Reaction to Leaving Cert 2023 Irish Paper 1 (Higher Level) by Clare Grealy and M谩ire N铆 Cheallaigh, Irish teachers at The 91制片厂.
- Much tougher than previous years.
- A wide range of topics were available, but awkward phrasing and niche issues meant that the practical selection was very narrow.
Cluastuiscint 鈥� Aural Exam (M谩ire N铆 Cheallaigh)
The exam started with a broadly accessible listening test, though it did contain a few tricky moments for the students. However, thankfully students had the opportunity to reuse some of the vocabulary prepared for the Sraith Pictuir. This was a useful overlap that would have helped them navigate the piece. The phrasing of several questions was familiar enough that those who had seen last year鈥檚 paper will be familiar with 鈥渁idhm鈥� (aim) and 鈥渄eis鈥� (opportunity) in the questions鈥� demands.
Cuid B鈥檚 discussion of a trip to Spain to learn the language will find a useful overlap with Gaeltacht material. Cuid C鈥檚 inclusion of Pele was a nod to a topical story and was presented in a broadly accessible manner.
However, this accessibility was not to be found in Section 2.
An Cheapad贸ireacht 鈥� Composition (Clare Grealy)
Many students will have looked at the title with a sigh and think 鈥渨here do I start?鈥�. This was a much tougher paper than previous years, not just in terms of its topics but also in how questions were phrased. For example, many would have read the question on 鈥渢hings that affect the health of the person鈥�, seen the word 鈥渉ealth鈥� and possibly started a discussion on the health service.
In other cases, the vocabulary chosen in the question was potentially likely to drive students away from question they were well prepared for. Many students would have prepared material on Homelessness or Racism. Only if you knew the term 鈥溍゛g贸ir鈥� meant 鈥渋njustice鈥� would you understand.
While some prompts were obscured by language choices, others are simply too niche for students to feel confident in the intense setting of the exam hall. How one goes about approaching 鈥淚rish in the Digital Age鈥� is something that would perturb teachers, never mind students. Other topics were certainly more immediately culturally relevant (cost of living), one must wonder how much a 17 or 18-year old would have explored this element through Irish. Knowing how to discuss something in English is very different to having those tools in Irish and thus many will be frustrated.
As a result, a paper that had eight compositional choices will most probably see the vast majority of students narrowed down to only two options: Drugs, and Famous People. Even at that, one must wonder how many students had prepared discussions of individuals (Michael D. Higgins, Elon Musk etc.) in the lead up to the exam.
It is important for students to remember that they already have points earned from their oral and have a fresh exam ahead. Hopefully the studied material of Paper 2 has less of opportunity for this paper鈥檚 misguided creativity.
