Tírechán and the magi

Abstract

This article surveys the references to magi (the Latin term that is used to render Irish druid) in Tírechán’s account of the career of Saint Patrick. Patrick is described by Tírechán as encountering magi relatively frequently: on a few occasions they oppose him, and are destroyed, but these cases seem to be exceptional. Patrick’s master during his time as a slave is said to have been a magus, whose children were Patrick’s first converts; other magi as well are described as accepting the new religion and entering the priesthood, and one of these magi-turned-priests establishes an ecclesiastical lineage that continues into later generations. Tírechán uses some Irish words that he claims derive from the magi, and the article considers his use of pagan terminology more generally. It is suggested that he may have derived his knowledge of the magi from a person or persons descended from them.