Red Hanrahan

Peter Red Hanrahan is a fictional character in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonsdawn novel. [McCaffrey, Anne Dragonsdawn 1989] Red is a vet who arrives on Pern as one of the original colonists from Earth. From their home in Clonmel in Ireland, he, his wife Mairi, and their two children, Sorka and Brian, travel to Pern in deep sleep on the colony ship "Yokohama". [McCaffrey, Anne Dragonsdawn 1989]

Significance and Role

Red is one of the founding fathers of Pern society and, along with his extended family, reflects much of McCaffrey's own Irish origins in the multicultural mix of early Pern. As one of the senior vets, Red is a vital staff member in Kitti Ping's dragon engineering project and a source of guidance to the dragonriders of the First Hatching. His own daughter Sorka, along with fellow Irish colonist, Sean Connell, makes first Impression of the native firelizards who provide the genetic material for the dragons. [McCaffrey, Anne Dragonsdawn 1989] Sorka and Sean later become riders of the First Dragons and founders of Fort Weyr. Throughout this phase, Red provides guidance and support. It is to Red and Mairi that Sean turns in times of stress such as at the death of queen rider Alianne, whose dragon, Chereth, was the first to go between on the death of her rider. Red and Mairi help to raise Sorka and Sean's five children along with their own seven younger children born after their arrival on Pern. [McCaffrey, Anne The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall 1993]

Founding of Ruatha

When the original northern hemisphere settlement at Fort became over-crowded during the First Pass, Red and Mairi apply to Paul Benden to begin a third settlement in a cave system to the north. They take a hundred and forty-one people representing a range of families, ages and skills, along with the horses and other livestock Red has been carefully breeding to begin the new Hold. On the journey from Fort to the new place, Red's paternal care of his people and his skill with horse-flesh is clearly demonstrated. The key point to the journey is the crossing of a swollen river which marks the boundary of their lands. Red works tirelessly to bring his caravan across the ford. While crossing the ford, Sean arrives to check on their progress and to seek their comfort after the death of Alianne. Eventually, Red's caravan arrives safely and they begin to make their cave system into a new home. [McCaffrey, Anne The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall 1993]

Red scrounged from Joel Lillienkamp, the store-keeper of the colony, a set of air-lock doors taken from one of the shuttles which transported the colonists to the surface from the great colony ships still in orbit around the planet. The climax of Red's story is the Dooring of his new hold, before the colony leaders, community and dragonriders. At this point, Red announces the new settlement's name: the Hold of Red's Ford. In the Irish, Rua Atha, or Ruatha. [McCaffrey, Anne The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall 1993]

References