On October 5, 1968, a civil rights march in Derry, which had been banned by the Northern Ireland government, was met with a brutal police baton charge, an event broadcast worldwide. The march, organized by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, demanded an end to discrimination against Catholics in housing, employment, and voting. The violence in Derry marked the beginning of the Troubles, a thirty-year conflict that would claim over 3,500 lives.

The outbreak of the Troubles had a profound impact on Northern Irish poetry, giving rise to a vibrant and anguished poetic tradition. Poets like Seamus Heaney, Derek Mahon, and Michael Longley grappled with the violence and sectarianism, exploring themes of identity, community, and trauma. The Troubles-era poetry is characterized by its moral complexity and its attempt to find meaning and beauty amidst the horror.