Inhabitants of Ireland, after the 1century B.C. They were organized in tribal communities, each clan being governed by a chief, who was always a member of the ruling family, or by a king. There were also the two assemblies, the druids who charmed the evil spirits, the ollamhs (professors of law), and bards who had charge of the genealogies and reduced them to writing. They worshiped forces or objects of nature and were Christianized by Saint Patrick. Through them Irish literature and culture reached its acme.