[2] Muirchú was possibly a member of the Tuath Mochtaine clan, who resided on Mag Macha, the Armagh plain.
[1] Muirchú, along with Bishop Aedh, is recorded to have been among the ecclesiastics who attended the Synod of Birr in 697 A.D.[1] Their attendance at the Synod suggests that the two were concerned with the unification of the two churches in Ireland, the southern and northern churches, Romani and the Hibernenses, who had various differing customs and some opposing ideas on religious matters.
[5] However, due to the incompleteness of all four surviving copies, scholars have found it difficult to piece together a comprehensible version of the Vita.
[7] Muirchú also informs his readers in the prologue that nobody else had attempted to write a similar kind of text except for his father Cogitosus.
[11] This is not to say with certainty that Muirchú was less educated, because there is a slight possibility that the Book of Armagh did not reproduce the Vita Patricii properly.
[14] Muirchú is also seen to quote books other than the bible, including classical authors such as Virgil and Sedulius, again alluding to the fact that he was clearly very well educated by monastic standards.
Similar to a piece of literature, the Vita Patricii contains two climaxes, suggesting that Muirchú added these for dramatic effect.
[21] In these events Patrick is portrayed as a kind of medieval superhero and saint who could perform miracles and challenge evil forces.
These texts, and particularly Muirchú's Vita Patricii, are often thought to have been written to promote the ambitions of Armagh as the prime church in Ireland.
Thomas O’Loughlin argues that it is clear that Muirchú was not only aware of what steps needed to be taken to convince people to convert, but had a deep theological understanding of it and the processes it would take.
[31] Hughes also mentions that Muirchú's writings clearly indicate that the Ui Néill, the dominant political power at that time, owed their conversion to Christianity to Patrick.
[27] O’Loughlin suggests that the aim of Muirchú in the Vita was to send a message to his audience; that they had seen the truth of Christianity through Patrick's efforts and that they could still rely on him in his saint form as they had when he lived.
[32] By having their own saint, in the sense that Patrick's actions were centred in Ireland, the Irish Christians would have had a lasting figure to rely on as an intermediary to God.
Though very little is known about Muirchú's life, his education background and his desire to help spread Christianity throughout Ireland and encourage conversions can be seen through the Vita Patricii.
Moreover, through examining Muirchú's text it is possible to see an example of what opinions an early Irish Christian had and how he might have imagined his own religious history.