Leaving Cert Irish: Paper II post-mortem:Yesterdays' honours Irish paper II was a welcome relief after what is increasingly being regarded as a "ridiculous" first Irish paper on Thursday.
Several teachers are drafting letters to the Exams Commission to complain about Thursday's inaccessible and irrelevant essay topics and a paper that was believed to do nothing for the cause of bringing Irish into the 21st century.
Yesterday's paper, which tested students' knowledge of prescribed and unprescribed texts, was "tough but fair" according to students, and teachers felt it was a reasonable round-up of the year's work.
ASTI teacher expert Mr Donal O'Loinsigh felt that the first question, on themes of love versus evil in the story of the Children of Lir, was hard work, as this was not a central theme of the story.
Peig Sayers, no longer required reading on the Leaving Cert curriculum, is still an optional text and many students continue to answer questions on the novel that launched a thousand Gaeilgephobes.
"Even though there was a concerted effort to take 'Peig' off the required reading list, students and teachers are still returning to what is seen as one of the better options for the unprescribed literature section," said TUI teacher expert Mr John MacGabhann.
This paper is historically difficult and this year was no exception with challenging questions throughout.
However, it was felt that students were given ample choice in order to display their strengths yesterday. A sticky question on the poet's lack of regard for the institution of marriage in the poem Bríd Óg Ní Mháille may have thrown many students on section 3 but they had the option to go for an easier question in part two.
Leaving Certificate Applied students sitting Gaeilge Cumarsaideach (Business Irish) yesterday applauded a manageable paper although the aural tape was too fast for many students to answer all the questions in the allotted time.