Patrick Kavanagh met Hilda Moriarty in 1944. She was a 22-year-old medical student at University College Dublin. Kavanagh, who was 20 years older, became obsessed with Hilda Moriarty. His love was unrequited and she later married Donogh O'Malley (who became a Fianna Fáil Minister for Education).

In an interview filmed for the documentary 'Gentle Tiger', Hilda Moriarty-O'Malley, who inspired 'On Raglan Road', explains the origins of the poem. Actor John Kavanagh sings an extract from 'On Raglan Road'.

'Gentle Tiger' marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of poet and novelist, Patrick Kavanagh. 'Gentle Tiger' is a documentary in which his widow Katherine, brother Peter, neighbours and friends put their memories of Patrick Kavanagh on record. Poets George Barker, Séamus Heaney and Paul Durcan, Professors Denis Donoghue and Brendan Kennelly are among the contributors.
The documentary includes photographs and documents from the Kavanagh Archive in UCD, archive material from Adrian Cronin's film of Patrick Kavanagh, and footage taken by John Ryan, on Bloomsday 1954.

'Gentle Tiger' was produced by Tom McCardle and was broadcast on 30 November 1987.

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