Mug Ruith (orMogh Roith, "slave of the wheel") is a figure inIrish mythology, a powerful blinddruid ofMunster who lived onValentia Island,County Kerry. He could grow to enormous size, and his breath caused storms and turned men to stone. He wore a hornless bull-hide and a bird mask, and flew in a ship called theroth rámach, the "oared wheel". He had a fiery ox-drivenchariot with blazing jewels that made night seem as bright as day, a star-speckled black shield with a silver rim, and a stone which could turn into a poisonouseel when thrown in water.
Stories about Mug Ruith are set in various periods of Irish history. Some say he lived during the reign of 3rd centuryHigh KingCormac mac Airt, while others put him inJerusalem during the time ofChrist. InLebor Gabála Érenn he is said to have died in the reign ofConmael, nearly two thousand years before Cormac's time. Perhaps due to this array of times and settings, poets attributed the druid with extraordinary longevity (he lived through the reign of nineteen kings according to one story). His powers and long lifespan have led some to conclude he was aeuhemerisedsun orstorm god.
The various medieval legends about his adventures in the Holy Land at the dawn of Christendom paint him as an interesting and mysterious character, a defender of paganism and an enemy of Christianity. He is said to have been a student ofSimon Magus, who taught him his magic skills and helped him buildroth rámach.Roth rámach is described as a flying machine with great destructive power. It blinded those who looked at it, deafens whoever hears it, and kills whoever it strikes. A prophecy attributed toSaint Columba describes the ship's appearance over Europe as an omen of theLast Judgement. Another vehicle attributed to him is a chariot. This description leads scholar Aideen M. O'Leary to speculate he may have been aneuhemerized sun god.[1][2]
In at least two other poems Mug Ruith is identified as the executioner who beheadedJohn the Baptist, bringing a curse to the Irish people. He cuts an equally impressive figure inThe Siege of Knocklong, set in Cormac mac Airt's time. Here he defeats Cormac's druids in an elaborate magical battle in exchange for land from KingFiachu Muillethan of southernMunster, from whom Cormac had been trying to levy taxes. Mug Ruith's daughter wasTlachtga, a powerful druidess, who gave her name to a hill inCounty Meath and a festival celebrated there. Tlachtga, who was raped by Simon Magus while her father was learning magic, gave birth to three sons Dorb, Cuma, and Muach.[3]
The territory Mug Ruith received for his descendants was Fir Maige Féne, later known asFermoy. The medieval tribe of Fir Maige Féne claimed descent from him, although they were ruled by the unrelated O'Keefes ofEóganacht Glendamnach.[4]
He marriedThe Cailleach and together they lived at the site of what is nowLabbacallee wedge tomb until, in a fit of jealousy after he fell in love with her sister, the hag threw a boulder at the druid knocking him into theRiver Funshion where he died.[5]