Ceitherne, what am I missing?

[Phier]

Ceitherne
60 men in unit.
1 attack
1 charge

Almost identical cost to a spearman unit in cost, inferior in combat stats.

The only difference is the 'effective against armor' but that makes it, if I read correctly the attack as if it was on 1/2 the actual armor class?

I've got to be missing something here, but why would I take these guys over any other Irish unit? I'm trying to take over the world for St. Pattys day for the Irish, these guys don't look like they will help much.

[Pious Agnost]

Use them in conjunction with Galloglaichs, they're good for the 'Hammer and Anvil' tactic (Ceitherne are the hammer)

[PerXX]

They're not looking like much, but are actually still decent units. Sword/axe infantry get's a hidden bonus vs spears (or spears get a hidden penalty, can't remember), and combat animations also help alot.
I haven't had much experience with Ceitherne, but I think they're similar to the Lithuanian axemen, which I've used with great succes. They do kill much faster than their stats would suggest.