On November 15, 1985, the British and Irish governments signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement at Hillsborough Castle in County Down. The agreement gave the Irish government a consultative role in the affairs of Northern Ireland for the first time, and it was a major step towards the peace process. The agreement was opposed by unionists, who staged mass protests against it, but it was a significant diplomatic achievement.

The Anglo-Irish Agreement is a subject of political poetry, with writers exploring the implications of the agreement for Northern Ireland. The agreement's consultative role is often contrasted with the violence of the Troubles, creating a sense of hope. The poetry of the period reflects the cautious optimism of the peace process, a theme that would persist in the literature of the late 1980s.