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The two Leaving Cert English papers
English is examined at Higher and Ordinary level in two papers:
- Paper 1: Section I, Comprehending (three texts on a general theme: answer a Question A on one text and a Question B on a different text); Section II, Composing (one of seven compositions).
- Paper 2: Section I, Single Text; Section II, Comparative Study; Section III, Poetry (unseen and prescribed).
You study one text on its own, three other texts comparatively, and a selection of poetry, all from the Department's prescribed list for 2027 (circular 0021/2025). No single text is compulsory, but at Higher Level one of the listed Shakespeare plays must be studied, on its own or in the comparative study. At Ordinary Level Shakespeare is optional.
What changes on the English papers in 2027?
Paper 1 is unchanged at both levels. Paper 2 has more choice, under the Department's Assessment Arrangements 2027.
| Section | Usual | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Single Text | Answer one of two questions | No change |
| Comparative Study | Questions on two of the three modes | Questions on all three modes; answer on one |
| Prescribed Poetry | Answer one of four questions | Answer one of five questions |
| Section | Usual | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Single Text | Questions 1 and 2 compulsory, then one of three items in Question 3 | No compulsory question: answer any two of four questions, 30 marks each |
| Comparative Study | Questions on two of the three modes | Questions on all three modes |
| Prescribed Poetry | Answer on one of four poems | Answer on one of six poems |
At Higher Level the Department adds that a 70-mark comparative question will require you to refer to at least two texts, and the same marking criteria apply whether you refer to two or three.
Leaving Cert English poets 2027
Higher Level: eight poets. You're expected to have studied at least six poems by each.
Elizabeth Bishop (10 poems)
- The Fish
- The Bight
- At the Fishhouses
- The Prodigal
- Questions of Travel
- The Armadillo
- Sestina
- First Death in Nova Scotia
- Filling Station
- In the Waiting Room
Emily Dickinson (10 poems)
- "Hope" is the thing with feathers
- There's a certain Slant of light
- I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
- A Bird came down the Walk
- I Heard a fly buzz – when I died
- The Soul has Bandaged moments
- I could bring You Jewels – had I a mind to
- A narrow Fellow in the Grass
- I taste a liquor never brewed
- After great pain, a formal feeling comes
John Donne (10 poems)
- The Sunne Rising
- Song: Go, and catch a falling star
- The Anniversarie
- Song: Sweetest love, I do not goe
- The Dreame
- A Valediction Forbidding Mourning
- The Flea
- Batter my heart
- At the round earth's imagined corners
- Thou hast made me
Patrick Kavanagh (10 poems)
- Inniskeen Road: July Evening
- Shancoduff
- from The Great Hunger, Section I
- Advent
- A Christmas Childhood
- Epic
- Canal Bank Walk
- Lines Written on a Seat on the Grand Canal
- The Hospital
- On Raglan Road
Derek Mahon (10 poems)
- Grandfather
- Day Trip to Donegal
- Ecclesiastes
- After the Titanic
- As It Should Be
- A Disused Shed in Co. Wexford
- Rathlin
- The Chinese Restaurant in Portrush
- Kinsale
- Antarctica
Paula Meehan (10 poems)
- Buying Winkles
- The Pattern
- The Statue of the Virgin at Granard Speaks
- Cora, Auntie
- The Exact Moment I Became a Poet
- My Father Perceived as a Vision of St. Francis
- Hearth Lesson
- Prayer for the Children of Longing
- Death of a Field
- Them Ducks Died for Ireland
Adrienne Rich (10 poems)
- Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
- Uncle Speaks in the Drawing Room
- Power
- Storm Warnings
- Living in Sin
- The Roofwalker
- Our Whole Life
- Trying to Talk with a Man
- Diving Into the Wreck
- From a Survivor
W. B. Yeats (13 poems)
- The Lake Isle of Innisfree
- September 1913
- The Wild Swans at Coole
- An Irish Airman Foresees his Death
- Easter 1916
- The Second Coming
- Sailing to Byzantium
- from Meditations in Time of Civil War: VI, The Stare's Nest by My Window
- In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz
- Swift's Epitaph
- An Acre of Grass
- from Under Ben Bulben: V and VI
- Politics
Ordinary Level: the 36 prescribed poems
- kitchenette building (Gwendolyn Brooks)
- Mammy Dozes (Colette Bryce)
- The Fish (Elizabeth Bishop)
- The Prodigal (Elizabeth Bishop)
- Filling Station (Elizabeth Bishop)
- I felt a Funeral, in my Brain (Emily Dickinson)
- I Heard a fly buzz – when I died (Emily Dickinson)
- The Flea (John Donne)
- Song: Go and catch a falling star (John Donne)
- Valentine (Carol Ann Duffy)
- If Love Was Jazz (Linda France)
- My Father's Kites (Alison Joseph)
- Shancoduff (Patrick Kavanagh)
- A Christmas Childhood (Patrick Kavanagh)
- Memo from the Benefits Department (Rachel Loden)
- Grandfather (Derek Mahon)
- After the Titanic (Derek Mahon)
- Antarctica (Derek Mahon)
- Buying Winkles (Paula Meehan)
- Hearth Lesson (Paula Meehan)
- Prayer for the Children of Longing (Paula Meehan)
- Genetics (Sinéad Morrissey)
- The Loaf (Paul Muldoon)
- In Praise of the Great Bull Walrus (Alden Nowlan)
- For Our Mothers (Felicia Olusanya)
- Lament for Christy Ring (Billy Ramsell)
- Aunt Jennifer's Tigers (Adrienne Rich)
- Uncle Speaks in the Drawing Room (Adrienne Rich)
- Reuben Bright (Edwin Arlington Robinson)
- Commercial Break: Roadrunner, Uneasy (Tim Seibles)
- Sonnet XVIII: Shall I compare thee (William Shakespeare)
- Ozymandias (Percy Bysshe Shelley)
- Swimming (Degna Stone)
- The Lake Isle of Innisfree (W. B. Yeats)
- The Wild Swans at Coole (W. B. Yeats)
- An Irish Airman Foresees his Death (W. B. Yeats)
Source: circular 0021/2025.
Single texts for 2027
| Text | Author | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Girl on an Altar | Marina Carr | Higher or Ordinary |
| A Raisin in the Sun | Lorraine Hansberry | Ordinary only |
| Sive | John B. Keane | Ordinary only |
| Hamnet | Maggie O'Farrell | Higher or Ordinary |
| The Cove | Ron Rash | Ordinary only |
| The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Higher or Ordinary |
| Othello | William Shakespeare | Higher or Ordinary |
| Dracula | Bram Stoker | Higher or Ordinary |
| The Underground Railroad | Colson Whitehead | Ordinary only |
Comparative study 2027
Three texts, compared under the modes below. A film can be one of the three, but only a film on the list.
Higher Level modes
- Theme or issue
- Cultural context
- General vision and viewpoint
Ordinary Level modes
- Theme
- Social setting
- Relationships
Novel and memoir (20)
- Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker
- Young Skins, Colin Barrett
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë
- Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
- The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui
- Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus
- The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
- Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan
- Notes from a Coma, Mike McCormack
- Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell
- 1984, George Orwell
- Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens
- Elena Knows, Claudia Piñeiro
- The Cove, Ron Rash
- The Spinning Heart, Donal Ryan
- The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Dracula, Bram Stoker
- The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead
- Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal, Jeanette Winterson
Drama (9)
- Girl on an Altar, Marina Carr
- Medea, Euripides
- A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
- A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
- Sive, John B. Keane
- Once Before I Go, Phillip McMahon
- Macbeth, William Shakespeare
- Othello, William Shakespeare
- Colder Than Here, Laura Wade
Film (9)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson
- The Shawshank Redemption, Frank Darabont
- Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven
- Barbie, Greta Gerwig
- Knives Out, Rian Johnson
- Diego Maradona, Asif Kapadia
- The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh
- The Third Man, Carol Reed
- I'm Not Scared, Gabriele Salvatores
38 texts in all. You can't use your single text again in the comparative study.
Exam dates and past papers
The SEC hasn't published the 2027 Leaving Cert timetable yet. We'll add the English Paper 1 and Paper 2 dates here the day it's published: see the Leaving Cert 2027 timetable.
Past papers and marking schemes are free in the SEC's Examination Material Archive. Older papers ask about different texts and poets, so use them for the question styles. See how to find past papers.
Questions people ask
Who are the Leaving Cert Higher Level poets for 2027?
Elizabeth Bishop, Emily Dickinson, John Donne, Patrick Kavanagh, Derek Mahon, Paula Meehan, Adrienne Rich and W. B. Yeats. Students are expected to have studied at least six poems by each poet.
What are the Leaving Cert English single texts for 2027?
At Higher Level: Girl on an Altar (Marina Carr), Hamnet (Maggie O'Farrell), The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), Othello (William Shakespeare) and Dracula (Bram Stoker). At Ordinary Level, those plus A Raisin in the Sun, Sive, The Cove and The Underground Railroad.
Is Shakespeare compulsory for Leaving Cert English 2027?
At Higher Level, yes: one of the listed Shakespeare plays (Othello or Macbeth) must be studied, either as the single text (Othello) or in the comparative study (Othello or Macbeth). At Ordinary Level it is optional.
What are the comparative modes for 2027?
Higher Level: Theme or issue; Cultural context; General vision and viewpoint. Ordinary Level: Theme; Social setting; Relationships. In 2027 the paper includes questions on all three modes at both levels.
What changes on the Leaving Cert English papers in 2027?
Paper 1 is unchanged. On Paper 2, the comparative section has questions on all three modes, and there is more choice in prescribed poetry: one of five questions at Higher Level, one of six poems at Ordinary Level. At Ordinary Level, the single text section has no compulsory question: you answer any two of four, 30 marks each.
When is the Leaving Cert English exam in 2027?
The State Examinations Commission (SEC) has not published the 2027 timetable yet (checked 31 October 2026). We add the English dates the day it is published.