14-05-2025
Letters: Mark of a good student is growth, so don't let exam stress stunt your progress
She stated that 'there is also a curious liberation in the knowledge that no one other than me cares whether I complete the course or not'.
Last year I sat the TEG A2 exam in Irish in an effort to improve my líofacht sa Ghaeilge while simultaneously attending Irish classes. I obtained a result of 88pc.
Next Saturday, at the age of 60, I will be sitting the B1 exam in Irish, the next level up from last year. I found having an exam goal gave me a greater incentive to actually work at learning the language.
The mark I get is largely irrelevant, though I would like to see it reflect the work I have put in. In essence, I have already succeeded by setting this goal that encouraged me to do the work.
You don't look at exams like this when you are younger, but as Ms Crowe wrote, studying as an adult is about 'travelling inwards and affirming our limitless capacity to grow'.
Tommy Roddy
Ballybane, Co Galway
With age comes greater reliance on colour-coded tablets, but that's just life
You know you're getting old when your social calendar takes a back seat to your pill organiser.
Once it was concerts and late nights – now it's colour-coded compartments and 'Don't forget Thursday's statin'.
I've so many tablets these days that I have to arrange them like a game of medicinal Tetris just to get the lids to close.
For those unfamiliar with these nifty little boxes, fear not: your time will come, and your tablets will tell you when.
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Enda Cullen, Tullysaran, Co Armagh
Car remains king in this country, so it's no surprise cyclists still feel unsafe
It's not at all surprising that safety concerns top the reasons why Irish people shun cycling ('Survey shows main reasons more people don't choose to cycle in Ireland', Irish Independent, May 12).
The country's entire transport system revolves around vehicular traffic, with the private car being king.
On my last visit home, I regularly walked the narrow 6km regional road to my nearest town, Ballaghaderreen.
Many drivers saw my presence as a nuisance, and on occasions I was forced on to the ditch, descending into a drain to avoid being clipped by cars.
Alas, many families tragically know that the real nuisance – nay, danger – are these potentially lethal pieces of motorised metal when driven recklessly.
Our roads should promote and prioritise those who use their own energy to get around. This is better for the individual and the community at large.
But no. In the car we thrust.
Brendan Corrigan, Colombia
Litany of motor offences shows we have a long way to go in educating drivers
Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has called for a 'societal reset' regarding road safety following the death of Garda Kevin Flatley.
Just over a week ago, the much-advertised and flagged May Bank Holiday Weekend Road Safety Campaign brought to the fore an astonishing litany of driving offences committed over the course of five days, during which there was one fatality and 10 serious collisions: 188 arrests for driving under the influence of an intoxicant; 81 fixed penalty (fines) for seat belt infringements; 103 unaccompanied learner drivers detected; 177 mobile phone use while driving; 354 vehicles seized for various infringements; and 2,159 speeding detections.
It is safe to assume that people didn't set out on the bank holiday weekend to commit driving offences, and these infringements are there every day, every week and every month of the year.
The time for a 'societal reset' is, unfortunately, well past.
Peter Declan O'Halloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan
Young people will always find a way around any ban imposed on social media
I agree with Denis Fitzgerald – banning social media for under-16s is unlikely to have the desired effect.
Casting my mind back to my teenage years, some decades ago now, I can attest to the ingenuity – some might even say deviousness – these young people can muster to circumvent even the strictest of barriers.
By all means, regulate social media companies, but real, effective protection for our children comes in the simple form of education. Let's teach them to manage, understand and filter what they see online.
Knowledge is, and has always been, power.
Bernie Linnahe, Dromahair, Co Leitrim
We should build senior citizen villages and get more people to downsize
I think there is one simple solution to getting older people to downsize from their family-sized homes long after their children have moved on.
Build senior citizen villages with all amenities and we will all be able to downsize, thus freeing up the larger houses for growing families.
Kathleen Callaghan, Letterkenny, Co Donegal
Starmer speech reminder of WB Yeats' great line on strangers being friends
Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech reminds me of a line attributed to the poet WB Yeats: 'There are no strangers here; only friends who haven't yet met.'
Brendan O'Brien, London
With organ donations, out of tragedy we see selfless gestures from families
I read through tears the interview with Walter Donnelly (Farming Independent, May 13), in which he spoke about the brave decision to donate the organs of his 18-year-old son Colm after an accident ended his promising young life.
To read about a life so full of promise being prematurely ended was devastating; but to read about the hope and joy the decision to donate Colm's organs brought to four other families – as well as to the Donnellys themselves – was inspiring and joyous.
Thank you to the Donnellys and all grieving families who think of helping others in a time of such deep personal distress.
