Originally published almost thirty years ago. this book by John Hewitt (1907-1987) a major figure in Northern Irish poetry and literature, records and discusses for the first time a unique part of Ulster's heritage and makes an important contribution to discussions of language, identity, and culture in the North. He examines the remarkable flowering of peasant verse from the beginning of the nineteenth century and for the next seven decades, providing a general and accessible account of these country poets and a wide selection of their verses.