Exam Diary / Oisín O'Reilly: Over the last few days I've been subject to so many highs, lows and creamy middles that I've decided it must be down to the ebb and flow of body chemicals rather than any reaction to external stimuli.
As I put the last fada on the last word of today's Irish Paper 1, I could literally feel my adrenaline plummet. Could a practical knowledge of chemistry have saved the day?
I stumbled out the door into the school yard to realise there were 40 minutes of exam time left. My friend who had finished her ordinary-level paper tried to frogmarch me back in. Even if they'd allowed it, I could not have returned. I had nothing left to give. The day went well. After initial logistical problems with the maths paper (I couldn't manage the gatefold mechanism and struggled to get the thing to open on page 1) I set eyes on Question 1 and saw that chilling phrase - simultaneous equations. I skipped on to Question 2 and got stuck in.
I suffered a few bouts of amnesia but by the time the invigilator called last pints I had filled in most gaps.
I strolled home for lunch in the grey muggy heat and started thinking in Irish. My mother was waiting in the kitchen with two pigs and some swirling mist. Hallucination is part of my landscape now.
Back at the gallows, there was a treat in store: the option of an essay on the relationship between schools and students: my favourite subject.
In interview with Louise Holden. Oisín O'Reilly is a student at Ashbourne Community School
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