Dragonriders of Pern is a science fantasy series written primarily by American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey, who initiated it in 1967. Beginning in 2003, her middle child Todd McCaffrey has written Pern novels, both solo and jointly with Anne. The series comprises 24 novels and two collections of short stories. The two novellas included in the first novel, Dragonflight, made McCaffrey the first woman to win a Hugo Award for writing fiction as well as the first to win a Nebula Award.
Michael O'Hanrahan was an Irish rebel who was executed for his active role in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Dragonsong is a science fantasy novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Released by Atheneum Books in March 1976, it was the third to appear set on the world Pern of the Dragonriders of Pern. In its time, however, Dragonsong brought the fictional planet Pern to a new publisher, editor, and target audience of young adults, and soon became the first book in the Harper Hall of Pern trilogy. The original Dragonriders of Pern trilogy with Ballantine Books was not completed until after the publication of Dragonsong and its sequel.
Dragondrums is a young adult science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Published by Atheneum Books in 1979, it was the sixth to appear in the Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne or her son Todd McCaffrey.
Ciarán or Ciaran is a traditionally male given name of Irish origin. It means "little dark one" or "little dark-haired one", produced by appending a diminutive suffix to ciar. It is the masculine version of the name Ciara.
Dempsey is a surname of Irish origin.
Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; however, Irish clans also included unrelated clients of the chief.
Kinsella is a surname of Irish Gaelic origin, developed from the original form Cinnsealach, meaning "proud". The Kinsella sept is native in part of the modern County Wexford in Leinster, a district formerly called the Kinsellaghs. The oldest documentary mention of the surname appears in the Ancient Records of Leinster, dated to 1170, where the son of the King of Leinster is named as Enna Cinsealach. Originally pronounced KIN-səl-ə, it is also often found pronounced kihn-SEL-lə. This surname is most often found in Ireland, Northern Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish Ó Floinn or possibly Mac Floinn, meaning "descendant or son of Flann". The name is more commonly used as a surname rather than a first name.
Dragonsinger is a young adult science fiction novel by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Published by Atheneum Books in 1977, it was the fourth to appear in the Dragonriders of Pern series written by Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey.
O'Shea is a surname and, less often, a given name. It is an anglicized form of the Irish patronymic name Ó Séaghdha or Ó Sé, originating in the Kingdom of Corcu Duibne in County Kerry. Historian C. Thomas Cairney stated that the O'Sheas were from the Corcu Duibne tribe who were from the Erainn tribe who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland from about 500 to 100 BC.
Nerilka's Story is a science fiction novella by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. Nerilka's Story is the eighth book in the Dragonriders of Pern volume series.
The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall is a 1993 collection of short fiction by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. All five stories are set on the fictional planet Pern; First Fall is one of two collections in the science fiction series Dragonriders of Pern.
Considine is an Irish surname anglicised from the Gaelic form Mac Consaidín meaning "son of Consaidín" being derived from a foreign Christian name; meaning "son of Constantine". According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the MacConsidines were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC. The family were based in Kingdom of Thomond, much of which later became County Clare. The ancestor of the family was Consaidín Ua Briain, a Bishop of Killaloe who died in 1194 and who was the son of Toirdhealbhach mac Diarmada Ua Briain. Notable people with the surname include:
Kieron Moore was an Irish film and television actor whose career was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. He may be best remembered for his role as Count Vronsky in the film adaptation of Anna Karenina (1948) with Vivien Leigh.
The Harper Hall trilogy is a series of three science fiction novels by the American-Irish author Anne McCaffrey. They are part of the Dragonriders of Pern series as it is known today, 26 books by Anne or her son Todd McCaffrey or daughter Gigi McCaffrey as of 2018. They were published by Atheneum Books in 1976, 1977, and 1979, alongside the Dragonriders of Pern series. Omnibus editions of the two trilogies were published by the Doubleday Science Fiction Book Club in 1978 and 1984, titled The Dragonriders of Pern and The Harper Hall of Pern respectively.
Kavanagh or Kavanaugh is a surname of Irish origin, Caomhánach in Irish. It is one of the few Irish surnames that does not traditionally have an O or a Mac in either English or Irish.
The O'Toole family of County Wicklow, formerly one of the leading clans of Leinster, descended from Tuathal mac Augaire, King of Leinster, of the Uí Muiredaig branch of the Uí Dúnlainge dynasty.
Ó hÍceadha is a surname of Irish origin. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Hickeys were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tribe of the Erainn who were the second wave of Celts to settle in Ireland between about 500 and 100 BC.
