LEAVING CERT HIGHER LEVEL IRISH PAPER 1:A NEWSPAPER article about the role of Green Party policies in Ireland featured on yesterday's higher level Irish Paper 1, which teachers welcomed as "topical" and "lively".

Other composition titles included a goodbye to the Celtic Tiger, an essay on US president Barack Obama and a reflection on the priorities of teenagers.

“The topic of the recession was widely anticipated and appeared as an essay: ‘Slán leis an Tíogar Ceilteach!’,” said Claire Grealy of the Institute of Education, Dublin. “An essay topic on US president Barack Obama was also welcomed. A very general essay topic, ‘The people and the things that were important to me as a teenager’ allowed candidates to use their imagination”, she said.

Over 16,000 students took the higher level paper yesterday, or around one in three of the cohort.

Examiners could not resist their “annual spot of navel-gazing” with a number of questions featuring the Irish tongue as the subject, said one commentator.

“The subject of the Irish language itself was a theme throughout the paper; as a debate topic, and [it] also featured in the newspaper article question, in the form of an interview with a Gaelscoil principal,” said Claire Grealy.

“This theme also appeared in the comprehension section of the paper, referring to a new Gaeltacht created in Canada.”

Overall the paper was received very favourably by candidates, who were comfortable with the language used and the opportunities the questions presented.

“This was a great higher paper. At times challenging, but always fair,” said teacher Robbie Cronin.