Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

(''Gaeilge'') is a subject of the Junior Cycle examination in Secondary schools in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. There are three levels: Higher (commonly known as ''Honours''), Ordinary (commonly known as ''Pass'') and Foundation.

Syllabus

The Irish

syllabus A syllabus (; plural ''syllabuses'' or ''syllabi'') or specification is a document that communicates information about an academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curric ...

at the Junior Cycle level is aimed at developing the student's aural, speech and written skills in Irish. The examination tests the students on

aural Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audito ...

written Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...

, and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

skills. There is an optional oral at Junior Cert Level. Choosing this option aids with pronunciation and speaking Irish for the Leaving Certificate examination.

Higher level

The Higher level examination has three parts, two written papers, which last 3 hours (180 minutes) in total and are worth 240 marks, and an aural comprehension (Irish: ''Cluastuiscint'') examination, which lasts 30 minutes, with a maximum of 40 marks available. There are certain rules which apply to all students. For example, a studied Novel can only be used in the novel section and students must write only one essay. Students are also required to answer all sections of the exam. Marks will be lost otherwise.

Questions

Written/Aural Paper 1 (2 hours) has two sections: Written Language, and Comprehension: Written Paper 2 ( 1 hour 30 mins ) has four sections:

Prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and Letter writing: For students taking the optional Oral (which is worth 160 marks) they are graded out of 400 marks over the 240 for students not taking the Oral examination. The Oral is worth 40% of the examination.

Ordinary level

The Ordinary level examination has three parts, a written examination, which lasts 1 hour 30 minutes (90 minutes) and is worth 220 marks, and an aural comprehension (Irish: ''Cluastuiscint'') examination, which lasts 30 minutes, with a maximum of 100 marks availableamd an oral examination lasting about 10 minutes

Questions

This paper has two sections, Section 1 (''Roinn 1''), which is the comprehension (''Léamhthuiscint'') section, and Section 2, the written language (''Scríobh na Teanga'') section. Each carries 110 marks. Section One: Comprehension Section Two: Written Language

External links

Department of Education and Science - Irish Junior Cycle Syllabus
(in Irish)
skoool.ie - Irish Junior Cycle Study Notes
{{JuniorCertSubjects