Members of the clan founded bardic schools throughout Ireland, and also in Scotland. The noble bards of Ireland were accorded great prestige and were accounted "filid" or "men of skill"; in social rank, they were placed below kings but above all others. The Ó Dálaigh were the foremost practitioners of the exacting and difficult poetry form known as "Dán Díreach" throughout the Late Medieval period. Part of the prestige that attached to the Irish bardic "ollamh" was derived from fear; a leader satirised in a "glam dicenn" (satire-poem), by a very able poet, could find his social position badly undermined. Very talented poets were also believed to possess the power to raise boils on the face of the target of their satires or inflict other bodily harm (early Irish society placed great store on the physical appearance of leaders). Conversely, the praise of a skilled poet was very greatly valued as it enhanced social and political prestige.