Irish Independent/Times Exam Diaries (Should be ashamed!)

vote4pedro · 13-06-2008 8:31pm

Has anyone mentioned the fact that the yoke doing the Times' exam diary stated explicitly what her English essay was about (lesbian Geisha girls....my god :rolleyes: ). Considering the high amount of teachers who read the Times, especially on the day after the first exam to see the reaction to day one, is it not a bit unfair that the chances are reasonably high that whoever corrects the exam will know he/she has her paper? I mean how many lesbian Geisha girl essays are there out there, plus this sort of hilarity would spread quickly around a staff room/teachers!

Apologies if its already been brought up but I couldn't relive another 14 pages about that girl!

Cokehead Mother · 13-06-2008 8:40pm

I would actually love to read her lesbian geisha story.

Livo · 13-06-2008 8:40pm

vote4pedro wrote: »

Has anyone mentioned the fact that the yoke doing the Times' exam diary stated explicitly what her English essay was about (lesbian Geisha girls....my god :rolleyes: ). Considering the high amount of teachers who read the Times, especially on the day after the first exam to see the reaction to day one, is it not a bit unfair that the chances are reasonably high that whoever corrects the exam will know he/she has her paper? I mean how many lesbian Geisha girl essays are there out there, plus this sort of hilarity would spread quickly around a staff room/teachers!

Apologies if its already been brought up but I couldn't relive another 14 pages about that girl!

we were always told in school not to make the essay too racy cos you don't know who could be correcting it - it could be a funky new "make learning fun" teacher who'll like it but it could be a nun...

love how many times she mentions the column and her exams. she's a good writer, just needs to tone down the egoism...

Stevieo · 13-06-2008 8:42pm

vote4pedro wrote: »

Has anyone mentioned the fact that the yoke doing the Times' exam diary stated explicitly what her English essay was about (lesbian Geisha girls....my god :rolleyes: ). Considering the high amount of teachers who read the Times, especially on the day after the first exam to see the reaction to day one, is it not a bit unfair that the chances are reasonably high that whoever corrects the exam will know he/she has her paper? I mean how many lesbian Geisha girl essays are there out there, plus this sort of hilarity would spread quickly around a staff room/teachers!

The 'PCLM' marking scheme will protect her...at least I'm hoping it will on account of I decided to write on why I detest Adrienne Rich!

cHaTbOx · 13-06-2008 8:44pm

Livo wrote: »

we were always told in school not to make the essay too racy cos you don't know who could be correcting it - it could be a funky new "make learning fun" teacher who'll like it but it could be a nun...

love how many times she mentions the column and her exams. she's a good writer, just needs to tone down the egoism...

+1

And doesnt she have the right to be proud of her exam results

vote4pedro · 13-06-2008 8:45pm

She really isn't a good writer tbh. Not only should she not have written such a controversial essay (Sister Asumpta might just be handed her paper to correct), but by making it plainly obvious to the corrector who she is, surely there's a chance that the corrector will also know she's failed twice before and so may be a bit more generous in how they correct the essay.

cHaTbOx · 13-06-2008 8:51pm

vote4pedro wrote: »

She really isn't a good writer tbh. Not only should she not have written such a controversial essay (Sister Asumpta might just be handed her paper to correct), but by making it plainly obvious to the corrector who she is, surely there's a chance that the corrector will also know she's failed twice before and so may be a bit more generous in how they correct the essay.

BlueCam wrote: »

For those looking for a further laugh: read here. Apparantly Ms. Brady is renting out her writing services for other misfortunate editors.

She never failed english ,she got an A1.Click on the link. I also believe she is a good writer but what she is writing about is very self obsessed and has nothing to do with the leaving cert.That is why i don't like these diaries .

vote4pedro · 13-06-2008 9:08pm

I know she didn't fail English, I meant she failed to get the LC points she wanted twice, as she repeatedly reminds the readers at every possible phase. And she really isn't much of a writer, vapid, humourless, and pretentious. If she wants to continue in the written media perhaps she could be the new Roisin Ingle, or write a toe-curlingly precocious novel like that other girl from Fair City who got 600 points.

cHaTbOx · 13-06-2008 9:14pm

Lol good suggestions.

LizT · 13-06-2008 9:16pm

LPB wrote: »

I also had to write the columns directly after the exams, and they're obviously not my priority at this time of year.

Not your priority? But staying up til 2 am watching Sex and the City and getting up to surf the net for a pair of designer shoes are your priorites?
Hmmmm

cHaTbOx · 13-06-2008 9:28pm

lizt wrote: »

Not your priority? But staying up til 2 am watching Sex and the City and getting up to surf the net for a pair of designer shoes are your priorites?
Hmmmm

checkmate:p

Ciks · 13-06-2008 10:46pm

LPB wrote: »

I have to say, I found all the people here ranting about me to be hilarious.

Just goes to show how different our sense of humour is to yours...

MattD · 13-06-2008 11:13pm

Another thing... this LPB one said that she was tired of all these 'Poor stressed Leaving Cert students' Thats why she decided to make this 'joke'

But no one complained before. People doing the Leaving Cert are stressed. Its a fact [except for those doing it for the third time but theyre a special case it seems] A stressed student thinking s/he's going to fail the next exam, opens the newspaper and finds someone in the same boat, theyre happy. They see the bigger picture and that theyre not alone. They take comfort in this.

A stressed Leaving Cert student opens a paper and reads about some rich pompous mong getting all the points she wants cuz she has the advantage of doing the course 3 times in the most expensive school around. They get worse...

Yeah, good choice, Laura, i see what you were trying to do......

Rosstafarian · 14-06-2008 10:46am

MattD wrote: »

Another thing... this LPB one said that she was tired of all these 'Poor stressed Leaving Cert students' Thats why she decided to make this 'joke'

But no one complained before. People doing the Leaving Cert are stressed. Its a fact [except for those doing it for the third time but theyre a special case it seems] A stressed student thinking s/he's going to fail the next exam, opens the newspaper and finds someone in the same boat, theyre happy. They see the bigger picture and that theyre not alone. They take comfort in this.

A stressed Leaving Cert student opens a paper and reads about some rich pompous mong getting all the points she wants cuz she has the advantage of doing the course 3 times in the most expensive school around. They get worse...

Yeah, good choice, Laura, i see what you were trying to do......

Wonderul......I hope her new column as college diarist is discontinued.

Livo · 14-06-2008 11:11am

that's actually pretty insulting to the "poor stressed leaving certs" who took both their job as a columnist and as a leaving cert student seriously... she's kinda making a mockery of the good effort that they made, by frivolously bragging about how rich she is and how posh she is, and let's not forget how "smart" she is...

*belle* · 14-06-2008 11:16am

Personal attacks on people!!
Thats pretty low if i do say so myself.
If you are not a fan of the diary,then dont read it.
its as simple as that. if it really bothers you that much ,get in touch with the people who make the decisions at the irish times. tell them that you dont believe they picked a student who represents the average student of this country.........or dont bother.that souded harsh.rant over.

the girl in the examiner,was pretty good actually.it was defo more balanced anyway.

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 11:28am

Are you ppl actually thinking about what your writing? You're making horrible remarks about a girl who just doesn't write what you want to hear and insulting her and wishing ill on her, for what? Don't you think that it makes you a royal asshole, and confirms the notion that we, as a ppl, are getting markedly worse in our attitudes towards each other? Why can't you just say that you don't like the article or her writing an let that be enough instead of making some1 else feel **** no reason? All these posts serve to show is that there are some really awful ppl out there who cannot seem to grasp that insulting ppl and wishing them bad things, makes THEM the stuck up ones.

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 11:37am

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

Are you ppl actually thinking about what your writing? You're making horrible remarks about a girl who just doesn't write what you want to hear and insulting her and wishing ill on her, for what? Don't you think that it makes you a royal asshole, and confirms the notion that we, as a ppl, are getting markedly worse in our attitudes towards each other? Why can't you just say that you don't like the article or her writing an let that be enough instead of making some1 else feel **** no reason? All these posts serve to show is that there are some really awful ppl out there who cannot seem to grasp that insulting ppl and wishing them bad things, makes THEM the stuck up ones.

Hows Chris gettin on he seemed disapointd bou hw biology went?
They reali are giving Laura a hard tym bou dis article... Bet u cant guess hu it is.
1st clue: Its not Seán.

*belle* · 14-06-2008 11:38am

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 11:48am

Hey sean! Suppose i'm not supposed to give away my real name in my username, but i realized while tryin to think up a cool username that my real name IS a cool username! (that or ladysman217) Chris seems to be doing well, just construction left. How bout you?

raah! · 14-06-2008 11:54am

Putting your self in the public view like that you are bound to get some bad comments.............especially if you do nothing but brag about things that aren't really worth bragging about. People are sure to point that out, and they have.

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 11:57am

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

Hey sean! Suppose i'm not supposed to give away my real name in my username, but i realized while tryin to think up a cool username that my real name IS a cool username! (that or ladysman217) Chris seems to be doing well, just construction left. How bout you?

I told you its not Seán it was in my clue. Its Chris' cooler friend Niall. But Il pretend you asked me that question knowing it was me. Its going alright i have physics monday which wont be nice and accounting tuesday which will be worse but its almost over. Id say you miss the good old days of studying for the leaving cert.

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 12:15pm

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

my real name IS a cool username! (that or ladysman217)

is that the name that shiya le boeuf(spelled that wrong) uses as his e-bay name in transformers?

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 12:15pm

It doesn't take much common sense to realize that just because a 19yo girl writes a few articles in a paper, does NOT it is fair to launch personal insults like she is some sort or professional writer who gets this stuff all the time. Ppl actually said that they hope she doesn't get the points she needs next year. That is nothing short of disgraceful.

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 12:26pm

Sorry for the mixup man! Physics isn't really that hard a subject when u hav mcMoreland, do you? Don't have a breeze about accounting, but best of luck! Its 4 years since i sat d lc, and i don't envy you one bit. It is important to know though, that this is easily the hardest exam your likely to come across in life. If and when you get into college (presuming you picked a course you think you'll like) you get to play your strengths, no more irish/french/maths/(insert whichever subject you dislike) if you don't want it!

Yes that is Shya LaBeouf's username in transformers!

raah! · 14-06-2008 12:50pm

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

It doesn't take much common sense to realize that just because a 19yo girl writes a few articles in a paper, does NOT it is fair to launch personal insults like she is some sort or professional writer who gets this stuff all the time. Ppl actually said that they hope she doesn't get the points she needs next year. That is nothing short of disgraceful.

Heh, their hoping she doesn't get the points will have no impact on whether or not she gets them. Although it was a strong statement of ill will on their part. If someone has a few defective personality traits, which she has, then people are doing them a favour by pointing it out to them.

She may not get that kinda stuff all the time, but perhaps if she reads some of this she will realise the error of acting like that.

Anyway, I'm sure these people weren't being fully serious, this is an internet forum, and while it may have increased greatly in popularity these last few.........days, most people don't think she'll ever see any of whats written here. And she probably won't

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 12:55pm

Yeah well I cant wait to be finished. Physics wouldn't so bad if they weren't so specific about what they want you to say. If the experiments that are expected to come up are there Ill be grand but if there is one on light(there probably will be) and if the electricity one isn't on resistivity I'll be annoyed.

They started filming Transformers 2 last week and I'm already excited about it.

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 12:58pm

raah! wrote: »

Heh, their hoping she doesn't get the points will have no impact on whether or not she gets them. Although it was a strong statement of ill will on their part. If someone has a few defective personality traits, which she has, then people are doing them a favour by pointing it out to them.

She may not get that kinda stuff all the time, but perhaps if she reads some of this she will realise the error of acting like that.

Anyway, I'm sure these people weren't being fully serious, this is an internet forum, and while it may have increased greatly in popularity these last few.........days, most people don't think she'll ever see any of whats written here. And she probably won't

Well considering both her and her boyfriend have accounts on this forum and she has already commented on this thread I think she may have seen it. These people have no right to judge her and I think it shows dedication that she is willing to put in so much effort to get the course she wants.

raah! · 14-06-2008 1:03pm

Unless the spelling and grammar of a newspaper 'diaryist' deteriorated entirely over the course of her registering to boards, that's not her. And if it was her, she obviously knows that she was speaking inappropriatly, as is clear by the old "I was joking" routine.

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 1:04pm

How dare you speak about some1 like you know them, when all you actually know of them is a few articles in a paper, which were edited (like any article not written by a professional) to be what the paper wants it to be. The light in which you read the articles is that which the times wants portrayed. She was already on this thread as LPB, so she does know whats written here. Or is it ok to badmouth some1 as long as they can't hear?

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 1:05pm

Nothing she said was inappropriate. It simply differed from your opinion, or world view.

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 1:10pm

How can you single her out, I mean I don't know where they found the guy who is writing for the Independant but he is an absolute moron who is always trying (and failing) to appear intelligent, that doesn't mean i hope that he doesn't succeed in the leaving cert for all I know he could be a nice guy. Its the same situation with Laura, I presume you don't know her and so you can't really make a character judgement can you?

Toto Wolfcastle · 14-06-2008 1:13pm

mac-1405 wrote: »

How can you single her out, I mean I don't know where they found the guy who is writing for the Independant but he is an absolute moron who is always trying (and failing) to appear intelligent, that doesn't mean i hope that he doesn't succeed in the leaving cert for all I know he could be a nice guy. Its the same situation with Laura, I presume you don't know her and so you can't really make a character judgement can you?

She wasn't singled out. The guy from the Independent was praised for writing about the Leaving Cert, something that Laura seems to find difficult. Other blogs were mentioned and also praised for writing about, wait for it, the Leaving Cert.

raah! · 14-06-2008 1:14pm

hahahahahahahaha, how dare I?. I don't see where I was speaking "about some1 like you know them" , I was making general observations which are clear from first view of the person. What people are reacting to is the person portrayed by the articles, if the author is someone else , then that's another story. It is the upper class snobbery presented in those articles that has disgusted people so much.

That last paragraph, where it says "and she probably won't" was only put their to soften the whole thing. If you had read the rest you would see that my intended meaning was that it would be good for her to hear some of that. Now you obviously haven't even read the rest of the posts on here, so why don't you go do that before "judging" everyone.

raah! · 14-06-2008 1:18pm

What the hell? Of course you can make a character judgement..... based on what she's said!! You said the other guy was a moron for trying to seem intellegent, now this Laura person, instead of "trying to seem" intellegent, goes the next step and just drops what she thinks are impressive exam results all over the article. That's pathetic, and as I have said before, deserving of pity.

mac-1405 · 14-06-2008 1:20pm

janeybabe wrote: »

She wasn't singled out. The guy from the Independent was praised for writing about the Leaving Cert, something that Laura seems to find difficult. Other blogs were mentioned and also praised for writing about, wait for it, the Leaving Cert.

Actually yes she was. The amount of references to her is greater then the amount of references to everyone else put together. She was asked to write HER views on the Leaving Cert and thats exactly what she did and at least she tried to keep her article interesting.

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 1:28pm

I, in fact, hav read every single post in this thread. I did so because when i found out that my girlfriend was being badmouthed i wanted to defend her. There really is no need to though i guess, as i know that she would never join a herd and express insults at an innocent individual en masse online, or through any medium, and is hence a person of better character than any1 who has been jumping on this ignorant, hate-bandwagon. I would ask that ppl please refrain from personal insults at some1 who really doesn't deserve them, just because they are different than you.

raah! · 14-06-2008 1:37pm

Well that's unstoppable logic, there's nothing anyone can say to that. We're all just poor ignorant slobs from public schools.

BlueCam · 14-06-2008 1:44pm

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

...just because they are different than you.

Different *from* you. Seems that syntax isn't the strong point of you or your "girlfriend"... (And why don't I believe you?!)

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 1:48pm

Hey man i don't know if thats sarcasm or not, but i was never trying to sound above any1. I went to a public school myself, and i'm going into work in tesco now at 2, so i am on no way trying to sound superior. I just think that ppl need to lay off laura just because they don't like where she goes to school or how she spends her time. Also a strong (and my final) point i'd like to make, is that laura wrote a lot for the times and the edited it as they pleased. She is mostly upset because she feels every1 hates her, when in fact every1 is discussing the person they wanted to portray. They felt there was sufficient demand and interest for it. Laura is an amazing person, has no real-life enemies, and is the love of my life. I have to go to work now, if any1 has any further problems, feel free to address them to me at the customer service desk in tesco maynooth, i'll be there till 11 tonight.

MatthewGrehan · 14-06-2008 1:49pm

Especially you Bluecam.

(but thanks for the correction)

cHaTbOx · 14-06-2008 1:55pm

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

I, in fact, hav read every single post in this thread. I did so because when i found out that my girlfriend was being badmouthed i wanted to defend her. There really is no need to though i guess, as i know that she would never join a herd and express insults at an innocent individual en masse online, or through any medium, and is hence a person of better character than any1 who has been jumping on this ignorant, hate-bandwagon. I would ask that ppl please refrain from personal insults at some1 who really doesn't deserve them, just because they are different than you.

Did you read all my posts,if you did do you see the point in what i am trying to say .(Im not going to go through it becuase you have read them).
There is no doubt your girlfriend will get the points ,but it is the manner in which she is writing about the leaving cert.If you read those diaries with the frame of mind that you are going through a tough leaving cert and someone just happened to go watch SATC until two in the morning before a big exam,it makes what some of us are going through at the moment seem like a big walk in the park, which it isn't and you must know that being an engineer.

BlueCam · 14-06-2008 1:57pm

MatthewGrehan wrote: »

Hey man i don't know if thats sarcasm or not, but i was never trying to sound above any1. I went to a public school myself, and i'm going into work in tesco now at 2, so i am on no way trying to sound superior. I just think that ppl need to lay off laura just because they don't like where she goes to school or how she spends her time. Also a strong (and my final) point i'd like to make, is that laura wrote a lot for the times and the edited it as they pleased. She is mostly upset because she feels every1 hates her, when in fact every1 is discussing the person they wanted to portray. They felt there was sufficient demand and interest for it. Laura is an amazing person, has no real-life enemies, and is the love of my life. I have to go to work now, if any1 has any further problems, feel free to address them to me at the customer service desk in tesco maynooth, i'll be there till 11 tonight.

I think the idea that they edited it to their pleasing to create almost a caricature of her is BS. Just look at the girl they had last year; she was looking for medicine, like Laura, but she managed to stick to talking about the exams. Laura hasn't. That's why people are pissed off. Simple really.

Toto Wolfcastle · 14-06-2008 1:58pm

mac-1405 wrote: »

She was asked to write HER views on the Leaving Cert

Nail. Head.

So she was asked to write her shoes on the Leaving Cert. Based on her pieces I guess her views on the Leaving Cert are as follows:

1. Shoes for nearly 600 euro are a bargain.
2. Peig should be kept out of Brown Thomas.
3. Dante the snake shed his skin without an epidural.

And so on.

jennyq · 14-06-2008 2:08pm

If what you're saying is true & they edited her columns badly it would be interesting to see an unedited one. Not saying she should have to post one to defend herself or anything, but it's pretty disgraceful if the Times have really distorted her writing that much. If they've genuinely portrayed her unfairly then she shouldn't have to accept it, otherwise it's difficult to avoid with a public newspaper column. If you look at op-ed columns on any newspaper online there's almost always strongly-worded disagreeing comments. Admittedly it's probably different for a professional journalist but still, people will inevitably discuss opinions on something in a national newspaper.

Rosstafarian · 14-06-2008 2:24pm

Aha, Laura's Boyfriend. I was wondering why this person was defending her to the bitter end.
The way I see it, the people writing to this thread have nothing to apologise for. She has put herself into the public eye by choice and is supposed to be the representative for the leaving cert student. But instead she writes as if the leaving is just tiny part of her oh-so-exciting, €600 shoe-purchasing, going to the Champs-Elysees for her mid-term lifestyle. If she chooses to parade her personal life in a national newspaper than she deserves all the slating she gets because sensible people are, quite frankly, sickened by her behaviour. This is proved by the existence of this extremely long thread and also by letters of complaint in The Irish Times.

So yeah, Laura's Boyfriend, we are the ones who are wrong. We should take a long hard look at ourselves.

p.s. I'm sure her article was just a joy to read before the Irish Times edited it.:rolleyes:

The Walsho · 14-06-2008 2:27pm

I sympathise with Matthew and Laura, as it must be pretty hurtful for her to read some of the comments on here. As much as I don't like her articles, I think it's a bit harsh to wish that she doesn't get the points.
However, Matthew, we are judging Laura solely on her articles (no matter how much they have been edited), as that is all we see of her. You say she is "an amazing person, has no real-life enemies, and is the love of my life." - those are lovely sentiments and all, but we're not going to know of her personal qualities are we? And should we? No.
While I believe your girlfriend is lovely and all, the persona she portrays in her Times articles is pretty revolting, and infuriated the nation's youth, and understandably so. The job she was given is a functional job, and frankly she did not do that correctly. If Laura really did write like this for "a joke" (something I don't believe for a second) then that's even worse to be honest. The diarist job isn't something you go and take the piss with, simple as.
I notice you're really trying to play the "normal nice guy, just working in Tesco" card, which I can understand, but it's your girlfriend who seems snobby. You know her personally, meaning you don't see her this way. However, we're working our asses off, cramming late at night for these exams, and then reading your girlfriend tell us how she went off to watch Sex and the City before the exams, or purchased a $900 pair of shoes the morning before the exam. I think it's fair to say that well over 90% of the student population couldn't even dream of spending that amount on a pair of shoes on a whim, let alone the morning before a Leaving Cert exam. If she has the money and is confident for her exams, then fair enough, but to put this in her article was absolutely idiotic. Writing that kind of thing makes her vilification pretty inevitable.
The articles had so many complaints (not just on here, some in the paper I believe), and some people even stopped buying the paper because of them. That indicates that there is something terribly wrong with the way those articles are being written.
The argument that the Times created this persona for her is ludicrous. Come on, we're not that stupid, and neither are the Times folk (I hope).
We should lay off Laura because we don't know "where she goes to school or how she spends her time"? Ah now, that's a pretty poor argument. We were told she was going to the Institute, which is, again, an indication that her family are quite wealthy. I don't resent that, but naturally, some people are jealous, and they do. Regarding how she spends her time, well we know some things. We know she went to a film before her exams, and I think that alone turned people off her. Again, if she was confident enough to do this, then fine, but writing about it was only ever going to make her resented amongst the students reading it.
We're not attacking her because she's different, we're attacking her because she came across as extremely irritating, snobby, and full of herself. These kind of traits made others want her to fail. Perhaps through jealousy, perhaps simply for the lolz.

I didn't mean to attack you or Laura in this post, I just wanted to make it a bit clearer why she's gotten such a reaction.

BlueCam · 14-06-2008 2:31pm

Complaints on the letters page of yesterday's Times, under the headline ExamDiary hits a sore point.

Madam, – I am one of the 51,000 students currently sweating through the Leaving Cert exams. In previous years I have enjoyed reading a student’s Exam Diary in The Irish Times, but in the past few days I have grown increasingly frustrated with the diary of this year’s writer, Laura Brady.

Admittedly, her bravery in sitting the Leaving Cert for a third time arouses a certain admiration and there is no doubt she will wholly deserve her points. I wish, however, she would spare a thought for those of us undertaking these trying and testing examinations for the first time.

As you can imagine my satisfaction with my 12-page English paper was somewhat diminished on reading about the abundance of Laura’s 25-page submission. I had thought that in the Exam Diary I would find some sense of solidarity and consolation, but unfortunately Ms Brady seems all too keen to differentiate herself from her peers.

Maybe, in my panicked and stressful state, I am failing to pick up on the humour in her columns. However with little anecdotes such as “I felt like I had 200 points tucked under my pillow”, I suspect I’m not the only one to miss the joke. – Yours, etc, REBECCA CAHILL, Edmonstown, Ardee, Co Louth.

Madam, – While Laura Brady delights in trivialising the stress and pressure many Leaving Cert students are feeling at this time, maybe she should have approached the past week with more respect for the gravity of the state exams.

As a third-time candidate, striving for those all-important points to achieve her goal of studying medicine, Ms Brady shocks me with her devil-may-care attitude. Her references to her unbelievable self-assuredness (200 points are, apparently, already tucked under her pillow) combined with her love of Sex and the City and all things girly and light, make me wonder how dedicated she really is to pursuing this dream of saving lives and healing the sick. But that is personal and, therefore, none of my business. Nor is it any of my business that she sleeps in a baroque bed, or that she can afford to splurge close to €600 on shoes. Bring back Miroslawa Gorecka, or someone with her earnest nature and kind words.

Maybe Laura Brady is included in the Exam Times page to provide comic relief? If so, job well done. She has powerfully depicted the stereotype of a South Dublin princess. – Yours, etc, S. O’CARROLL, Tralee, Co Kerry.

Madam,- There’s a marked contrast between Laura Brady’s lifestyle and that of your columnist Kathryn Holmquist as depicted recently in your paper.

If Laura wants to continue having breakfast in posh places and paying €575 for one “divine” pair of shoes, she’d better consider a career outside newspapers, unless she has sights on your post and salary, Madam.

How did we survive in boarding school in the 1960s, when a treat during the exams was an HB choc ice, if the nuns opened the school shop? We had no newspaper articles and radio programmes with post-mortems on each day’s papers, and no Mammies about either. But we survived! – Yours, etc, SHEELAGH COYLE, Derryguile, Mountmellick, Co Laois.

lobsterstag · 14-06-2008 2:55pm

how can laura be shocked with the reaction she has gotten?!? declaring a pair of 500 euro shoes a bargain is obviolsy going to irk 99.9999999% of the population...just grow a pair and get on with it, most people are more dissapointed with the irish times for letting her write the column rather than personally attacking laura...seriosly loike, just build a bridge and loike get over it mon:cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool::cool:

~nop~ · 14-06-2008 3:32pm

Can I just add that by her articles I feel she is giving a very bad name to the Institute. Not everyone there is like her at all! there are people whos families have loans out to send them there, and along with those hoping for medicine there are people struggling to just pass the lc. The institute gives a very good education and has some very hard workers, and frankly I am shocked and appalled by everything this girl represents. This money-driven life is not one that the times should be holding up in front of the youth of today.

Irish Independent/Times Exam Diaries (Should be ashamed!)

Comments