Mary Lou McDonald on the Leaving Cert: ‘English just lit up my life. It still does’

Mary Lou McDonald is leader of Sinn Féin. She sat her Leaving Cert at Notre Dame des Missions school in Churchtown and went on study English literature and language at Trinity College Dublin.

What is your most vivid Leaving Cert memory?

Cherry blossoms on the trees and the sunshine arriving just in time for the exams, as it seems to do every year like clockwork. I lost my watch the night before English paper 1. So I was in a bit of panic, even though I knew there would be big clock in the exam hall.

It goes to show how tense you feel as a young person approaching the Leaving Cert. Everything felt magnified somehow.

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Who was your most influential teacher and why?

I had two English teachers, Sr Úna and Sr Catherine, who had a profound influence on my learning. I had a natural love of words. A love of how words can make you feel the deepest emotions, spark the brightest of thoughts and how words shape our world and help us to speak our truth. I thought it was amazing the way books and poetry can transport you anywhere you want to go. Sr Úna and Sr Catherine taught me the art of language and literature.

What advice would you give to your Leaving Cert self?

This too shall pass. Keep it steady. Do your best. Just know that no other set of exams that you will ever do will ever feel quite like this. So turn down the volume of your inner critic’s voice. Be kind to yourself and to your friends.

What was your favourite subject?

English. It just lit up my life. It still does. Literature in all its rawness is a very special thing. Although, I had a great love of history and Gaeilge too. History and language are the best ways of understanding where you come from and the best signposts to where we are going.

Without fully realising it at the time, I think those subjects help us to connect with people and I was very drawn to that.

What did you go on to do after secondary school?

I did my primary degree in Trinity College Dublin. I studied English literature and language for four years, and I loved every minute of it. I was delighted when I received the offer. It felt like a new part of my life was unfolding. All the possibilities just became very real. It was a very exciting time.

But I know now that I would have found my way, even if the exams didn’t go as well. There isn’t just one pathway to the life you want. You just must be open to opportunities and possibilities when they come by.

What would you change about the Leaving Cert?

I think there is room for more continuous assessment, for more project work and for a more diverse learning experience. Too much is still riding on how students perform on the day in a very pressurised situation. That’s problematic.

I’d like to see more subject choice and less gender stereotyping around subjects. It would also be great to see a broader range of subjects made available in more schools, subjects such as politics, the Classics, philosophy and learning opportunities in the creative and performing arts. Young people have such rich layers of talent and interests, and we all learn differently. I’d like to see a Leaving Cert that captures that reality.