In the Cath Maige Tuired, Lugh offers to assist the Tuatha de Danaan whose king, Nuada, was maimed and possibly unable to fight the invading Fomorians. When Lugh comes to the gates of Tara, he is refused entry because it is not known if he has any skills. In the dialogue that follows, he knocks again and again on the door, successively identifying himself as wright (builder), smith, champion, harper, warrior, poet, historian, magician, leech (healer), cupbearer, and brazier (smith). Yet each time he is told that the Tuatha de Danaan already have someone who fills those positions. Lugh then asks is they have someone who is able to excel at ALL of those skills - Samildinach! The Tuatha de Danaan welcome him into Tara.

After Bres, Nuadu was once more in the kingship over the Tuatha De; and at that time he held a great feast for the Tuatha De in Tara. Now there was a certain warrior whose name was Samildanach on his way to Tara. At that time there were doorkeepers at Tara named Gamal mac Figail and Camall mac Riagail. While the latter was on duty, he saw the strange company coming toward him. A handsome, well-built young warrior with a king's diadem was at the front of the band.

They told the doorkeeper to announce their arrival in Tara. The doorkeeper asked, "Who is there?"

"Lug Lormansclech is here, the son of Cian son of Dian Cecht and of Ethne daughter of Balor. He is the foster son of Tailtiu, the daughter of Magmor, the king of Spain, and of Eochaid Garb mac Duach."

The doorkeeper then asked of Samildanach, "What art do you practice? For no one without an art enters Tara."

"Question me," he said. "I am a builder."

The doorkeeper answered, "We do not need you. We have a builder already, Luchta mac Luachada."

He said, "Question me, doorkeeper: I am a smith."

The doorkeeper answered him, "We have a smith already, Colum Cualeinech of the three new techniques."

He said, "Question me: I am a champion."

The doorkeeper answered, "We do not need you. We have a champion already, Ogma mac Ethlend."

He said again, "Question me." "I am a harper," he said.

"We do not need you. We have a harper already, Abcan mac Bicelmois, whom the men of the three gods chose in the sid-mounds."

He said, "Question me: I am a warrior."

The doorkeeper answered, "We do not need you. We have a warrior already, Bresal Etarlam mac Echdach Baethlaim."

Then he said, "Question me, doorkeeper. I am a poet and a historian."

"We do not need you. We already have a poet and historian, En mac Ethamain."

He said, "Question me. I am a sorcerer."

"We do not need you. We have sorcerers already. Our druids and our people of power are numerous."

He said, "Question me. I am a physician."

"We do not need you. We have Dian Cecht as a physician."

"Question me," he said. "I am a cupbearer."

"We do not need you. We have cupbearers already: Delt and Drucht and Daithe, Tae and Talom and Trog, Gle and Glan and Glesse."

He said, "Question me: I am a good brazier."

"We do not need you. We have a brazier already, Credne Cerd."

He said, "Ask the king whether he has one man who possesses all these arts: if he has I will not be able to enter Tara."

Then the doorkeeper went into the royal hall and told everything to the king. "A warrior has come before the court," he said, "named Samildanach; and all the arts which help your people, he practices them all, so that he is the man of each and every art."

Then he said that they should bring him the fidchell-boards of Tara, and he won all the stakes, so that he made the cro of Lug. (But if fidchell was invented at the time of the Trojan war, it had not reached Ireland yet, for the battle of Mag Tuired and the destruction of Troy occurred at the same time.)

Then that was related to Nuadu. "Let him into the court," said Nuadu, "for a man like that has never before come into this fortress."

Then the doorkeeper let him past, and he went into the fortress, and he sat in the seat of the sage, because he was a sage in every art.