of British subjects who were enslaved in that country, which included Richard Joyce. During the 14 years he was enslaved, Joyce thought about his beloved who he left back in his home country. On his return, he gave the ring he designed to his sweetheart and they got married.
The ring gets its name from The Claddagh, which was once a small fishing village, but is now a part of Galway City.
