Context/Abt the author

• Ciaran Carson was born in 1948 and wrote this poem
• Ciaran Carson is from Northern Ireland, and lived there during the Troubles from 1968-1998
• The Troubles was a conflict between Unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, and Irish nationalists, who wanted Northern Ireland to leave the UK. Although not strictly a religious conflict, most Unionists were Protestant, and most nationalists were Catholic, leading people to see the conflict as one between Catholic and Protestant Christians.
• “Ciaran” is a Catholic name, and “Carson” a Protestant one; the poet’s own identity is symbolic of his living within a divided Northern Ireland