THERE were mixed reactions from teachers and students as the new Leaving Cert Irish syllabus was examined for the first time. Ms Maire Ni Laoire, ASTI subject representative and a teacher in Scoil Mhuire gan Smal, Blarney, Co Cork, said the format of question 1 on the higher level paper has changed. It had four clear categories: essay, short story, newspaper article and a debate. Students had a wide choice ranging from crime to Teilifis na Gaeilge to the environment, she said.

The reading comprehension reflected the emphasis which the syllabus puts on the cultur Gaeileach, according to Ms Ni Laoire. The first piece included Jack B Yeats, his brother, William, and Michelle Smith, who appeared on almost all of yesterday's Irish papers.

The second comprehension was a piece from The Irish Times on an archaeological theme and Ms Ni Laoire said that it was a little out of the realm of the normal experience of the students but the questions were fine.

Both higher and ordinary level students listen to the same tape for the listening comprehension. It was a pupil friendly, topical piece, she said. Students in Scoil Mhuire gan Smal were very happy with it.

The ordinary level paper also had four categories in the first questions a short essay, a story, a letter and a conversation, again offering students a very good choice of topic. The reading comprehensions dealt with Glenveigh National Park and the JFK aircraft carrier. The questions following the second piece were not in chronological order, said Ms Ni Laoire, and question four was a little unclear.

Ms Mary Enright, Irish teacher in Kilmuckridge Vocational College, Co Wexford, said that the ordinary level paper, in particular the reading comprehension, was very difficult and quite unfair. She singled out the first two questions following the piece on the JFK carrier as being difficult to understand. She said that the comprehension topics were not areas of interest to students.