THE WARRIOR EVERYONE WANTED TO WED

By the time Cú Chulainn had proven himself as a warrior, he had become the most admired young man in Ulster. He was strong, fearless, and strikingly handsome—so much so that the wives and daughters of the Red Branch warriors sighed as he walked past.

The warriors of Emain Macha wanted him to marry, both to stop their women from staring at him and to ensure that he had a son to inherit his greatness.

But Cú Chulainn refused every offer. No matter how beautiful a woman was, no matter how great her dowry, he would not take a wife.

“I will not marry unless she is my equal,” he declared.

Then, he heard of Emer, the daughter of Forgall the Wily—a woman said to possess the six gifts of an ideal bride: beauty, voice, sweet speech, needlework, wisdom, and chastity. Intrigued, Cú Chulainn and his charioteer, Láeg, set off to meet her.

THE RIDDLES OF COURTSHIP

When Cú Chulainn arrived at Emer’s home, she was teaching needlework and crafts to the women of the household.

Her sister, spotting a chariot approaching, described its gold, silver, and bronze decorations. She pointed out the two men inside—one with red hair and wiry strength, the other with dark hair and a brooding expression.

And then she realised who it was.

“It is Cú Chulainn—the most beautiful man in Ireland!”

When Cú Chulainn met Emer, he did not speak plainly. Instead, he spoke in riddles, puns, and cryptic phrases—words that made no sense to anyone listening.

Láeg stared in disbelief—this was not how one wooed a woman!

But Emer only smiled. She answered in riddles just as cleverly, matching his wit with her own.

After some time, Cú Chulainn made a bold remark.

Glancing down at the top of her dress, he said:
“I see a fine country there, with a sweet resting place.”

Without hesitation, Emer replied:
“No man shall rest there unless he can leap over three walls, slay three groups of nine men with one blow—leaving one alive in each—and kill one hundred men at every ford between here and Emain Macha.”

The challenge was set.

FORGALL’S DECEPTION

As Cú Chulainn and Láeg returned home, the charioteer tried to console his friend.

“Well,” he sighed, “that did not go well.”

But Cú Chulainn only smiled.

“She tested me,” he explained. “She understood my riddles, and she is clever enough to play the game with me. She knows her father will never approve—but she has given me her conditions for marriage.”

A servant overheard the conversation and reported everything to Forgall the Wily. Furious, Forgall swore that his daughter would never marry Cú Chulainn.

Determined to stop the match, he devised a plan.

Disguising himself as a traveller from Gaul, he journeyed to Emain Macha and sat among Ulster’s warriors.

During a night of storytelling, he turned to King Conchobar and remarked:
“It is a shame that such great warriors as yours do not train with Scáthach—the greatest warrior-woman in the world.”

His words struck a chord with Cú Chulainn, Conall Cernach, and other young warriors. They decided at once to seek out Scáthach on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

This had been Forgall’s plan all along.

He hoped the journey would kill Cú Chulainn. If not, Scáthach’s brutal training or her war with the warrior-woman Aoife might do the job.

And if Cú Chulainn survived? Then at least he would be gone long enough for Forgall to marry Emer to another man.

EMER’S DEFIANCE

While Cú Chulainn trained in Scotland, Forgall arranged for Emer to marry King Lugaid of Munster.

On the day of the wedding, when Emer was brought before her bridegroom, she cupped his face in her hands and spoke:

“I love Cú Chulainn, and he loves me. He will return for me. If you take me against my will, you will have no honour, and he will take his revenge upon you.”

Lugaid left at once, unwilling to risk Cú Chulainn’s wrath.

And just as Emer had predicted, as soon as Cú Chulainn completed his training, he returned home to claim her.

THE RESCUE OF EMER

But Forgall had been preparing for war.

His fortress was reinforced with three great walls, and his strongest warriors waited in the courtyard—three groups of nine men, each led by one of his sons.

But Cú Chulainn was undeterred.

He leapt over the walls, struck down each of the three groups of warriors in a single blow, leaving only Emer’s brothers alive.

Seeing this, Forgall panicked.

Believing Cú Chulainn would kill him, he tried to escape—but as he climbed over the wall, he slipped and fell to his death.

Cú Chulainn lifted Emer into his arms, took her weight in gold, and leapt back over the walls with ease.

But their escape was not yet complete.

Forgall’s men pursued them, and at every ford between her home and Emain Macha, Cú Chulainn had to stop and fight.

At each one, he killed one hundred men—fulfilling the final condition Emer had set for him.

MARRIAGE AND LEGACY

Though Emer grieved for her father, she did not blame Cú Chulainn.

“You did not kill him,” she told him. “His death was an accident, and his own doing.”

And so, they were married.

Their match proved to be one of equals—in wit, wisdom, and strength.

Though Cú Chulainn spent much of his time in battle, and though he was known to take other lovers, Emer was never jealous.

She knew that, no matter where he went, he would always return to her.