Cliathairi were the professional "guards" who formed the backbone of a Gaelic army, having chosen military service as a career. They were reasonably seasoned fighters overall, with good morale and some degree of discipline and organisation, and could fight in both offensive and defensive styles. They were generally armoured in a mixture of padded clothing and reinforced leather, and carried large round or oval embossed leather shields. Instead of javelins they had a smaller number of heavy throwing spears which have a shorter range but do much more damage. When fighting defensively they favoured long spears, and were often described as fighting in a "phalanx" and other words for a deep, close formation probably similar to the Pictish schiltron. In the Viking Age they also adapted the classic Germanic shield-wall.
Cliathairi Claoimhnaghta
When fighting offensively, Cliathairi used mid-length swords with somewhat leaf-shaped blades (probably of Celtiberian origin) which were designed for stabbing and used something like a Roman gladius. They also increasingly adopted Norse axes. Equipped as above except for a sword or axe instead of a spear, they were more offensively orientated, throwing their javelins before a Celtic infantry charge. They were competent melee fighters who will not break easily.