Dublin's writers rarely remain solemn for long: their wicked sense of humour has travelled the world. Fashions in verse come and go. Too often we forget - paradoxically - the most memorable works of wit, sarcasm or absurdity. The ones gathered here were written over four centuries, and were inspired by many things - among them love, injustice, history, politics, animals and alcohol, but most of all by the citizens of Dublin themselves. Whether the lines are satirical, sentimental, subversive, sexy or just plain silly, you will find that many of them show a rare seriousness as well.

Each poem comes with background information about where it originated, and each page is illuminated by Hector McDonnell's wonderful, witty drawings