In 1983, the New Ireland Forum was established by the Irish government to explore possible solutions to the conflict in Northern Ireland. The Forum, which included representatives from all the major Irish political parties, published a report in 1984 that proposed three possible constitutional options: a united Ireland, a federal Ireland, and joint British-Irish sovereignty. The Forum's report was a significant contribution to the peace process.

The New Ireland Forum is a subject of political poetry, with writers exploring the possibilities of constitutional change. The Forum's proposals are 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 1980s.