kavanagh married his long-term companion katherine barry moloney (niece of kevin barry) in april 1967 and they set up home together on the waterloo road in dublin. kavanagh fell ill at the first performance of "tarry flynn" by the abbey theatre company in dundalk town hall and died a few days later, on 30 november 1967, in a dublin nursing home. his grave is in inniskeen adjoining the patrick kavanagh centre. his wife katherine died in 1989; she is also buried there.