Forgall Monach or Manach (the dextrous, wily) is a character in the Ulster Cycle

Ulster Cycle

The Ulster Cycle , formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, one of the four great cycles of Irish mythology, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the traditional heroes of the Ulaid in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Down and...

 of Irish mythology

Irish mythology

The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

. He lives at Luglochta Loga (the gardens of Lugh

Lugh

Lug or Lugh is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. He is known by the epithets Lámhfhada , for his skill with a spear or sling, Ildánach , Samhildánach , Lonnbeimnech and Macnia , and by the...

) in Lusk, County Dublin

Lusk, County Dublin

Lusk is a village in Ireland located north of Dublin city centre. The name "Lusk" is said to date back to St. MacCullin, who founded a church there c.450. Oral tradition suggests MacCullin may have either lived in or been buried in a cave and that the name "Lusk" derives from an old Gaelic word...

.

The Ulster

Ulaid

The Ulaid or Ulaidh were a people of early Ireland who gave their name to the modern province of Ulster...

 hero Cúchulainn

Cúchulainn

Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...

 falls in love with his younger daughter, Emer

Emer

Emer , in modern Irish Éimhear, or, erroneously, Eimhear or Éimear, daughter of Forgall Monach, is the wife of the hero Cú Chulainn in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.-Tochmarc Emire "The Wooing of Emer":...

, but Forgall is opposed to the match, ostensibly because his older daughter Fial is not yet married. He visits Ulster, disguised as the king of the Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

s, and suggests that Cúchulainn should go Alba (Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

) to train in arms under the warrior-woman Scáthach

Scáthach

Scáthach is a figure in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. She is a legendary Scottish warrior woman and martial arts teacher who trains the legendary Ulster hero Cú Chulainn in the arts of combat...

, hoping the ordeal will lead to his death. While he was away he offers Emer to Lugaid mac Nóis, a king of Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

, but when he hears that Emer loves Cúchulainn, Lugaid refuses her hand. When Cúchulainn returns from Scotland fully trained, Forgall still refuses to let him marry Emer. Cúchulainn storms Forgall's fortress, killing twenty-four of Forgall's men, abducts Emer and steals Forgall's treasure. Forgall himself falls from the ramparts to his death.