The Second Desmond Rebellion (1579–1583) was a more widespread and brutal uprising in Munster, led by Gerald FitzGerald, the 14th Earl of Desmond, and his brother John. The rebellion, which was supported by Spanish and papal forces, was crushed by English forces under the Lord Deputy, Arthur Grey. The rebellion's aftermath saw the devastation of Munster and the execution of the Earl of Desmond, leading to the Munster Plantation, which displaced the native population with English settlers.

The Second Desmond Rebellion is a subject of profound sorrow in Irish poetry, with the bards of Munster composing some of the most moving laments in the Gaelic tradition. The rebellion's failure and the subsequent plantation are themes in the poetry of the period, which mourned the loss of the old Gaelic order. The event's legacy of dispossession and colonial settlement is a recurring motif in Irish verse, from the aisling poems of the 17th century to the nationalist poetry of the 19th.