, 1521 in an English interpretation of Irish dress by
Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, 1594 Kerns notably accompanied bands of the
mercenary gallowglasses as their light infantry forces, where the gallowglass filled the need for
heavy infantry. This two-tier "army" structure though should not be taken to reflect earlier Irish armies prior to the
Norman invasions, as there were more locally trained soldiers filling various roles prior to this. The gallowglass largely replaced the other forms of infantry though, as more Irish began to imitate them, creating gallowglass of purely Irish origin. Earlier, the ceithern would have consisted of myriad
militia-type infantry, and possibly
light horse, most likely remembered later in the "horse boys" that accompanied gallowglass and fought as light cavalry. They would be armed from common stock or by what they owned themselves, usually with swords, shields, bows, javelins and filled out numerous portions of an army, probably forming the vast bulk of most Gaelic forces. In the mid-16th century
Shane O'Neill was known to have armed his peasantry and
Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, outfitted many of his Ceithernn with contemporary battle dress and weapons and drilled them as a professional force, complete with experienced captains and modern weapons. ;Military equipment and tactics Jean Froissart (c. 1337–c. 1410) includes a description of the Irish wearing "very simple" armour (perhaps leather or fabric forms of protection). Kerns were light troops who relied on speed and mobility, often utilising
lightning strike tactics as a
force multiplier to engage much larger formations. In the words of one writer, they were, "lighter and lustier than [English soldiers] in travail and footmanship". John Dymmok, who served in the retinue of the earl of Essex, Elizabeth I's lord lieutenant of Ireland, provides the classic description of a kern equipped for war: ". . . a kind of footman, slightly armed with a sword, a target (round shield) of wood, or a bow and sheaf of arrows with barbed heads, or else three darts, which they cast with a wonderful facility and nearness, a weapon more noisome to the enemy, especially horsemen, than it is deadly". Kerns were armed with a
sword (
claideamh), long
dagger (
scian),
bow (
bogha) and a set of
javelins, or
darts (
ga). Kerns did not cling to their obsolete weapons and tactics but wholeheartedly and with great speed adopted weapons and military methodology of the continent, becoming heavily dependent upon firepower. However, they retained their original armaments and used them to great effect in areas where pike-and-shot formation was ineffective, such as woodland and dense scrub. ==Woodkerns==