On August 15, 1998, the Real IRA, a dissident republican group, detonated a car bomb in Omagh, County Tyrone, killing 29 people and injuring over 200. The Omagh bombing, which occurred just months after the Good Friday Agreement, was the deadliest single attack of the Troubles. The bombing caused widespread outrage and led to a renewed commitment to the peace process.

The Omagh bombing is a subject of mourning in Irish poetry, with writers lamenting the loss of life and condemning the violence. The attack is often contrasted with the ideals of the Good Friday Agreement, 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.