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Irish Resources for Leaving Cert and Junior Cycle Students

Resources that fit Junior Cycle and the Leaving Cert, from grammar practice to listening that helps you prepare for the oral. These are general learning resources, not copies of the exam.

Our picks are provisional

They come from desk research against our published rubric. Our teachers are testing each resource hands-on, and the picks may change.

Non-profit. No affiliate links. No sponsored rankings. How we review

What you need most

What matters for you

Grammar you can rely on

Clear rules and practice, because accuracy counts in written work.

Listening and vocabulary

Topical Irish you can understand and reuse, which helps with the oral and the aural.

Correct terms

The right Irish for modern and specialist words.

Our picks

The best resources for you

Chosen from every guide on the site for how well they fit you, not just their overall score.

  • App

    blas.

    Explicit grammar, mutation drills, graded readings, and Leaving Cert and TEG exam drills.

    Provisional score 71/100 · Freemium; from ≈€17.88 a month

  • Book

    Progress in Irish

    A cheap, reliable grammar workbook that’s widely used in schools. Pair it with listening practice.

    Provisional score 58/100 · €11.50

  • Podcast

    Seachtain

    A 20-minute weekly show on topical issues, with articles and vocabulary. Useful when preparing for the Leaving Cert oral.

    Provisional score 73/100 · Free

  • Podcast

    Nuacht Mhall

    Five minutes of slow weekly news with Irish transcripts, building current-affairs vocabulary.

    Provisional score 74/100 · Free

  • Dictionary

    teanglann.ie

    Dictionaries, a grammar database and pronunciation files: check any word or grammar point.

    Provisional score 82/100 · Free

  • Terminology

    téarma.ie

    The official Irish for specialist and modern terms, with over 325,000 entries.

    Provisional score 59.5/100 · Free

Also worth a look: foclóir.ie for English to Irish look-ups, and ABAIR to hear any Irish text read aloud in a native-speaker voice.

A simple plan

Each week

  • 1

    Practise grammar

    A few exercises from a workbook or app, little and often.

  • 2

    Listen to one episode

    Seachtain or Nuacht Mhall, and note the useful phrases.

  • 3

    Speak about the topic

    Talk about what you heard, out loud, to prepare for the oral.

  • 4

    Check your words

    Look up anything you’re unsure of in teanglann.ie or téarma.ie.

Watch out for

Things to avoid

  • Never hand in Irish from Google Translate or an AI chatbot. It is often wrong.
  • These resources help you learn and practise. None of them is a copy of the exam, so use past papers and your teacher’s guidance too.
  • Learn phrases you understand, rather than memorising answers you can’t adapt.

Other learners

Guides for other learners

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