Physical Education
Lizi
Higher Level
Creagh College
I am finally done! I sat my last exam. I feel I have accomplished a lot after such a long time and once and for all deserved this peaceful ending. I couldn't wait to finish the exam but sat until the last minute, because I did some extra questions.
I wrote nine questions in Section A, all the questions in Section B (as required) and three in Section C. It was an amazing paper. The choices given provided a great opportunity for us to do our maximum. I was worried about the case study because I wasn’t familiar with it before but it was especially accessible and easy to understand.
During my course we discussed media coverage of feminine/ masculine sports in social media, stereotypes and impact of 'body image’ on levels of physical activity and when I saw many questions about it, I was extremely excited.
I found that topical on social media, overall, I am delighted that we already started to find solutions for breaking the stereotypes in sports. The test was interesting and it motivated me to plan work out sessions for summer.
I realised the extent of the knowledge I have in this field and that I should totally write programmes to improve my own level of physical activity which has not been happening frequently for the last months.
I hope everyone has an incredible summer, we all deserve the rest so enjoy it to the max!
Politics and Society
Beth
Higher Level
Alexandra College
And we’re done! After a very long 20 days, I’ve finally come to the end of my Leaving Cert with the politics exam! Politics was an exam I was looking forward to but with a slight bit of apprehension, particularly around what essays would come up.
Overall, the paper was very fair and managed to cover most elements of the course. The short questions were based largely on opinions, which is a bit of a change from previous years but was a great opportunity to apply wider skills and engage with topics like the digital divide. The DBQ this year was based on false information surrounding COVID-19, which was really thought provoking and relatable for students in the context of social media.
I found that the essay section had a good amount of choice. I went with discussing how global inequalities and discrimination present a threat to life, and there was a wide range of other options from the pay gap to the climate crisis! I’m really glad to have had the chance to do politics, and I’m looking forward to the summer and next steps!
Tammy
Higher Level
St. Augustine’s College
I ended my exams on a high note! Politics and Society is my favourite subject, so I’m delighted that the paper went my way!
The Section A short questions (worth 50 marks) were great! The changes made to the papers allowed us to answer 10 out of 15 questions, but I decided to answer them all in order to give myself the best chance of success! Some of them were quite tricky but I think I got them right!
The Data Based Question (worth 150 marks) was a little tricky but nothing out of the ordinary! I liked how modern the topics discussed were, Covid-19 and the media. I think I spent a little bit too long answering the shorter questions as I ended up rushing through the 40m question at the end of the section. Overall though I’m very happy how I handled this section because I generally find them tough!
Finally, I tackled the dreaded essay question, worth 100 marks. I was so worried about this section, and spent all morning drilling data and key thinkers into my memory! I was hoping that some form of patriarchy essay would appear, and it was just my luck that one showed up! I was absolutely delighted and dove straight into it. The title was:
Discuss whether the gender pay gap is a complex issue, which goes far beyond the issue of equal pay for equal work.
I was writing for the full two and a half hours, I have absolutely no idea how students in previous years had to write 2 full essays! It really showed me how valuable the changes made to the paper actually were, I’ve no idea how I would’ve gotten on if they weren’t there!
Russian
Lizi
Higher Level
Creagh College
The Russian exam today was perfect. It was only me and my brother in the whole school doing it, and I know many can relate. I absolutely loved it and hope everyone else did too. Unfortunately, I don’t have a teacher in Russian, therefore I had to go for the exam option and let me tell you I am very happy with it!
It was a little bit different from last year; For example, some exercises in section three, assigning cases to words were reduced from ten to five and the new one was to identify whether it was a verb, adjective, noun etc.
The essay topics were great as well and very relatable to present times. I wrote an opinion piece where I discussed how hard it is to choose your career at the age of 17/18. I was delighted to write about this topic because I have thought about this many times. I have heard that in some classes the listening section of the exam was horrible because there were issues with the sound but me and my brother were very lucky because the sound was perfect and surprisingly easy to understand.
In conclusion I am very happy about it and I hope everyone who did the Russian exam was too. There is only one exam to go for me, and I can’t wait to finish. Good luck to everyone who has exams tomorrow!
Economics
Beth
Higher Level
Alexandra College
Economics was a nice, fair paper! This was the first year of the new course so there was a lot of anticipation around what the exam layout would be like, how questions would be presented, and what areas of the course would be covered.
The changes meant that we had a lot of choice, only having to answer half of the questions on the paper, which I felt allowed me to focus on the parts of the course that I’m most confident in and reduced stress. A lot of the questions were really topical, covering the homelessness crisis, COVID-19, and globalisation.
This meant less of a focus on answers that had been memorised which was definitely a welcome change. The modifications also reduced time pressure, meaning I was able to slide in one or two extra questions and spend a bit more time thinking about and planning answers! This was my second last paper, it’s surreal to be this near to the end but this was a lovely paper to start drawing exams to a close!
Gearoid
Higher Level
St. Augustine’s College
Applied Maths
David
Higher Level
Lucan Community College
I have finally finished the Leaving Cert. Applied Maths was my final exam and I had a nice break between my last exam to this one which gave me lots of time to focus on it.
When I opened the exam, I instantly recognised that Question 1 would be nicer compared to other years as it can be quite tricky. This set me off on the right track and gave me the confidence to continue on the paper. I elected to not do Question 2 on Relative Velocity due to the increased choice on the paper. I have always hated this question and I generally score the lowest in this question. The next 3 questions on the paper were really nice with some tricky parts thrown in.
Generally the first half of each question is much easier than the second part but for Question 4, I preferred the wedge instead of the pulleys. I had binge-watched YouTube videos on wedges before the exam so that helped. I found Question 10 to be more difficult than a normal year but it was still manageable when you made a good start on it.
Overall I am relieved to be finished with the exam but I am glad I had the extra time to put in the work for it as it really helped prepare me for this.
Music
Akeno
Higher Level
Coláiste an Chroí Naofa, Cork
I have officially finished my Leaving Cert! Music was my last exam, and the paper was a lovely way to end the three weeks of intense studying.
I took the performing elective so I have 50% of my marks already graded. I wasn't very worried about my written paper.
The listening paper was an interesting paper. Unfortunately, there was not much choice in the listening sections but our essay choices for Question 5 were amazing. I studied four Irish music essays: Micheál Ó Súilleabháin, Seán Ó Riada, the harping tradition, and the Gloaming…. All four of them appeared! I was overjoyed that my predictions were correct.
This year, the composing paper was very different. Usually, you have to answer both a melody and a harmony question. Fortunately, we only had to answer one question this time. I finished the exam 45 minutes early!
Although I love music, I am delighted to be finished with studying modern contemporary music for the rest of my life!
Adam
Higher Level
St. Macartans College
Design and Communication Graphics
James
Higher Level
Meánscoil San Nioclás
Sin deireadh le mo chuid scrúdaithe buíochas le Dia. Chun an fírinne a rá bhí imní orm don scrúdú GDC. Braithim gur ábhar cuíosach casta é ach caithfidh mé a rá go raibh scrúdú an deas curtha os mo chomhair.
Chaith mé tamall fada ar na mionceist chun a cinntiú go raibh siad ceart agam. Dhein mé glan dearmad ar an tslí chun teacht ar fíorcruth ach dhein mé mo dhícheall chun fregair éigin a cruthú. Bhí mé fíor buíoch as na hathruithe déanta go dtí an páipéar i mbliana. De bharr na hathruithe san bhí mé in ann ceisteanna a roghnú a d’oir liomsa agus táim sásta leis an méid a bhí tarraignte agam.
Physics
Adam
Higher Level
St. Macartans College
Maeve
Higher Level
Oaklands Community College
I’m finally finished! The physics exam was my last exam and I was very pleased with it overall.
I started off with question 6, which is made up of short questions. I found some of the parts quite challenging, but I was happy with at least eight of them, which is the minimum number of parts to do. Then, I moved onto the two compulsory experiment questions. I did the mechanics question and the electricity question. I did the question on the option, in my case, particle physics. Although it is generally a crazy, mind-bending chapter, the question was very manageable. I answered the light, electricity and the multiple part question at the end. I chose to do the waves and light sections of this question. As a whole, I was very pleased with the range of the questions available.
I also completed the modern physics question and Joule’s law experiment as back ups. I found these questions very tough, so I was more confident in the other questions.
The physics paper was quite manageable overall. I found some of the aspects tricky, but I am so pleased to finally finish up! I want to wish everyone who still has to finish their exams the best of luck!
Chemistry
Mutiat
Higher Level
Naas Community College
All the waiting for Chemistry, finally ARGON...
I finished off the Leaving Cert with Chemistry today.
As expected we were given lots of choices. The first three questions were the experiments and in my opinion they were very doable. I was happy when I saw the questions because the strategy plan I had created included these experiments and questions.
Question four also gave us internal choices within the questions and some in section B. They were fair and accessible.
Overall it was a nice paper and I’m quite happy on how it went. So that's a goodbye to the Leaving cert 2021 for me as Chemistry was my last paper, but I wish everyone who still have exams in the next few days, the very best of luck.
I have to say the first two weeks flew by!
Maeve
Higher Level
Oaklands Community College
Chemistry ended up being one of my best exams yet! The two years of the course have been a bit of a roller coaster when I found the course really tough (and often felt the information was useless). However, the large workload led to me feeling very prepared for the exam.
The exam started at 2pm and lasted three hours, much to my surprise. The time flew by during that exam. I couldn’t believe it when I only had half an hour left! The changes to the paper were very helpful. We could do any six questions from the paper and could avoid the experiments if we so wished. My two least favourite experiments came up, along with my favourite, the soap preparation. It always seems very applicable to the real world. I did the second question (the soap question), which always has the experiments for organic chemistry at higher level.
I actually did the rest of the long questions. I had extra time, so I used it to do extra questions (eight in total). I enjoyed most of them, to be honest. I did, however, find the way in which some of the questions to be very odd. Many of them relied on logic being applied to concepts that we were familiar with. I did all of the organic chemistry questions, the atomic structure question and the question on acids and bases. I also did the final two questions, with multiple parts and more options. I did the molecular shapes and rates of reactions parts of question 10 and the ethene preparation and electronic structure part of question 11.
Overall, I actually enjoyed this exam. The changes did help to reduce the pressure of this exam and I felt that I could feel relaxed and not rush questions. I’m really looking forward to finishing up with Physics tomorrow!
Eiman
Higher Level
Scoil Mhuire Community School
With the new changes to Chemistry, we could answer any 6 questions, there was plenty of time to complete the paper. I managed to attempt 7 fully.
The titrations question was a standard question. I avoided Organic chemistry on the course so I didn’t answer the second question. The 3rd question was about the Flame Test experiments, but I found the questions quite tricky so I moved on.
I was able to answer 8 parts of q.4 which focuses on short answer questions from all parts of the course. Question 5 and 6 are usually The Periodic Table, Atomic Structure And Thermochemistry, three of my strongest chapters.
The rest of the paper wasn’t too bad. I thought the questions were generally quite challenging and asking things that never came up before. However, I was able to make a good go at all the questions and overall I’m quite happy with the paper. I have one more exam left, Economics on Friday and then I’m done!
Spanish
James
Higher Level
Meánscoil San Nioclás
Really glad to have Spanish done and dusted. I thought the exam was surprisingly nice this year, definitely made easier with the changes. I skipped the prescribed literature and went straight to the Journalistic text (as I imagine 90% of the country did) and was really happy with the text provided.
For Question 2 of Section A I answered the second reading comprehension. I won't lie I thought I must have been missing a question as it seemed like a particularly short reading comp. Section B was undoubtedly more difficult and I spent a lot more time on it. The opinion pieces provided were broad enough but I'm not sure the addition of a third prompt really made much of a difference to me as I felt they were all a bit similar. I answered “Ser volountario es una experencia fantástica”. I just tried to get as many of my tenses in as I could while still making a coherent essay.
Section 3 was a lot easier thanks to the changes to the exam. I answered the diary entry question and spent the rest of my leftover exam time combing over my opinion piece for mistakes. I found the listening test to be surprisingly hard as it's usually one of my stronger points on the exam. The questions seemed particularly long with almost every question asking you to give full details. I’m not sure whether I’m happy with the exam or whether I’m just happy it's over but all in all I think it was a grand paper even if the listening was a bit beyond me.
Romanian
Suzy
Higher Level
Presentation Secondary School, Clonmel
The Romanian paper was very nice this year, I might be a little biased because I am fluent in Romanian. The topic of pollution and tourism was very common on this year’s paper and related a lot to what is going on in the world at the moment so I feel like it was quite easy to answer since a lot of young people have read a lot about pollution and climate change over the past year.
Section 1 was relatively easy because the questions were related to the text given so you could always look over the text in case you needed ideas to answer the questions.
Section 2 (the minimum 300 word essay) was a bit tricky, you had to pick between two essay titles. Both were quotes, one was from an article and the other was from Greta Thunberg and you had to express your opinion on it. I chose the first one because I was able to manipulate the question a little and change it around to suit me so it was quite okay. Overall I feel like it was a very nice paper.
Agricultural Science
Matthew
Higher Level
St. Francis' Capuchin College
Ag. Science is over and so is my Leaving Cert, thank god!
The Ag. Science paper ran from 2-4:30 today and I was finished by about 4. Overall, I found the paper quite manageable. It was strange doing it as with the change of the Ag. Science curriculum, the exam was my first time seeing the actual layout and style of questions which threw me a bit at the start but once I got into it it was ok!
The paper focused very heavily on sustainability in agriculture which is no surprise as our projects were all about sustainability too. I felt the questions were fair and the choice on the paper meant that you could pick and choose questions that really suited your knowledge.
Overall I'm glad it's over but not nearly as glad as the fact that all of my exams are over!
Art, History and Appreciation
James
Higher Level
Meánscoil San Nioclás
The Art History and Appreciation is a monster of an exam. The questions can essentially be any Irish and European artist from the Stone Age to the modern day and while there are certainly certain movements and artists to focus on, it can definitely feel a bit overwhelming while you are studying it. The decision this year to cut it down to two questions rather than three was a welcome one, especially with the reliability of the gallery question. I answered Q.1 on Stone Age monuments and Q.16 on the difference between visiting a digital gallery over a physical one. I'm really happy with my answers and I think only having two questions to answer allowed me to go much more in depth than I would have been able in a regular year. I considered answering the question on the Baroque movement in art for a while as I had an essay prepared for Rembrandt but decided against it. I felt that an essay on Caravaggio or even Reubens might have better suited the question and I hadnt particularly studied them in the lead up to the exam. Overall Im really happy with how the exam went and that my studied topics came up.
German
Sophia
Higher Level
St. Mark’s Community School
Jane
Higher Level
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Wexford
Auf Wiedersehen, Deutsch!
The written paper today couldn’t have been nicer if it tried. The changes meant we were required to do either Leseverständnis A and the Angewandte Grammatik, or Leseverständnis B and the Äußerung zum Thema, alongside the normal choice within the Schriftliche Produktion. I generally do quite well on the Leseverständnis, particularly if I’m not tight for time, so I chose A and the Grammatik. Despite its bonkers premise (a former child star robs a spear from a statue of Athena in the town square.…), the questions were very welcoming, as was the accompanying Grammatik.
When the time came to tackle my letter, I was thrilled with the given topics. Some years, you’d see questions about racism and climate change - this year, one was whether you preferred Netflix or YouTube. Other topics included your thoughts on online shopping, and how your friends or siblings annoyed you. It was almost eerily straightforward, to tell the truth - I imagine the marking scheme will be quite tough to compensate.
After a ten-minute break, the Achilles’ heel of every student - the aural - began at 12:10. I definitely found it tricky, with some unfamiliar vocabulary and nasty accents, but on the whole it was doable and I’m just happy to have made it through!
I’ve only got one exam left now, Economics on the 25th, so I’m delighted to be done with German, and even more so to be satisfied with how it went. Overall, it was a lovely paper and I think most students will have done really well on it.
Aisling
Higher Level
Athboy Community School, Meath
If I learned 1 thing about the person who took the German exam, it would be that they LOVE social media. Every single section today had a mention of Skype, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram- you name it, the examiner wanted to know about it. Strong COVID theme throughout too with the Äusserung, based on video calls and online shopping in 2020 in the Brief.
With the changes I managed the dreaded grammar, and instead did Text 2, a socially distanced love story, which was very doable. The theme question was between video calls or an exchange. I chose the exchange and wrote the classic 'Es macht viel spaß' at least three times but I swear it really IS fun!
I loved having the option to leave out a paragraph in the letter, it meant I could really pay attention to sentence structure and grammar on what I did write- which ranged from my love for TikTok to Galway cycling tours.
I find it so hard to focus on the listening section of the exam any day, but it was exacerbated today with it being 12:00. All I could think about was lunch, not a wedding dress explosion (I definitely heard that wrong!)
German is the second choice on my CAO so this could well not be my last time having the joy of figuring out the cases, but I'm so excited to be finished with all exams now! Tschüss:)
Business
Emer
Higher Level
Presentation Secondary School, Clonmel
Today, I sat my final Leaving Cert exam, Business! What I can say about the business paper other than I loved it!
I found that section one, the short questions, were slightly harder than the long questions which is unusual. We had to answer four out of twelve giving us plenty of choice and room for mistakes! I was able to answer nine of them with confidence finishing the first section of the paper with a great start.
Section two was dreaded by students around the country, the compulsory Applied Business Question (ABQ)! The ABQ this year was on units three, four and five. Here, we essentially unload all of the information we have learned in these three units into one long question.
I was really happy with the ABQ we were given, it was much easier than those from previous years. Unfortunately there was only a small mention of unit five - marketing, my favourite section of business, but, it was a great question anyway!
For the final section we had to answer three questions, one from part one, one from part two and a final question from either part. Much like the short questions, we had a really broad choice. In part one, I answered Question One on People in Business, In part two, I answered Question Five on Enterprise and Managing and for my final question I answered Question Eight from Part Two on Business in Action.
I was lucky enough to have time left and I was able to answer some extra questions. I answered Question Four from Part One on People in Business and Question Two from Part One on Domestic Environment. I was lucky to be able to do the extra questions, allowing me more flexibility with mistakes in my answers. Overall, I was delighted with the paper.
Your final exam essentially marks the end of your Second-Level Education and I’m glad I was able to leave on a positive note.
French
Akeno
Higher Level
Coláiste an Chroí Naofa, Cork
Salut, mes camarades ! Some of you may be relieved to know that I did not arrive late to any more exams. The French exam was my most difficult exam as of yet. My predictions for the written paper were horrendous. Last night I had a final look at topics such as the environment, racism, remote-learning, and Brexit. The only topic that appeared in its entirety was the environment. COVID-19 made an entrance, as it does to every event as of late. The written paper was much different than usual, besides the changes. Usually, the French paper consists of literary and journalistic written comprehensions. This year both comprehensions seemed to be formatted as in a journalistic style, with one being an interview, and one was an article. Section B, the composing section, offered a good choice but the questions seemed strange to me. One diary, a story, and many opinion pieces, if I remember correctly.
The listening section of the exam was tough, especially Section E, which is usually quick-paced and an easy piece to earn marks. For a moment, the CD track seemed to skip a beat during one of the sections. Much like the CD, my heart also stopped momentarily. Luckily, the wee skips went away and left me doing the rest of the exam in peace and slight confusion.
I have no regrets regarding the exam, but oh boy, it was my worst exam yet. Oh well, c’est la vie!
Racheal
Higher Level
St. Leo’s College, Carlow
Eiman’s video starts at 1:31
I have to say I’m pretty happy with how the French exam went today. As it is one of my stronger subjects I wasn’t too worried going in. I found the first reading comprehension was lovely and quite easy to understand. I attempted the second reading comp which was a bit more difficult, but seeing as we only had to do one I’m not too worried about it.
In Section B, there was a nice choice for the compulsory written piece. I was happy to see one on technology, as I had some vocab learned off. I chose to do the email as my other written piece and I actually had fun writing it (never thought I’d say that about an LC exam). The aural had some slightly difficult parts as per usual, but I found that the audio kept cutting off before sentences were finished. This didn’t greatly affect HL students, but I’ve heard it did for OL students. All in all, I’m delighted to be done with the French exam, it was my second to last LC exam, so with 9/10 papers done, the end is finally in sight!
Matthew
Higher Level
Piper’s Hill College, Kildare
Quelle journée! The last of the French LC took place this morning, consisting of the written and aural section, with the orals having already taken place over Easter.
The comprehensions weren't too difficult, and I managed to brush through them in 20 or so minutes each. After that were the dreaded written production pieces.
The options for the first written pieces weren’t too bad either. I have an opinion on technology and how it affects us today etc. I had an essay prepared on technology so I had a good basis to go off of. After that, I answered the opinion piece on clothing and protecting the environment. I picked out the words for environment and something about buying things that “moins cher” (cheaper) so I did an opinion piece on the effect of fast fashion on our environment - let’s say a quick prayer that I answered the question correctly!
I had about an hour and a half left over at the end so I did an extra piece on the pleasures of reading. I had prepared something on why I like reading from the orals in Easter so I was relying a lot from memory for that one.
Lastly, the aural (listening) took place from 12:10 - 12:50. I don’t know about any other student, but that was definitely the hardest listening I had done in a while. Still, it’s over now, and what’s done is done.
Overall, I’m happy with how today went, and with French today being my penultimate exam for my LC, it was nice leaving the exam hall with the end in sight!
History
Saskia
Higher Level
St. Clare’s College
I only have one word for that paper, wow. I was hoping that at least one dictator would come up in dictatorship and democracy and then BOTH Hitler and Stalin showed up! Not only that the Treaty negotiations question was such a lovely one and the document was the Montgomery Bus Boycott! I genuinely couldn’t think of a better paper.
The options were fantastic and the questions were broad enough to let you twist it into your own interpretation. I did the question on Stalin and managed to write about the Show Trials and did the 1921 Treaty negotiations question as well. I can't get over how nice of a paper it was. I walked out of the exam center with a huge smile on my face knowing that it was the best history exam I’ve ever done.
I have no more exams now, history was my last and I’m so glad I went out on a high note, it was (in my opinion) the best paper in years. Overall my hopes are high and now I get to sit back and never worry about the Eucharistic Congress again!
Emer
Higher Level
Presentation Secondary School, Clonmel
Eiman
Scoil Mhuire Community School
Higher Level
The history exam was one I was quite worried for. However, I think it didn’t go as bad as I thought it would. The Document Based Question was on the Montgomery Bus Boycott, I was just thankful that the Vietnam War didn’t come up 2 years in a row! I feel like I answered the question quite well, it was similar to a lot of the practice questions that I’ve done. There was nothing out of the blue.
For the essay section, I did 2 essays on Irish Topic 3: Pursuit of Sovereignty & Impact of Partition and Dictatorship & Democracy. The treaty negotiations came up which I think was a popular question for most students. I had my notes well prepared so I was quite happy that it came up too.
For my second essay on European History, I was hoping for a question related to Germany’s social and economic issues or Church-State Relations, which didn’t come up. I ended up answering the question on Stalin, the time frame was quite big, from 1924-1945, I was quite worried at first, but once I got into the swing of it, it wasn’t too bad.
Overall, I’m just stunned and amazed at how students from previous years wrote 3 essays and 1 Document Based Question in 2 hours and 50 mins. I finished my paper exactly on time and I couldn’t imagine trying to complete an extra essay!
Biology
Matthew
Higher Level
Piper’s Hill College, Kildare
Tammy
Higher Level
St. Augustine’s College
I was quite tired heading into Biology today after sitting Irish in the morning!
In general, I think I’m quite happy with the paper, I managed to do nearly the entire paper within the 3 hours we were given!
I managed to do all 7 short questions, but I’m not entirely sure I got them all right so I’m definitely glad we had the choice, I always found the nitrogen cycle hard when doing biology so I was a bit disappointed to see an entire short question on it!
The experiment questions were lovely, I’m sure we were all quite happy when we saw the scientific method and food tests appearing!
I gave the other two experiment questions a shot, which covered enzymes and plants. I decided to leave plants out of my study but I filled it in to the best of my ability, I thought the enzyme question was fair too, nothing overly complicated was asked I don’t think!
I have to say I found the long questions I bit tricky! There was a little bit in the ecology question that threw me off for a minute, I didn’t know what cowslips were but I think I answered it correctly nonetheless. I decided to not do the genetics question and moved onto the photosynthesis/respiration question which was fair standard I felt. Other than that I was torn between Q16 and Q17 so I decided to do both and give myself the opportunity to get the better mark between the two!
For the most part I’m happy with the paper, and now I’m focusing on History and French for my final double day of exams!
Irish Paper 2
Tammy
Higher Level
St. Augustine’s College
I have to say Irish paper 2 was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never been so happy with an Irish exam in my life, I think the changes made to the papers really highlight the need for choice within the Leaving Cert exams.
I decided to do the paper backwards, starting with An Triail. The question was: tugtar léiriú dúinn ar chás an chailín óig, Máire Ní Chathasaigh, nuair a dhiúltaíonn go leor de na daoine timpeall uirthi cabhair a thabhairt di in am a gátair.’ Déan plé ar an ráiteas sin.
The question was very broad and I found it very easy to work with, I was cramming a load of quotes this morning and I’m happy to say I managed to get nearly all of them into my answer!
I moved onto the poetry section after that, I decided as soon as the changes were made that I was going to eliminate prós and I’m still very happy with that decision. Most people I know were delighted to see Géibheann appear on the paper, but for me I wanted An Spailpín Fánach , and thank god it showed up! I really enjoyed the question and thought it was very easy to work with!
Lastly I moved onto the reading comprehension, this is always a section that I tend to lose marks in, the extracts always seemed a bit old fashioned or out of touch for my liking but when I seen ‘Scéalta ón mbliain 2020’ as the title, it was a very welcome change! I’m quite interested in current affairs so even when I wasn’t sure of the exact meaning in Irish it was much easy to read in context since I’ve heard it in English! I managed to understand each question (except one of the grammar pieces in 6A but sure look!)
Overall I’m delighted with that paper and I’m looking forward to getting my Irish results in September!
Jane
Higher Level
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Wexford
Paper 2 didn’t throw up any surprises today, and I think most students would have been really happy with it. I chose to do Léámhthuiscint (A) on John Hume, as I thought my knowledge of him from History would play in my favour. Even the dreaded Q.6) B) was manageable, asking for two of Hume’s traits. This question is beloved by students, but since there hasn’t been a person - based Léamhthuiscint in a few years, we were very lucky.
I answered the Filíocht question on Géibheann, le Caitlín Maude. The question was very approachable, asking uncontroversial questions on contrast in the poem and your opinion on the suitability of the title, as well as the standard “saol agus saothar an fhile”.
Finally, I turned to the ever-ominous “Litríocht Bhreise” page. However, I was happy with this question as well - for An Triail, we were asked to discuss a statement about the people around Máire who refused to help in “in her time of need”. I found this to be a nicely broad question that left plenty of room for development, and I think I was among the majority who were quite happy with how it went.
Like Paper 1, this was a really accessible paper and I was delighted with the choices that we had in it. I’m over the moon to have the “big 3” of English, Maths and Gaeilge finished at last - only two subjects left for me now!