Sir, – As a native Irish speaker and secondary schoolteacher of the language, I agreed with many of this week’s letters on Irish exemptions. Exemptions rightly exist for students with dyslexia or other specific difficulties, and for those who completed most of their education outside the State.
But the wider debate around exemptions points to a deeper problem: our Leaving Cert rewards written accuracy far more than the ability to speak, leaving many students disengaged long before any exemption is sought.
The Irish oral exam carries 40 per cent of the overall mark, more than other modern languages, yet too many students will leave school unable to hold a conversation in Irish. Weighting alone has not solved this.
I would ask why Irish should not attract bonus CAO points, as maths does. Bonus points have clearly shifted student behaviour towards higher-level maths, and the same incentive would likely draw more students to take Irish seriously.
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Today’s students are the future of our language. Compulsion past junior cycle may do more harm than good. Irish optional at senior cycle, but oral-focused and properly incentivised, might serve it better. None of this comes from any lack of love for the subject that I teach. – Yours, etc,
SEÁN Ó CATHASAIGH
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.
