The Celtic feast of Beltaine (feast of the fires) was a major festival to celebrate the beginning of summer and triumph over the dark powers. Traditionally, a fire would be lit by Ireland's High King on the top of the Hill of Tara, and his fire would then be used to light all other fires.
So, when St Patrick lit a fire in advance of High King Laoghaire, he was deliberately inviting attention from the pagan chiefs.
The druid elders were sent by Laoghaire to investigate and they reported back that Patrick's fire had magical powers because they could not put it out. They warned that if the king did not extinguish Patrick's fire, it would burn forever.
King Laoghaire was unable to extinguish the saint's fire and accepted that Patrick's 'magic' was stronger than his. Although he did not choose to convert to Christianity himself, the king endorsed Patrick's mission to convert the Irish.
(From the Irish Genealogy Toolkit)
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