1. Who were the Celts and when did they arrive in Ireland?
The Celts were a population of warriors that came from north-west Germany. They arrived in Britain in 500 BC. They went there in two waves: the first directly from the continent and the second through Britain.

2. Explain who were the dominant people in Ireland in the late Bronze Age when the Celts arrived.
The people who were in Ireland when the Celts arrived had been there from 6,000 BC. The first population was composed of hunters. Then, a second group of farmers settled in Ireland and a third wave of metal workers arrived there a few centuries before the Celts.

3. How long did the Celts dominate in Ireland?
The Celts dominated Ireland for several centuries, from 500 BC to the 1^st century AD.

4. When did writing arrive in Ireland?
Writing arrived in Ireland with the advent of Christianity during the 5^th century. It arrived with the Roman alphabet and the Latin language.

5. How do stories depict Ireland?
Stories depict Ireland as divided into five major kingdoms (two of them were always fighting). Every kingdom was divided into a large number of petty kingdoms (tuatha), so Ireland was divided into quite 150 kingdoms. Local wars were frequent but not prolonged and Ireland had no political unity.

6. What is a tuatha and a ràth?
A tuatha is one of the small kingdoms Ireland was divided into. The king was elected by the freemen of the tuatha and was chosen between all the members of the royal family.
The ràth was the habitation of people in Ireland. It was usually built on a hilltop and surrounded by a fence of other structures. Ràths were the farmhouses where lived farmers and freemen.

7. Who introduced Christianity into Ireland and when?
St. Patrick introduced Christianity into Ireland in the second half of the 5^th century.

8. Why were monasteries important?
Monasteries were important because they were not only religious but also cultural centres. Important manuscripts were copied and conserved in libraries and there were also real treasures. In addition, monasteries and their surroundings were the centres with the highest concentration of people.

9. Were family relationships important?
Yes, family relationships were very important. The Celts were subdivided into tribes , where people came from the same grandfathers. In addition, occupations began to become inherited, so there were some families that occupied the same role for generations.

10. Discuss the importance of the learned class.
The learned class was made up of judges, medical men and “poets”, who were the heirs of the old druids. They had an important role in administration and some of them worked for the kings, for example updating the family tree of the royal family. People thought they had an importance, wisdom but also magical powers like the Druids.