Guide to Irish

Irish for me was hit and miss. I had the vocabulary, the general tenses and I could listen…. But I just couldn’t think in Irish. I would always translate from English to Irish… always think in English first. That shows I wasn’t a fluent speaker, I couldn’t therefore ‘bluff’ Irish like I could perhaps most other subjects. If I didn’t understand a question – I was banjaxed. The listening and oral are usually easy, solid marks. They are the things you bank on.

What you have to learn…. (42%)
It’s not black and white as some people simply just have to learn everything off (even essays, oral work etc…), and pray to god it comes up but in general…..basically ALL of paper 2 is learning. Poetry, stories, drama’s, history… all of that stuff. Like I said, you can’t really bluff this if you don’t have the Irish; it requires cold, hard work. Also a good half of the oral is all about learning-off stuff… about yourself, location, family etc…


What you can bluff… (58%)

Although I say 58% can be bluffed, it can’t, unless you’re almost fluent in Irish. Having said that… you can’t really learn for the essay (17%), the reading comprehensions (12%), the listening (17%) and a good half of the oral (about 12%). Most of that lot requires natural brains and lingo, which most of us lack. Bluffing Irish, or any foreign language (not foreign, but you know what I mean) for that matter is very difficult if you don’t have the natural vocabulary.


Conclusion

Irish is one of the toughest subjects to bluff for most of us ‘English speaking people’. In order to bluff, you need to be able to write in a manner which suggests you know your stuff. It’s difficult to bluff in a language you’re not fluent in. Therefore I recommend Irish be given some serious ‘hard work’ time as it’s not a subject you can afford to bluff. Either that, or drop to Ordinary Level Irish in order to take some weight of your shoulders.

6 thoughts on “Guide to Irish”

  1. As a past Leaving Cert student , I was disgruntled to observe a highly offensive video posted on the website known as Youtube. This video contained a disgusting portrayal of a young man , ” rapping ” about the great Irish poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh and poking fun at his sexual orientation. I implore my fellow Irish students to do their utmost , in order to eliminate this highly offensive video, regarding this great man. T

  2. look mate you need to relax. if it was unsuitable or offensive youtube wud take it off themselves. and we all know he was a great poet but what he did isnt right.

  3. He’s not a pedophile, the “kids” in question were 16 and consenting. He may make very poor choices and sleep with people far too young, but they’re not children.

  4. @ Liam: He is a weirdo, no one should be at that. He should be definitely taken off the curriculum. The only reason he’s not is because there are feck all Irish poets that we would be able to study! The video was funny… haha

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