The Dublin/Monaghan bombings took place on the 17th May 1974. In one of the most violent moments of The Troubles, 33 people were killed in four car bombs that exploded in quick succession between the two counties.

Boland was inspired to write this poem after a photograph she saw in a newspaper in the aftermath of the bombings. The photograph depicted a child killed in the explosion in the held in the arms of a fireman.

In May 1974 the poem was then published in The Irish Times.

As a poet, it makes sense that Boland chooses to discuss the failure of language and how this is what led to the violence. The lack of communication and failure to deal with political issues, she believes, has led people this point.

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