Dear Sir, – With the expectation of campaigners visiting me soon, I am equipped with a set of test forms at the ready on my entrance hallway table. Every sheet carries the title: Oireachtas Entrance Examination for December 2024.
Guidelines for Participants:
Choose a minimum of two subjects from the list provided and elucidate on them for under sixty seconds per subject.
1) Mica.
A mix of personal emotions and tough journalism in Shooting Crows by Trevor Birney
How should we pay tribute to Irish women? Reader views on Kathleen Lynn Hospital, Dolores O’Riordan Park, and Catherine Corless Place.
Describing his experience with Paul Motian as – ‘Calling an alien’: Danish guitar player Jakob Bro
Reflections by Frank McNally on an age-old hymn’s unholy impact
2) Pyrite.
3) The cost of a bike shed equals that of a home.
4) The most exorbitantly priced incomplete children’s hospital globally.
Inefficient or excessively verbose responses for the chosen topic(s) may lead to disqualification of the candidate from earning my vote.
Yours sincerely,
Noel Shanaghy,
Faithlegg,
Co Waterford.
Sir, – Besides the overly enthusiastic media, I perceive a discernible degree of indifference from the broader public regarding the general election date.
Yours sincerely,
Ita McCormack,
Maynooth,
Co Kildare.