Obscure texts pose challenge in 'Peig'-free zone

Leaving Cert: higher level Irish:It may have been a Peig-free zone but a thread of negativity ran through the higher level Irish paper yesterday - but it was "a fair paper", according to teachers.

The composition titles focused on problems of the modern world such as global warming and the ill-mannered youth of today.

"Global warming would have been prepared by many teachers so that was welcome," said Clare Grealy, a teacher in the Institute of Education.

Ms Grealy was concerned about the wording in that particular essay title however. While many students would be familiar with the term teamh domhanda for global warming, the less familiar term aeraid na cruinne was used in the paper. "Some students may not have made the link," said Ms Grealy.

The title "A friend is better than gold" was singled out as being "very simple" by some teachers.

Fifteen thousand students take higher level Irish as compared with 25,000 who take ordinary level.

They were tested when it came to the comprehension tasks which were long and left some pushed for time.

"The questions weren't too difficult," said Eamonn Maguire, subject expert for The Irish Times Study Guides. "But the content of the texts was obscure."

Indeed, an article featuring Nathaniel Hawthorn may not have jumped out at students. The other text about artists against torture in an Amnesty International Human Rights Painting Project was "understandable but dreary", according to Ms Grealy.

The worst is over according to Ms Grealy. "This is the most challenging paper for students because it's non-prescribed," she said. "Paper two is much more manageable."