In the name of divine justice, swearing was intimidating, cathartic, and virtuosic, mingling horrific yet beautiful language with pompous ceremonies. It had numerous uses, but it was especially useful to Ireland's disadvantaged people who were fighting for food, religion, politics, land, and familial loyalty. Cursing provided a means of releasing anger and frustration while making bold statements about one's status or beliefs. Cursing was also a part of ritual magic used by priests to gain power over evil spirits and ensure victory in battle. Finally, cursing was essential in poetry because it allowed poets to express themselves more freely than if they were limited to nice words like flowers and stars. Poets used bad language to make feelings visible that would otherwise be impossible to convey. After Christianity came to Ireland, cursing continued as before because it was such an important part of life for people living in pre-modern societies. In fact, some historians believe that cursing may have helped convertides to Christianity since it was such a vital part of daily life for all classes of people. Today, cursing is used in much the same way it was done by past generations. People use it to get attention, express their opinions, and increase their power over others. Although there are now many other ways to get angry at someone, curse still has the ability to cause shock and dismay because of its archaic nature.