On December 4, 1971, a bomb exploded at McGurk's Bar in Belfast, killing 15 people, all of them Catholics. The bombing, which was carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), was one of the deadliest attacks of the Troubles. The McGurk's Bar bombing was a sectarian attack that deepened the divisions of the conflict.

The McGurk's Bar bombing is a subject of mourning in Irish poetry, with writers lamenting the loss of life and condemning the sectarian violence. The attack is often contrasted with the ideals of a shared society, creating a sense of tragedy. The poetry of the period reflects the grief and anger of the community, a theme that would persist in the literature of the Troubles.