EXAM DIARY:Maths papers are easy compared to task of vote counting in runaway wheelie bins, writes AIDAN O'SHEA
AS I sat an easy maths paper 2 in Castlebar this morning, there was maths of a different kind going on in the count centre next door. Not quite trigonometry, but potentially career-changing all the same.
As I write this diary the recheck is still going on in Castlebar, as Declan Ganley of Libertas hopes that maths and wandering wheelie bins will rescue his EU hopes.
Breaking news! Just heard that his hopes have been dashed.
He is the first person to demand a recheck this year, but by the time our results roll around, he may not be the last.
Personally, I don’t think I’ll have much call for rechecks. Things are looking good for my Dublin City University sports scholarship so far.
English, geography and maths have all been sweet, and I’m not expecting any cheek from Irish Paper 2 this afternoon.
French will be an exercise in ritual humiliation, but luckily I don’t need it for my CAO tally. Unless I face a bloodbath of Fianna Fáil proportions at my economics and accounting exams next week, I should be in like Marian Harkin.
When I ambled back for my 2pm exam appointment with Irish paper 1 yesterday, I was greeted with the friendliest paper a man could wish for.
Not only were the essay topics like low-hanging fruit, but the comprehension passage was on the mock! Nearly word for word! I couldn’t believe it.
Even the questions were the same. Go raibh míle maith agat, Des Bishop.
Apparently not everyone in the country sat the same mock paper. I do feel a bit sorry for those who missed the trick, but like I said yesterday, the sun shines on Connacht.
The Irish paper was so easy, I’m almost afraid to tell you how early I left the exam hall.
Well, actually it’s not you I’m afraid of, it’s my mother. Let’s just say I got home in time for Murder, She Wrote.
Now as long as my mother doesn’t find the TV guide that I’ve hidden under my maths notes in the wheelie bin, she’ll never be any the wiser. She might find Declan Ganley’s “missing” votes under there as well.
Aidan O’Shea is a student at St Gerald’s, Castlebar, and an inter-county footballer with Mayo
