I'm wary of adding theory onto theory, especially when the only person who can tell us the truth took that truth to his grave. but when I started performing Raglan Road thinking it was simply the best unrequited love song, I began hearing another theory quite regularly. Then on one of many trips back home to Kilkenny I came acrooss an old guy who gives lectures on Kavanagh and turned out he had studied under Kavanagh at Uni in Dublin. The theory I had been hearing was a code in the tradition of Irish fable ballads. This man Jim partly agreed but in his opinion Kavanagh had always been very bitter about the unofficial Irish censoriship system that kept his book Tary Flin off the shelves and the derision he recieved from oficial quarters over his outspoken views about the links between Government and religion. So he used the imagery of Dublin and onlyn perhaps some unrequieted love to weave quite on intricate fable. The fact that he is decribed as being a somewhat bitter and vry outspoken man, think gives weight to the belief that he wrote Ragland Rd (originally titled Dawning Of The Day, Luke kelly re named it Raglan Rd) To have his say and go to the grave knowing he finally had his say and left a mystery behind. And after talking to many people it's the theory I prefer to believe, from what I've learned Kavanagh just wasn't sensitive enough of people's feelings, not to name his urequited love, because that love who spurned him was in fact Ireland herself!

Desi C