Patrick & Hilda.

Patrick Kavanagh died on this day November 30^th in 1967. He was one of the finest Irish poets and a novelist. Arguably second only to W.B. Yeats as the greatest Irish poet of all time. He also was a huge influence on Seamus Heaney. Patrick met and fell in love with a young medical student called Hilda Moriarty and in 1946 wrote a poem inspired by her called ‘Dark Haired Miriam Ran Away’. It became one of Ireland’s best loved songs when in the 1960s he met Luke Kelly in the Bailey pub in Dublin and Luke sang the definitive version known as ‘On Raglan Road’. Van Morrison, Sinead O’connor, Mark Knopfler, Dick Gaughan, Billy Bragg and many others have recorded this song.

On Raglan Road on an autumn day I met her first and knew

That her dark hair would weave a snare that I might one day rue;

I saw the danger, yet I walked along the enchanted way,

And I said, let grief be a fallen leaf at the dawning of the day.

On Grafton Street in November we tripped lightly along the ledge

Of the deep ravine where can be seen the worth of passion's pledge,

The Queen of Hearts still making tarts and I not making hay –

O I loved too much and by such and such is happiness thrown away.

His love for Hilda was unrequited, mainly because of the age gap. She was only 22 when they met, and he was 40. Dr Hilda Moriaty later married Donogh O'Malley who became Ireland’s education minister. His reforms made him one of the most popular members of the government; he was affectionately known as 'the School Man' for his work in education. His sudden death in Limerick on 10 March 1968 before his vision for the education system was completed came as a shock to the public. He was buried with a full Irish state funeral. They had two children, the actor Daragh O'Malley, and Suzanne, a fashion designer.

Also, I found out just last night that  that the famous singer Dido wrote a song called Grafton Street in memory of her father, who was a nephew of Hilda Moriarty. The Irish Times said that as a young girl Dido was obsessed with great-aunt Hilda, the tales of her beauty, and her role in Raglan Road, and that she sang Raglan Road to her father as he was dying. So, I am incredibly pleased that Patrick met Hilda and it just shows that it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.