Choosing a unique Celtic tattoo from some good Irish tattoo galleries is a great way to show pride in your Irish heritage or, if you yourself aren't Irish, to show respect for Irish culture. Before you run off and get that shamrock inked on your arm, though, there are some things you should know.

Celts have a long tradition of both artwork and tattoos and that means each design has a significance. Sure, most tattoo artists will have a few four-leaf clovers and a couple of leprechaun designs in stock, but do you really want the same cliched tat everyone else has or worse, a design you don't actually know the meaning of? That's why it's so important to spend some time (and that means a few days, not a few hours) browsing through high-quality Irish tattoo galleries to find something that not only has meaning to you personaly, but that's unique in its design.

Celtic artwork can be traced back to around 400BC, to stonework art involving intricate knotwork, spirals and animals with intertwined limbs. Spirituality, history, and family ties all influence the design of this artwork and thus, Irish tattoos.

The ancient Celts believed all living things had spirits, so many of their symbols have spiritual meanings. The Celtic tree of life is the most important of these. The triple spiral, often found on tombs, and triqueta also show the cycle of life. Interwoven figures of people and animals are thought to represent interdependence in the natural world. If you really want to be unique, you might have a phrase tattooed in the Celtic Ogham alphabet, each letter of which represents a sacred tree (yeah, try to find that in your typical tattoo galleries). Apart from the Claddagh, though, few had romantic symbolism.

Of course, other typical symbols also have meaning. Many connect the harp symbol with Ireland, but few know it represents the harp that Dagda, the primary god of Irish mythology, played to make the seasons come in the correct order.

Ok, so maybe all of this symbolism isn't for you and you just want a simple Irish flag. Well, if you're thinking about getting a tattoo of the Irish tri-colors keep in mind that there's a political signifigance as to why orange versus yellow/gold might be used. In addition to the tri-color, there are flags for specific regions, too.

So, consider your choice carefully so you don't end up with some run-of-the-mill leprechaun or a symbol you don't know the meaning of. To get you started, I've put up some info on my Squidoo tattoo lens on where to find some well-developedIrish tattoo galleries that include artist's original variations on traditional Irish designs.