With only a few days to go until the Leaving Cert Irish oral exams begin, here are some tips from Irish teacher Cass Ní Chionnaith that may help you prepare. Go n-éirí an t-ádh libh!
There are 240 marks available in the Irish Oral exam and that makes up 40% of your overall grade.
The exam is broken down into four sections:
- An Fáiltiú/ Beannú (introduction) - 5 marks
- Léamh na Filíochta (reading of the poem) - 35 marks
- Comhrá (conversation) - 120 marks
- Sraith Pictiúr (picture stories) - 80 marks
In the video up top, produced by Shauna Burdis from RTÉ News, Cass has some great tips and advice to help you get as many marks as you can in each section - read on for more.
Here are Cass' 5 top tips for the overall exam:
- Do not forget that you can guide the conversation. If you want to talk about something, bring it in. Don't wait for the examiner to bring it up.
- Every single thing to say in the Irish Oral is building blocks up to your marks of 240. So, everything you say is going to get you marks.
- When you are practicing don't just say it in your head - say it out loud! Because practice makes perfect.
- Listen/ watch as much Irish content as possible before the exam. Watch the Nuacht on TV, watching a movie in Irish or listening to RnaG, etc. That is all really beneficial.
- Have you main topics prepared. Make sure you know your beannú really well and the main topics - mé féin/ mo chlann/ mo theach/ mo scoil/ mo chaithimh aimsire.
Top Tips for the Sraith Pictiúr
- Use a wide range of verbs - this is really important.
- Prepare 5 to 6 sentences per picture.
- Do not change tense - stick to one. Cass highly recommends the Aimsir Chaite.
Top Tips for Poetry
- Bring in our booklet and use it to write in as many phonetics as possible.
- You have to read out one poem you have studied - examiner choses.
- Make sure that no matter what verses you are asked to read to read the name of the poem and the poet.
In the poetry section if the examiner asks for:
- Géibheann or Colscaradh = read out the whole poem
- Mo Ghrá-sa = read 3 paragraphs
- An tEarrach Thiar or an Spailpín Fanach = read 2 verses
You can follow Cass on Instagram and TikTok for more tips coming up to the Leaving Cert.
Head over to RTÉ Learn closer to Leaving Cert where we will have more great resources for the class of 2026.
