What is "cliathairi"

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.