On Raglan Road

[1] In the poem, the speaker recalls, while walking on a "quiet street," a love affair that he had with a much younger woman.

[2] It was first published as a poem in The Irish Press on 3 October 1946 under the title "Dark Haired Miriam Ran Away".

[3][4] Though she regarded Kavanagh as a friend, her feelings were not romantic, and in 1947, she married Donogh O'Malley,[4][5] who later became Fianna Fáil Minister for Education.

In 1987, Moriarty was interviewed by Irish broadcaster RTÉ for a documentary about Kavanagh called Gentle Tiger.

Kavanagh observed her coming and going from Raglan Road to University on a daily basis, and as an excuse to meet with her in the Country Shop on St Stephen's Green or Mitchell's on Dawson Street, he often asked Moriarty to critique his work.

Kavanagh described himself as a peasant poet, but Moriarty was not that impressed and teased him, "Can you not, then, write about anything other than stony grey soil and bogs, Paddy?"

Besides Kelly's version with The Dubliners, the song, often known simply as "Raglan Road", has since been performed by Van Morrison with The Chieftains, Mark Knopfler, Ed Sheeran, The Young Dubliners, Sinéad O'Connor, Billy Bragg, Roger Daltrey, Dick Gaughan, Loreena McKennitt, Billy Joel, Joan Osborne, Órla Fallon, Ian Tamblyn, Tommy Fleming, Mary Black, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Martin Simpson, and Nyle Wolfe among others.