In October 2002, the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended by the British government following allegations of an IRA spy ring operating in the Assembly. The suspension, which lasted until 2007, was a major setback for the peace process and highlighted the fragility of the political institutions. The suspension led to a period of direct rule from Westminster.

The suspension of the Assembly is a subject of political poetry, with writers lamenting the collapse of the peace process. The suspension is often contrasted with the hopes of the Good Friday Agreement, creating a sense of disappointment. The poetry of the period reflects the frustrations of the peace process, a theme that would persist in the literature of the early 2000s.