I have always loved this poem, all except for the one couplet:
"When the angel woos the clay, He'll lose his wings at the dawn of the day"

That has always struck me as such a self-centered, dismissive sentiment, and in truth, it spoils the poem for me. A more generous soul would have wished the girl well, reaizing that they were not made for each other. ( Incidentally the bakery girl sounds much more likely than the married lady).

I have always suspected that Kavanagh had just such a personality as has been confirmed above. But despite that "Raglan Road" is still one of the most evocative and haunting songs ever written.

Murray