Irish is a subject of the Junior Cycle examination in Secondary schools in Ireland. There are three levels: Higher (commonly known as Honours), Ordinary (commonly known as Pass) and Foundation.

Syllabus

The Irish syllabus 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, written, and literature 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:

Question Type Mark Recommended time to spend
Part 1 Aural Comprehension 40 marks 15 minutes (average tape length)
Part 2 Comprehensions (2) 40 marks 40 minutes
Part 3 Contextual Language Tests (2) 20 marks 15 minutes
Part 4 Composition 50 marks 50 minutes

Written Paper 2 ( 1 hour 30 mins ) has four sections: Prose, Poetry and Letter writing:

Question Type Mark Recommended time to spend
Part 1, Question 1 Unseen Prose 15 marks 15 minutes
Part 1, Question 2 Studied Prose 15 marks 15 minutes
Part 2, Question 3 Unseen Poetry 15 marks 15 minutes
Part 2, Question 4 Studied Poetry 15 marks 15 minutes
Part 3 Letter Writing 30 marks 25 minutes

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

Question Type (example) Mark Recommended time to spend
Question 1 Pictures and Signs 30 marks 5 minutes
Question 2 Notices/Poem(Answer 2 of 3) 15 marks each 10 minutes
Question 3 Extracts (two parts) 30 marks each 20 minutes

Section Two: Written Language

Question Type (example) Mark Recommended time to spend
Question 1 Write Postcard 20 marks 10 minutes
Question 2 Write a blag 20 marks 15 minutes
Question 3 Short article,Diary entry (c. 15 lines) 40 marks 25 minutes
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