W. B. Yeats: The Red Hanrahan Stories

Owen Red Hanrahan is a fictional Irishman created by W. B. Yeats. The character is believed to be loosely based on the Irish bard Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin (1748 – 29 June 1784). The anglicised version of his name is Owen Roe O’Sullivan (“Red Owen”).

Yeats wrote six Red Hanrahan stories, all of which follow on from each other and should be read in the correct order. Collectively the stories have a word count of around 14,500 words, so the complete tale is a novelette. Details of first publication are somewhat hazy, but It’s believed that the complete series of stories were published in 1897 as a short story collection called Stories of Red Hanrahan. However, given their collective length, and the way the stories follow on from each other, it’s hard not to wonder if they may have been previously serialised in a magazine or journal.

In 1908, the Red Hanrahan stories were republished in The Collected Works of William Butler Yeats. Some have since been reprinted elsewhere, but the first tale is the only one that functions well as a stand-alone story. The other five stories refer back to it, or each other, taking readers from Hanrahan’s misadventure on Samhein Eve, to the end of his life.

Due to the mystical content of the story, and some of Hanrahan’s strange encounters, the first tale, “Red Hanrahan,” has reasonable credentials as a horror story. The other five stories not so much so, but they certainly belong to the fantasy genre.

 

List of Red Hanrahan Stories

1 – Red Hanrahan

The first story introduces Red Hanrahan; who is described as a a tall, strong young hedge schoolmaster with red hair. When he visits a dwelling house, Hanrahan and some of the other men of the village are roped into a game of cards with a strange old man, who causes a hare to materialise from between his hands. The stranger then brings forth a pack of hounds that chase the hare around the dwelling house and out into the night.

When the old man calls out “follow the hounds,” Hanrahan is the only man who takes up the challenge. This results in an adventure involving the fairy folk; an adventure that causes the schoolmaster to lose a year of his life and the woman he loves. [Read the story]

2 – The Twisting of the Rope

Now a wandering poet who exchanges poem recitals for food and hospitality, Hanrahan is invited into the home of an old friend, where he uses the magical power of his words to try and woo his friend’s daughter. [Read the story]

3 – Hanrahan and Cathleen the Daughter of Hoolihan

Still pursuing the life of a wandering poet, and singing songs at wakes and weddings, Hanrahan chances to meet an old fried who invites him into her home, where he lives for a while, greatly increasing his friend’s social status by providing entertainment for her guests. [Read the story]

4 – Red Hanrahan’s Curse

After leaving the home of his friend Margaret Rooney, Hanrahan resumes his travels, finds an abandoned hut, makes it his home, and begins bartering his schoolmaster skills for food. Things go well until he makes the mistake of writing a poetical curse aimed at the older members of the community.*  [Read the story]

5 – Hanrahan’s Vision

Pursuing a life on the road and filled with nostalgia, Hanrahan sings a song that came to him in a dream. He stops to rest at the top of a hill, where he has strange visions and mystical experiences. [Read the story]

6 – The Death of Hanrahan

Still living the life of a wandering poet, but beginning to feel his years, Hanrahan becomes ill and is cared for by an old woman who lost her wits during an encounter with the fairy folk. As the last of his strength fades, he is visited by shadowy entities and ethereal voices. Two days later, turf cutters enter the cottage and discover Hanrahan’s body, which is interred in a manner fitting for so great a poet. [Read the story]

 

* The idea that the words of bards may have magical powers has firm roots in Celtic folklore and mythology. In ancient Ireland, bards were held in high esteem and were reputed to be capable of producing verses capable of ruining the mighty or causing illness. [Further Reading: Irish Bards: Keepers of Story, Song, and Memory]

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