Overview About Irish Tattoos Designs
Irish symbols for tattoos are a great way of displaying one’s heritage and as a result they have gained a lot of prominence recently. Tattoos and symbolism have shared a deep intertwined history with each other, and over the course of time they have come to be synonymous with each other. Text tattoos and drawings will always be a firm favorite amongst tattoo lovers, but symbolism represents a deeper understanding of this artistic expression.
Irish culture, as we know it today, is the result of several distinct influences -all of which are reflected in Irish tattoos and other related tattoo designs. The earliest, and in some ways still the strongest, Irish influence is Celtic culture. The Celts were an ancient people who once lived throughout Europe, settling in the British Isles around the time of the early Roman Empire. The Celts had a fabulous body of art, consisting of beautiful and complex knotwork and stylized images taken from nature. The most popular type of Irish tattoo is the Celtic tattoo. These tattoo designs are very well suited to a bold, black tattoo.
The Irish are very well aware of their Celtic heritage, and they celebrate it in a variety of ways. However, many Irish are also very religious, and there are many religious tattoos that are also representative of Irish culture. Irish Catholics are usually well versed in the lives of the saints, for example, and though ‘saint’ tattoos might be more typical of Hispanic tattoos, you do find these images among Irish tattoos as well. Of course, there is also the beautiful Celtic cross, which represents an amalgamation of Celtic and Christian imagery.
The third type of Irish tattoo is one that reflects Irish folklore, which is related to both the Celtic and Christian traditions, yet distinct from both. Irish tattoos that represent Irish folklore consist of images that we customarily identify as ‘typically’ Irish – the shamrock, the leprechaun, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. These tattoo designs have a timeless, popular appeal, as does the classic ‘Claddagh heart’, and image consisting of a heart, two hands and a crown. You may have seen this heart as part of a jewelry image – it’s a popular Irish ring. The Irish are very patriotic, and tend to be rather sentimental about their love for their culture – which would explain the growing popularity of Irish tattoos.
Irish Symbol Tattoos
There are a multitude of Irish symbols that can be used as tattoo designs, and none of them are more popular in a patriotic sense than the Irish flag. The Irish flag contains three colors in equal vertical bands and each of these colors signifies something relevant to the history of the culture. There has been a rapid rise in the popularity of Irish flag tattoos recently and this is a great way of displaying one’s love for the country and the culture.
Irish symbols for tattoos also make use of a lot of mythical characters like leprechauns and dragons. Celtic harp tattoos, Celtic tree of life tattoos and Celtic motherhood tattoos are just some of the designs that Celtic artwork has embraced over the centuries. Irish cross tattoos and Irish claddagh tattoos are also extremely popular and carry a lot of symbolic expressions with them. All these designs can be altered by any individual to express their personal opinion on the subject, so there is a lot of originality seen in these basic Irish symbols for tattoos.
