Ancient Irish Weapons: Incredible Implements You Didn't Know Existed

In the pre-modern period, Gaelic warfare was the form of warfare used by Gaelic people, including the Irish, Scottish, and Manx.

Given that many of the pommels and cross-guard adornment are not of Gaelic origin, the swords of the middle ages unearthed in Ireland today are unlikely to be of native workmanship. Irish warriors regularly looted or purchased the latest and most efficient equipment, making Gaelic warfare anything but static.

Lightly armed foot troops, equipped with a sword (claideamh), long dagger (scian), bow (bogha), and a set of javelins, or darts, formed the backbone of Gaelic Irish warfare for generations.

Longswords, comparable to the Scottish claymore, were introduced with the strong Norse-Gaelic Gallowglass mercenaries.

The implementation of different materials – from wood and stone hatchets to various precious metals and contemporary synthetic materials such as plastics – and the development of various common weapon designs to fit the terrain or to support or counteract different military strategies have all been major innovations in the history of weapons.

What weapons did Celts use?

For years, poorly armed foot infantry with a sword (claideamh), bow (bogha), long stiletto (scian), and a pair of javelins, or darts, served as the backbone of Gaelic Irish warfare.

The warrior Celts (c.600BC—AD50) were known for their ferocity and persistence in combat, earning the grudging admiration of their Roman opponents. Early Celts fought primarily on foot, relying heavily on the overwhelming psychological and physical force of amassed charge.

They fought the formidable Roman legions and even stormed Rome itself in 390Bc, armed only with a sword or spear and protected by nothing more than a shield or helmet.

The Celtic sword represented power, strength, honor, and ultimate glory in combat to its possessor. These swords were exceedingly costly because of the high quality and amazing talents required to make them and were usually reserved for nobility and chieftains.

The sword was frequently buried alongside its owner's other belongings or flung into the water as a gift to the gods or spirits.

The Celts were among the first European people to learn how to smelt iron, and by the time they encountered the Romans, they had perfected the process for creating better-balanced, more durable, and longer swords.

The Celtic spear or javelin was a traditional battlefield weapon for Celtic warriors (Gaelic warriors), consisting of a 6.5 ft (2 m) long ash wood shaft with a massive iron leaf-shaped and socketed spike.

What is a traditional Irish sword?

Swords were always a threat to ancient people. They were always ready for a fight, whether it was with the lethal two-handed claymore of the Scots, the massive Irish two-handers, or the beautiful Celtic arming swords.

A shield, a sword, and one or even more spears are shown as the ideal weapons of a warrior in the other Celtic nations from the 11th century and 12th century. These are the sole weapons from the pre-Viking period, and indeed the preceding Iron Age, that has been found in the historical or archaeological record.

Spears were the most frequent weapon used by anglo-Saxons for piercing and throwing.

The sparth/Gallowglass axe: These Gaelic Irish swords featured a unique hilt type known as Ring hilt. The blades were often imported from Europe, primarily Germany, and completed by ancient Irish blacksmiths. They ranged in size from little swords to large swords.

Scian/skean/sgian is an unusual sidearm carried by the savage Irish kern, is featured in various historical artworks. A lanyard is either draped about the waist or simply hung around the neck. These long daggers have single-edged, thin, and highly pointed blades (lance heads). The hilts are quite basic to the point of being primitive.

Ancient Irish Weapons, Ornaments

The Celts were skilled traders who leveraged their control of rivers, such as the Danube, to gain proficiency in the iron trade, from which they derived their particular knowledge of black smithery and metallurgy.

The Celts' reputation as great craftsmen and metallurgical artists was built on their ability in the forge and their use of stone hammers, chisels, and other tools (important in the design and construction of weaponry).

Celtic metalworkers were heavily inspired by artisans from the Etruria, Black Sea, and Ancient Greece in the decorating and adornment of their swords, scabbards, shields, and steel helmets.

Beautiful jewelry embellished with Celtic Symbols was created by Celtic artists using solid gold and silver. Symbols were very important to the Celts, and they had a lot of importance in their life. Celtic beliefs and traditions are vividly reflected in symbols.

The Celts also enjoyed wearing bronze, gold, tin, silver, coral, and enamel jewelry. A Torc (shown right), a circular twisted metal neckband, was worn by important persons such as chieftains, aristocrats, and warriors. Gold, silver, electrum (a gold-silver alloy), bronze, and/or copper were used to create it.

Due to the economic conditions of the period, some cities' masonry walls were not built. While many communities build what appear to be protective walls, this is not always the case.

Towns built walls and town gates as a sign of lordly riches and outward display of authority, with the defense of the walls and gates taking a back seat.

A Style Of Shield Used By The Ancient Irish

Leather was most likely used to cover the shields, which were then painted and adorned. The ribs have an indentation on one side, causing a noticeable break in the ornament's symmetry. The depression might have been produced by shrinkage.

The alder's sturdiness and density would provide enough protection against sword thrusts, if not spears, but half-inch thick timber shields would be worthless against Roman javelins.

A struggle between distinct tribes or civilizations is shown on a stone cross in Kells, County Meath; one is equipped with long-handled spears and circular shield boss (round shield), while the opposing warrior shields have no leader and are mounted with short swords.

Kiltubbrid Shield is a hardwood shield from the Iron Age in Ireland. It was discovered in the 19th century there in the townland and county of Kiltubbrid, County Leitrim, Ireland.

It was made during the late Celtic era and is perhaps the flawless sole object of its kind in Europe. In Ireland, large quantities of Late Bronze Age weapons have been unearthed recently.

The Kiltubbrid shield is an old Irish shield of wood that has been astonishingly well maintained. It was buried 9.8 ft (3 m) deep in a grass bog.

The shield is a beautiful exemplar, it's oval in form, with a precise center boss, measuring 3 in (7.6 cm) in height and seven mildly elevated concentric rings, on the back, it's simple, with a handle cut out of a single piece of wood.

Polearms And Axes

A polearm is an actual combat weapon in which the actual fighting element is affixed to the end of a long, generally wooden shaft, extending the user's operational range and striking strength.

Pole weapons are mostly melee weapons, although a subclass of spear-like devices that can be thrust or hurled exists. Many pole weapons were cheap to build and easily accessible because they were modified from farming implements and other equipment that were plentiful and contained relatively little metal.

When war breaks out, and the belligerents have a lower class that cannot afford dedicated war weapons, military leaders frequently repurpose tools into low-cost weaponry. Because these conscripted farmers had spent most of their lives using these 'weapons' in the fields, the expense of training was negligible.

The battle-axe (tuag) has been in use in Ireland from prehistoric times, as evidenced by the countless stone, bronze, copper, and iron axe-heads that have been discovered from time to time and may be seen at the National Museum and elsewhere.

Battle axes were made in such a way during the Viking age that they could be used with one hand.

During the Viking Age, the battle axe was considered the 'standard weapon.'

The Irish Warriors

Between the mid-13th and late-16th centuries, the gallowglasses (also written gallowglass) were a class of elite mercenary Irish soldiers who were mostly members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland. As Ireland's finest warrior, C Chulainn was known for his power and prowess.

The Irish made their initial impression on European history as aggressors. From the 3rd century AD, the quasi-legendary Irish warlord Cormac mac Airt not only conquered practically all of Ireland but also conducted disastrous invasions on Roman Britain. Niall of the Nine Hostages, who lived in the following century, was another who did so.

In the 3rd and 4th centuries, 'the coracles that transported them through the sea-valleys contained swarms of Irish and Picts, like black crowds of worms which crawl out of tight fissures in the rock when the sun is high,' according to Chronicler Gildas.

The advent of the Irish Vikings in Ireland in the late 8th century had little effect on the military situation. Following the same period of opportunistic terror assaults on monasteries, the Scandinavians who chose to settle in Ireland were just another thread in the rich mosaic of people.

They are famous for establishing marine and riverine ports in Waterford, Wexford, Limerick, and Dublin.

They were decisively beaten by the Irish in the Battle of Tara in Co. Meath when they subsequently established themselves during the so-called 'second Viking age' (AD 980).

The latter had a better understanding of the hilly and woodland terrain, which they used to neutralize the Geraldine cavalry's utility. This was crucial.

Even if the invaders' horses were no longer of the same caliber as previously, the Irish could not equal the Anglo-Normans in open combat due to their lack of experience with saddles and stirrups.

Mac Carthaig set up his ambush near Ardtully Castle, near Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, where two cascading rivers met. The more agile native Irish, who mostly battled with spears, knives, arrows, and slingshots, were more successful when they fought from cover.

The Irish slingers used the perforated shot, which has the ability to maim and kill and make a disturbingly creepy whistling sound when approaching at fast speed.

The latter had a better understanding of the hilly and woodland terrain, which they used to neutralize the Geraldine cavalry's utility. Even if the invaders' horses were no longer of the same caliber as previously, the Irish could not equal the Anglo-Normans in open combat due to their lack of experience with saddles and stirrups.

Mac Carthaig set up his ambush near Ardtully Castle, near Kilgarvan, Co. Kerry, where two cascading rivers met. The more agile native Irish, who mostly battled with spears, knives, arrows, and slingshots, were more successful when they fought from cover.