The Lammas Hireling is a contemporary poem written by British poet, Ian Duhig. The poem is a dramatic monologue describing the relationship of an Irish farmer with his hireling.
The narration of the farmer is unreliable as he is quick to suggest the hireling is a warlock as a means to justify murdering him. The poems conveys themes of repressed homosexuality that results in violence. Indeed, the farmer states that he “liked” the hireling and that his cows “loved” him. There is a strong sense of affection, which can translate as the farmer having deeper feelings for the hireling than he ever intended to. His inability to cope with these emotions resulted in him killing the hireling as a way of getting rid of the sexual thoughts that plagued him.
However, once the hireling is dead and gone, the farmer still cannot sleep. It is implied that killing him did not suppress the sexual desires and feelings that the hireling elicited within the farmer. As such, when he begs the priest to “Bless [him] for [his] sins”, he is not only referring to murdering the hireling, but also to forgive him for his sexual preferences.
