Exams in a pandemic must be so hard, says TV host
RTÉ’s Bláthnaid Treacy says she feels huge sympathy for students sitting their Junior and Leaving Certificates amid the uncertainty created by the pandemic.
The Gaeilgeoir is currently fronting a new, two-hour bilingual show on 2fm called StaidAir which is broadcast on weekdays at 8pm in a bid to support those students facing into their Irish orals and trying to prepare at home.
“I can’t even imagine how hard it must be for them. It’s just the unknown. When you’re doing the Leaving Cert, you know it’s coming, you know there’s these exams and that’s daunting enough as it is. But just not to know what’s happening is so hard while you’re also trying to prepare. It’s too much, it really is,” she told the Irish Independent.
“But the resounding message that keeps coming back to us on the show is the examiners are all teachers too. They’re all rooting for you and they want you to do well. We are all in this together so picking up a few extra words without even realising it is the main aim of the show.”
Every night she will try to cover one of the subjects that is due to come up in the orals and Bláthnaid said they were getting great feedback from listeners so far.
“The Irish language is a difficult one for a lot of people if you didn’t go to an Irish-language school or have Irish-speaking members in your family. It’s all about trying to make the Irish language more accessible and take away the fear that a lot of people have with it,” she said.
“It’s a bilingual show so people will know what’s going on even if their level of Irish isn’t great, but it’s an entertainment show as well with lots of music and showbiz gossip as well.”
The former Can’t Stop Dancing presenter, who married her musician husband Charlie Mooney in June 2019, also opened up about how she stays strong mentally during the litany of lockdowns.
The Glenroe child star, who comes from Bray, Co Wicklow, said she had ditched running for the gentler pursuit of morning
‘Picking up a few words without realising it is the aim of the show’
yoga as well as walking and said this had really helped with the winter blues.
“Everyone has a certain time of year when their mental health isn’t great and for me, it’s every October and November. I don’t know why, it just happens to be really hard, maybe it’s just the darker nights,” she said.
“But I didn’t really have it this year and I put it down to yoga because it is a difficult period for me. I was just talking to Charlie about it, how I really didn’t get those blues I normally get. And we have more reasons than ever to feel blue right now. But I feel all right this year.”