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.
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.
The Higher level examination has one written paper, which last 2 hours (120 minutes) in total and is worth 225 marks, and an aural comprehension (Irish: Cluastuiscint) examination, which lasts 30 minutes, with a maximum of 45 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.
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.
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
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 |