Establishment of the Irish Free State

Although the poem takes place in the 1970s, Heaney refers either directly or indirectly to a number of other items of historical interest from Ireland's past. The most notable of these is the ongoing conflict between Britain and certain groups in Northern Ireland who are opposed to Britain's control—a situation that is present in some form in most of Heaney's poetry. While England has been involved in the colonization of many of the world's lands, the struggle in Ireland—one of its closest neighbors—has been particularly bitter. The issue of Britain's domination of Ireland is a centuries-old conflict, dating back to the first English invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century. An uneasy peace was eventually reached in 1922, with the establishment of the Irish Free State, known today as the Republic of Ireland. The Republic of Ireland consists of twenty-six...