The musician and broadcaster sat the exams in the summer of 1984Fiachna Ó Braonáin. Thu Jun 04 2026 - 06:01 • 3 MIN READWhen and where did you sit the Leaving Cert exams?I sat the exams in the summer of 1984, in Coláiste Eoin, Booterstown, where I attended since commencing first year in 1979.What is your most vivid Leaving Cert memory?Staying up very late at night in my bedroom, drinking many cups of coffee, and cramming each night before an exam. This is exactly what is not recommended, but I did this pretty much for the duration of all the exams! Who was your most influential teacher and why?Breandán Ó Maolalaigh, our English teacher. It was under his ardent guidance that we learned about literature. Shakespeare, William Butler Yeats, Keats and Shelley all stand out in my memory as touchstones. Breandán clearly had a love of the written arts; he was quite strict, but the rigour with which he taught us came from a passion for communicating through the arts and for the beauty of words. A wonderful teacher.What was your most difficult subject?Chemistry. I thought I had a reasonable understanding of the sciences when I sat my Inter Cert (now Junior Cert), but when I jumped into the Leaving Cert syllabus, I found chemistry very difficult to grasp. I ended up going to grinds in the Institute of Education in Leeson Street at the weekends to try and get a handle on it, but I couldn’t keep up no matter what I did.And your favourite?French. From around the age of seven, I had the good fortune of spending almost every summer living with French families, which meant that by the time I started secondary school, I was completely fluent. What I enjoyed most about learning French in school was the ease with which I was able to sail through it all.Can you recall what grades or points you received?I got three As (Irish, French, biology), a B (English), a C (history) and a pass in maths. This was gloriously topped off with an NG in chemistry – I actually couldn’t answer one single question.How important were the results for you ultimately?The results were important in the sense that they enabled me to go to university for a year and enjoy a taste of what third-level education felt like. That newfound freedom, a whole new set of peers and friends, an exposure to new ideas, and a fast track into the students’ union ents office, where my first musical outfit, The Incomparable Benzini Brothers [forerunner to Hothouse Flowers], started hustling them for gigs. We did a gig by the lake in UCD, which remains one of the standout memories for people I run into even today! What did you go on to do after secondary school?I went to university for a year and a bit, but then took leave of absence to pursue a life in rock’n’roll.What would you change about the Leaving Cert?The main thing would be to make it much more assessment-based to take away the pressures of an exam system that I think is outdated and flawed.What advice would you give to your Leaving Cert self?Don’t worry – and get more sleep! IN THIS SECTION