The Gallowglass (also spelled galloglass, gallowglas or galloglas; from meaning foreign warriors) were a class of elite mercenary warriors who were principally members of the Norse-Gaelic clans of Ireland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century. It originally applied to Scots, who shared a common background and language with the Irish, but as they were descendants of 10th-century Norse settlers who had intermarried with the local population in western Scotland, the Irish called them ("foreign Gaels"). An early family of gallowglasses was the MacSweeneys, settled by the O'Donnells in north Donegal. These were followed by MacDonnells, MacCabes and several other groups settled by powerful Irish nobles in different areas. The gallowglasses were attractive as heavily armoured, trained infantry to be relied upon as a strong defence for holding a position, unlike most Irish foot soldiers, who were less well armoured than the typical Irish noble who fought as cavalry. They were a significant part of Irish infantry before the advent of gunpowder, and depended upon seasonal service with Irish chieftains. A military leader would often choose a gallowglass to serve as his personal aide and bodyguard because, as a foreigner, the gallowglass would be less subject to local feuds and influences. Name The Irish language gallóglach is derived from gall "foreign" and óglach; from Old Irish oac (meaning "youth") and Old Irish lóeg (meaning "calf" but later becoming a word for a "hero"). The Old Irish language plural gallóglaigh is literally "foreign young warriors".(The modern Irish plural is galloglagh.) According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the English language singular, gallowglass, is an anglicisation of Old Irish plural gallóglaigh, rather than the singular. The OED, which prefers the spelling "galloglass", provides examples of various English plural forms, dating back to a use of "galloglasseis". The OED states that the conventional English plural, gallo(w)glasses, is "probably the result" of the duplicate, redundant plural suffix -es being added to the Irish plural. (The OED notes that while the modern Irish plural galloglagh appears to be "etymologically correct", it is recorded later than English gallowglasses.) For instance, Shakespeare uses the form "gallowglasses" in Macbeth. The OED adds that "galloglasses is found ... in our earliest quot.", even though "in some early instances", a relatively early, alternate English plural form, galloglas, is also used. Hence, English gallowglass is probably a singularised form, which post-dates the plural, gallowglasses. Origin The gallowglass were from