Tírechán was a 7th century Irish bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 and biographer of Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

. Tírechán wrote his untitled memoir (so-called because it is written in the first person, as though the author was Patrick) sometime after the death of his mentor, Ultan of Ardbraccan

Ultan of Ardbraccan

For the brother of Saint Fursey, see Ultan.St. Ultan of Ardbraccan was an Irish saint and Abbot-Bishop of Ardbraccan during the 7th Century CE....

, in 657. The work survives in the manuscript The Book of Armagh

Book of Armagh

The Book of Armagh or Codex Ardmachanus , also known as the Canon of Patrick and the Liber Armachanus, is a 9th-century Irish manuscript written mainly in Latin. It is held by the Library of Trinity College, Dublin...

.

Tírechán's account, which J. B. Bury

J. B. Bury

John Bagnell Bury , known as J. B. Bury, was an Irish historian, classical scholar, Byzantinist and philologist.-Biography:...

 dated to the 660s or 670s, is frequently compared with the more-or-less contemporary narrative of the monk Muirchu moccu Machtheni

Muirchu moccu Machtheni

Muirchu moccu Machtheni , usually known simply as Muirchu, was a seventh-century Irish historian and Leinster monk.-Works:...

.

External links

• St Patrick's Confessio HyperStack: The website provides images of the Patrician Texts in the Book of Armagh, Tírechán's Biography of St Patrick in Latin and English.