On December 8, 1922, the Parliament of Northern Ireland exercised its right under the Anglo-Irish Treaty to opt out of the Irish Free State, confirming the partition of Ireland. The border was formalized by the Irish Boundary Commission, which made only minor adjustments. The opt-out cemented the division of Ireland into two separate states, a division that persists to this day.

The formalization of partition was a devastating blow to Irish nationalist poets, who had dreamed of a united Ireland. The border became a potent symbol of division in Irish poetry, explored by writers from both sides of the sectarian divide. The poetry of the partition era is marked by a sense of loss and a struggle to reconcile the reality of division with the ideal of a shared Irish identity.