Ronnie Kavanagh (21 June 1950 – 4 May 2024), known by his stage name Ron Kavana, was an Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, and band leader. Born in the County Cork town of Fermoy, he was the son of an Irish father and an American mother from Chicago with Cajun roots.

Performing with a lengthy list of bands, Kavana performed with influential musicians from the worlds of Celtic music, British soul, blues, rhythm & blues, rock, Irish folk and folk-rock, and worldbeat music. His Galway to Graceland album was described as an album of blues, Tex Mex, country, rock, cajun, and occasionally Irish influenced music. A talented songwriter, Kavana has written songs exploring history and politics, as well as drinking, dancing, and playing music. The Village Voice has called him a "hard-hitting, no-nonsense realist".

Kavana (credited as "Kavanagh") joined the Fermoy folk/rock band Loudest Whisper in the early 1970s. Band member Brian O'Reilly wrote a celtic musical based on the Irish myth of The Children Of Lir in 1972, which was developed into a stage production the following year with Kavana in the role of Lir. The project was adapted into the group's first record, Children Of Lir, in 1974, which was to be Kavana's final contribution to the band, playing slide guitar and also singing "Lir's Lament".

In the late 1970s, he moved to London, getting a job at Rock on Records, replacing Philip Chevron, who was leaving to work full-time with his band, The Radiators From Space. In 1977, Kavana put together Kavana's Krisis Band, playing regularly at Islington's Hope & Anchor. This band evolved into Juice on the Loose, who became something of a house band for Ace Records, with Kavana as band leader and producer. During this era, Kavana and members of the band toured and recorded with many American acts, including Big Jay McNeely, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Willie Egan, Dr. John, Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers and Flaco Jiminez, Wallace Davenport, Gatemouth Brown, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, and Slim Gaillard. Kavana appears on Juice on the Loose's self-titled album, released on Line Records in 1981. Other Juice on the Loose recordings would surface on Kavana's first solo album, Rollin' & Coastin'.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Kavana also played with Panama Red, The Thunderbirds, The Balham Alligators, and the Alexis Korner Band. Following a European R & B package tour backing Korner, Kavana played an anniversary show for the Boogie Woogie Band's anniversary at Dingwalls, with an all-star band that included Charlie Watts on drums and Jack Bruce on bass.

Kavana released his first solo album, Rollin' & Coastin' in 1985, on the Italian record label, Appaloosa. The album was a compilation of solo tracks and Juice on The Loose recordings.

In the mid/late 1980s, Kavana opened several tours for The Pogues, including a December/January 1985/1986 jaunt through Ireland, where he performed as a duo with Elvis Costello. Pogues management considered Kavana as a replacement for departing bass player/singer Cait O'Riordan. The band chose road crew member Darryl Hunt for the job, but Kavana made several appearances on The Pogues' album If I Should Fall From Grace With God, and co-wrote two songs with Pogue Terry Woods: "Every Man Is A King (In The U.S. of A.)" and "Young Ned of the Hill", the former released originally as a B-side and the latter included on The Pogues album, Peace and Love.

In 1990, Kavana produced the album For The Children. Featuring 29 guests (including several members of The Pogues), the album was a fundraiser for LILT (London Irish Live Trust), a charity organisation working for peace in Northern Ireland.