Affiliated with the generation of young poets from Northern Ireland who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, Mahon was best known for illuminating the ordinary aspects of daily life through his skillfully crafted verse. Often working in received forms, his lucid, sculpted lines incorporated both classical allusion and contemporary life. A voluntary exile from his native Belfast, Mahon explored themes of isolation, loneliness, and alienation in his poetry.