Seals are a beloved part of Irish life, and because they are never hunted they are quite fearless and will approach a swimmer or fisherperson with impunity. There are many families who trace their ancestry back to a selkie, a seal that came up on land and transformed itself into a human for a time, often leaving a child behind when it felt compelled to return to the sea. This design is a happy seal inside a triquetra of knotwork.
Celtic seal knot tattoo by Pat Fish