This paper deals with the Belfast Group and four of its most important participants: Michael Longley, Seamus Heaney, Ciaran Carson and Paul Muldoon. The first part focuses on the Group´s historical background and meetings, detailing how it adopted the practice of close reading. Three poems by Group members that reflect the time of "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland are placed in context and analysed. Then a comparison is made of the poetry of Longley, Heaney and Muldoon. Their poems, as presented at the Group meetings, are compared to the final published versions so as to demonstrate the formative influence of the Group on the working process of the poets. Stylistic and grammatical changes are noted, some of which are demonstrated in this paper to prove the Group´s influence on the poetry of its members.