Irish poets have produced some of the most exciting poetry in contemporary literature over the last fifty years. In addition to providing a unique introduction to major figures such as Seamus Heaney, this Companion introduces the reader to significant precursors such as Louis MacNeice or Patrick Kavanagh, as well as vital contemporaries and successors (including among others, Thomas Kinsella, Paul Muldoon and Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill.) The volume includes a chronology and guide to further reading and will prove invaluable to students and teachers.