Irish poetry is unique in the Middle Ages in freshness of spirit and perfection of form.' So writes Gerard Murphy in the introduction to this classic anthology, which contains a selection of poems (from eighth to the twelfth century) which are characterized by that fresh spirit and formal perfection. Gerard Murphy (1901-59), Professor of the History of Celtic Literature at University College Dublin, was one of the outstanding Irish scholars of his generation. His Early Irish Lyrics was the first anthology to present a large number of texts both in the original and in translation. It has held the field as the standard anthology for students and scholars of early Irish. In his review of the book, D.A. Binchy observed that 'only those who have worked on similar texts can assess the vast amount of labour and erudition which is concentrated in these pages'.

One section of the book is devoted to secular works, and features 25 lyrics (in the main) spoken by characters in the prose sagas; the other contains 33 poems of monastic inspiration, including well-known works such as the poem of the Scholar and his cat Pangur Bán. Textual apparatus, prose translations of each poem, extensive notes, glossary and indexes from the remainder of the book. In his Foreword, Professor Tomás Ó Cathasaigh of Harvard University notes that since the publication of Early Irish Lyrics 'some progress has been made in the study of early Irish poetry; a great deal remains to be done. In the meantime, Early Irish Lyrics retains its value and appeal as the best anthology of early Irish verse.