On Raglan Road
| "On Raglan Road" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by The Dubliners | ||||
| Released | 5 October 1986 | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Genre | Folk, Irish | |||
| Length |
3:15 |
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| Label | CHYME | |||
| The Dubliners singles chronology | ||||
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"On Raglan Road" is a well-known Irish song from a poem written by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh named after Raglan Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin. In the poem, the speaker recalls a love affair that he had with a young woman while walking on a "quiet street". Although the speaker knew that he would risk being hurt if he initiated a relationship, he did so anyway.
It was first published as a poem in The Irish Press on 3 October 1946 under the title "Dark Haired Miriam Ran Away."Peter Kavanagh, Patrick's brother, said that "it was written about Patrick's girlfriend Hilda but to avoid embarrassment he used the name of my girlfriend in the title". Her real name was Dr. Hilda Moriarty, then a medical student from County Kerry, who later married Donogh O'Malley, the Irish Minister for Education. Their son is the actor Daragh O'Malley.
In 1987, Hilda Moriarty was interviewed by the Irish broadcaster RTÉ for a documentary about Kavanagh called Gentle Tiger. In the interview, she said one of the main reasons for the failure of their relationship was that there was a wide age gap between them. She was only 22, whereas he was 40.
Dr. Moriarty also described how "Raglan Road" came to be written. Kavanagh had lived in Pembroke Road in Dublin but he moved out as he could not afford the rent and he moved into Mrs. Kenny's boarding house on Raglan Road which cost 10 shillings a week full board - Hilda was staying on Raglan Road - a road off Pembroke Road. Kavanagh saw Hilda 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 Stephens Green or Mitchell's on Dawson Street he would often ask Hilda to critique his work. Kavanagh described himself as a peasant poet but Hilda was not that impressed and teased him - "Can you not, then, write about anything other than stony grey soil and bogs, Paddy?" Kavanagh said "I will immortalise you in poetry, Hilda" And so he did. According to Dr. Moriarty, he went away and wrote "Raglan Road" - and Hilda featured in many of Kavanagh's poems including Hilda , Hilda 2, and Hilda 3 and several others.
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