High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ruatha Hold is a hold, or dwelling-place (literally a castle), on the fictional planet of Pern in the series of "The Dragonriders of Pern" by Anne McCaffrey. Ruatha was the third major hold to be established on Pern. Its founders were Peter "Red" Hanrahan, his wife and their children. The name comes from the Irish "Rua" (red) and "atha" (ford), or "Red`s ford" although grammatically translated as "Ford Red". The correct Irish would be Ath Rua.