An Triail

Mazletov

Looks like a depressing read. Anyway, we haven't started it yet but I wouldn't count on our teacher to give us good notes. It looks like the sort of thing you'd need good notes on to be able to answer a question on. Anyone got good notes? Or else could you summarise the play in a post.

Cokehead Mother

So there's this lady with I think 3 sons and a daughter. iirc the three sons aren't that important.

Anyway the lady is a real prestige whore and she wants Máire, her daughter to become a nun. As it turns out, Máire is an actual whore (in terms of 1950s Ireland anyway) and she's been shagging this primary school teacher with a sick wife.

So anyway Máire gets knocked up and her mother disowns her. So she goes to live with an actual actual whore as in prostitute and the prostitute is nice like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and the so-called christians aren't and there's hypocrisy and stuff.

Then Máire kills herself and the baby.

And it's society that's on trial or something.

Just get Nótaí ar An Triail by Ríona de Búrca. It's pretty good IMO and only €5. It's not very "user-friendly" though.

There is this other book that's quite good and lot nicer with a lot more English and pictures. I can't remember the author though. It's green and there's a flower on the cover.

Davidius

The most important thing to note is:
Máire is an idiot.





I can't have been the only one to notice this!

Piste

Yeah I lost a lot of sympathy for Máire as the play went on. Also I'm sticking spoilers in the second post- don't ruin the ending!

Cokehead Mother

Piste wrote: »

Also I'm sticking spoilers in the second post- don't ruin the ending!

People might want to avoid Gníomh 1: Radharc 1 then!

Piste

Not all of what I put spoiler tags on is revealred in the first scene!

overexcitedaj

This book made me drop down to pass Irish in the end. just couldn't get the thing.Waste of time that had me lose faith in the language:(

Piste

Oh I thought it was fantastic! I had expected it to be a really boring play about some farmers on Trial for stealing shep or something, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Aisling(",)

ah i hate it!

had to do a question on it last week on how the society was unfair to single mothers.bsically just wrote and tragoid.still failed it though.39%
really need to learn my notes for it.

were doing the tragedy of the play,the male characters liam,sean and padraig and marie and the mother.not too many notes just sooo sooo sooo boring to learn.
went to see it as a play though and it was suprisingly good.

KnifeWRENCH

Cokehead Mother wrote: »

So there's this lady with I think 3 sons and a daughter. iirc the three sons aren't that important.

There were only two sons - Liam and Seán.

Cokehead Mother wrote:

So anyway Máire gets knocked up and her mother disowns her. So she goes to live with an actual actual whore as in prostitute and the prostitute is nice like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and the so-called christians aren't and there's hypocrisy and stuff.

LOL

Cokehead Mother wrote:

There is this other book that's quite good and lot nicer with a lot more English and pictures. I can't remember the author though. It's green and there's a flower on the cover.

We used this book aswell and it was quite good. It's called An Triail - Cabhair agus Caidrimh by Yvonne O'Toole & Elizabeth Wade.

OP - There's also another book we used that was less user friendly but had more comprehensive notes: it's called An Triail - Staidéar ar an Dráma don Ardteistiméireacht (Ardleibhéal) by Gearóidín Ní Ghlinn. It's black and red, and had a picture on the front (presumably Máire) that looks like Samara, the evil girl from The Ring.

It helps to do character sketches on the main characters (particularly for Máire, Bean Uí Chathasaigh, Pádraig and Maillí). This will help you understand the play a bit better and also it helps prepare for exam questions.

degausserxo

''Just get Nótaí ar An Triail by Ríona de Búrca''


+1

cautioner

Hypocrisy. Prejudice. Percent signs. And so forth.

Aisling(",)

cautioner wrote: »

Hypocrisy. Prejudice. Percent signs. And so forth.

percent signs?

Lil' Smiler

I'm sure alot of you saw it in 5th year anyway but the play is on

Mermaid Arts Centre
Main Street
Bray
Co Wicklow
Tuesday 4th - Saturday 8th November @ 8pm
Tickets €16 / €14 with concessions

SarcasticFairy

Cokehead Mother wrote: »

So there's this lady with I think 3 sons and a daughter. iirc the three sons aren't that important.

Anyway the lady is a real prestige whore and she wants Máire, her daughter to become a nun. As it turns out, Máire is an actual whore (in terms of 1950s Ireland anyway) and she's been shagging this primary school teacher with a sick wife.

So anyway Máire gets knocked up and her mother disowns her. So she goes to live with an actual actual whore as in prostitute and the prostitute is nice like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman and the so-called christians aren't and there's hypocrisy and stuff.

Then Máire kills herself and the baby.

And it's society that's on trial or something.

Just get Nótaí ar An Triail by Ríona de Búrca. It's pretty good IMO and only €5. It's not very "user-friendly" though.

There is this other book that's quite good and lot nicer with a lot more English and pictures. I can't remember the author though. It's green and there's a flower on the cover.

Possibly the funniest little summary of the play I've ever read.

There were only two sons though, and I think someone already metioned the book... I have it, it's called An Trial Cabhair agus [another C word I can't remember] by Yvonne O'Toole and Elizabeth Wade!

pestshooter7

Mazletov wrote: »

Looks like a depressing read. Anyway, we haven't started it yet but I wouldn't count on our teacher to give us good notes. It looks like the sort of thing you'd need good notes on to be able to answer a question on. Anyone got good notes? Or else could you summarise the play in a post.

Its not the hardest aspect of the irish course IMO!!
notes arent really needed just know the story in english and be able to tell it in irish i your "own" words!
How many people will just learn the notes in some "Cabhair book" and then just write them down regardless of the question in the exam!!
Pointless you cant learn notes for every possible scenario or question that can be asked! Just know what happened in detail.

xOxSinéadxOx

I really like, I was expecting something awful but it's actually good

Redbhoy

I thought it was a bit cr*p at the start but the ending is very good. Basically society is on trial and nobody is willing to take the blame for the girls death but in actual fact they were all responsible in some way.
Its easy to point the finger!

Piste

At the end when everyone's saying they're not to blame my teacher asked the class "who do you think was to blame?" and everyone said a different person, I was the only person to say Máire, am I really a cold heartless bitch?!

PurpleFistMixer

It's society's fault, obviously.



(Disclaimer: have not read the play.)

bythewoods

Piste wrote: »

At the end when everyone's saying they're not to blame my teacher asked the class "who do you think was to blame?" and everyone said a different person, I was the only person to say Máire, am I really a cold heartless bitch?!

Well, apparently, society

drives Maire to kill herself.

Ahem.
It's always so easy to blame "The Man".

I agree with you though Piste, she's the one in the wrong.. never mind all this society/hypocrisy stuff. She's the one who whores around, she's the one who brings about the tragic end. She's the foo', basically.

Piste

Had to edit in spoilers there, don't wanna ruin the play for anyone who hasn't read it!


But yeah, the other people were pretty bad and played their part, the the ultimate blaim lies with Máire.

i have just started higher level. i did ordinary for the leaving and due to unforeseen circumstances i am now doing higher irish for the leaving. is an triail difficult? i mean for me?

TheSpecialOne

i did ol for jc and find an triail alright ...its very very do-able!

Piste

Ah yeah the language in it is nothing too fancy, and your teacher will explain any terms you don't know.

challengemaster

Thankfully I'm doing pass. No novel \o/

I'd cry if I even had to attempt to talk about the book in Irish.

i dont have a teacher... yet. il be getting a grinds teacher in a while but till then il be on my own. is there anywhere i can find a translation for the book? cuz i think itd be easier reading it in english then summarising it in my own words in irish. or are there any good english notes? im talkin on the web like.

thedudette93

i actually really like the book,it was pretty interesting! for anyone still reading this thread,heres a summary.
SUMMARY:
so its about this teenager,whos around 16 or 17.she is a quite girl,and her mum is a super strict Bitch!she has two brothers,one of which who wants to be a priest.they are both scared of their mum and are very disloyal to Máire.

Máire goes to a dance,and meets this teacher who sweeps her off her feet.They start secretly meeting up,and having sex,but the teacher is married,and claims to be lonely because his wife is very sick.Máire becomes pregnant,and her brothers rat her out to her mum.Her mum tries to abort the baby by giving her strong alcohol etc, but Máire's having none of it,and also wont reveal who the childs father is.So her mum disowns her.

She gets a job in Dublin (she never uses her real name again after moving)as a maid to this Posh bitch,who underpays her and then fires her for being pregnant.Before she is fired she gets offered a place in a laundry/baby delivery place/adoption place?? where she meets 3 girls, Máili,Dáili and Páili. Máili is the important one because she is a prostitute.She also meets this guy called Seánín,Whos kinda nice to her too.

Then after having her baby,Máire gets in a fight with the social worker áine,coz she doesnt wanna give her baby up for adoption.She keeps her baby and gets a job in a factory, where the factory owner treats Máire really well.Then, Máire's newly bought house/b&b/apartment is knocked down,so she leaves her good job(and the owner goes looking for her,but doesnt find her)and none of the 'Christian Charity' is given to her by Middle/working class people, its given to her by Máili and Seánín (The people on the edge of society)

So then Máili takes her in,(even though she lives in a brothel,and raising a kid there wouldnt be the BEST of ideas) and cleans the rooms so she can stay there.Then she meets up with her old principal,who tells her that her brother is married and Pádraig(the teacher who knocked her up)'s wife died.So then Máire thinks Pádraig will come and save her now that his wife is dead (coz Máire is so naiive)

A while after that, Máili brings two 'Customers' in and asks Máire if shed like to take one.Máire recognises them as Colm(the dancing teacher at the school dance) and Pádraig(who knocked her up) she runs up to Pádraig (who doesnt even recognize her at first)because she thinks he came to rescue her, and she asks if he wants to see his baby etc,but he says he's engaged (and he came to dublin for prostitute sex before hes getting married!)and then calls her a slapper,spits on her and leaves.

Máire is so upset.she then says she never wants her daughter, Pádricín to make the same mistakes as she did.so she locks her and Pádricín in a room,blocks all the air vents,and gasses the whole room,so they are both killed.

Just remember to keep mentioning Hypocrasy,Lack of Christian Charity and that Máire is naiive.

a helpful book is An Triail Cabhair agus Cúnamh -by Elizabeth Wade & Yvonne O' Toole

lilmissprincess

I found this to be the best part of the Irish course for Leaving Cert last year, our teacher gave us notes from the Cabhair book and they were excellent.
Remember your quotes!! They're very effective in the exam and useful for filling up space in homework answers too. Even if you're going off on a tangent the quote can get the examiner back on track and seeing what you're on about. Most quotes will fit to a number of questions!

seany2929

Going to start this novel over the christmas as i'm repeating externally!

ruthintootin

does anyone have any good notes on "an Triail" for the more in depth questions set for 2012 exam?

Eathrin

ruthintootin wrote: »

does anyone have any good notes on "an Triail" for the more in depth questions set for 2012 exam?

What are the in depth questions like? I'm gonna wing it, it's only 5% or something:p

Canard

Slightly over 5% :P The poems and prose are also 5% each, but it all adds up Cian :P

ruthintootin

Cian A wrote: »

What are the in depth questions like? I'm gonna wing it, it's only 5% or something:p

According to my teacher they just ask more detailed questions so you need to have a detailed understanding of the play..i just did a question and instead of it asking about Ireland in the 60's it asked about the life of a single mother in the 60's...which hasn't been asked before now!

xclw

to be honest even if the questions are more detailed you won't be learning anymore than what people had to learn before. theres a few things you need to look at and if you are smart and understand the question you'll realise you can apply the same stuff to different questions over and over again.
know characters: Maire, Mother, Maili and maybe one or 2 others like the brothers oh and Padraig
know the theme
and a few other topics and your basically sorted.

look at if this way, if you go into the exam and all you've studied is Maire you can answer questions on Maire, single mothers, life in the 60s, society because of how she was treated and one on the theme too.

68508224

hey everyone looking back on previous papers there's questions on dramatic techniques, strengths/weaknesses etc. Does anyone know what you're meant to write about to answer these?

For example
2010 Q. 'Many dramatic techniques are used in the play An Triail to develop the main themes' Discuss this statement and make reference to two of these techniques.
2008 Q. Discuss the strengths/weaknesses of the stage portrayal of the main conflicts of this play.

xclw

68508224 wrote: »

hey everyone looking back on previous papers there's questions on dramatic techniques, strengths/weaknesses etc. Does anyone know what you're meant to write about to answer these?

For example
2010 Q. 'Many dramatic techniques are used in the play An Triail to develop the main themes' Discuss this statement and make reference to two of these techniques.
2008 Q. Discuss the strengths/weaknesses of the stage portrayal of the main conflicts of this play.

you talk about how it's situated in court and the use of the aturnae, the imagery, language, style of the drama, flashbacks. the strength of the stage portrayal of characters that awaken the major conflicts, use the same knowledge you have and that you would be using in any other question, how the aturnae bring the audience into the play, things like "glór Mháire" etc

68508224

xclw wrote: »

you talk about how it's situated in court and the use of the aturnae, the imagery, language, style of the drama, flashbacks. the strength of the stage portrayal of characters that awaken the major conflicts, use the same knowledge you have and that you would be using in any other question, how the aturnae bring the audience into the play, things like "glór Mháire" etc

thanks xclw.. does anyone have any notes on this on this aspect of the play they could send me or a link to some? it'd be much appreciated

liverpoolskid

Has anyone got any pointers on what I should know? I dont want to learn the 5 extra poems so I tried an Trial! the story is understandable but Im wondering is there 1 character I could base every answer on or like, if I know the achoimre of the story will I be grand without looking at any part in much detail?

mcpaddington

liverpoolskid wrote: »

Has anyone got any pointers on what I should know? I dont want to learn the 5 extra poems so I tried an Trial! the story is understandable but Im wondering is there 1 character I could base every answer on or like, if I know the achoimre of the story will I be grand without looking at any part in much detail?

You'll be grand if you have a decent overall understanding of it. I'll be going in with nothing learned off for instance, saying them I'd be far more prepared than others because I go to an Irish secondary school. It's hilarious how much work that's needed for An Triail, Prós and Poetry and how little marks actually go for them. I'd be hoping for an A1/A2 out of it with no work put in at all.

liverpoolskid

mcpaddington wrote: »

You'll be grand if you have a decent overall understanding of it. I'll be going in with nothing learned off for instance, saying them I'd be far more prepared than others because I go to an Irish secondary school. It's hilarious how much work that's needed for An Triail, Prós and Poetry and how little marks actually go for them. I'd be hoping for an A1/A2 out of it with no work put in at all.

Thanks! Yeah it is so stupid, spend 2 years mostly learning the prós and poetry and an triail for only just over 16%! Do you think if I knew Maire and a basic understanding of the play that I would be alright? Are the questions usually phrased difficultly too! Sorry for all the questions, I'm just clueless about the An Triail part because my school done the 5 higher level poems instead!

siofraban

liverpoolskid wrote: »

mcpaddington wrote: »

You'll be grand if yo have a decent overall understanding of it. I'll be going in with nothing learned off for instance, saying them I'd be far more prepared than others because I go to an Irish secondary school. It's hilarious how much work that's needed for An Triail, Prós and Poetry and how little marks actually go for them. I'd be hoping for an A1/A2 out of it with no work put in at all.

Thanks! Yeah it is so stupid, spend 2 years mostly learning the prós and poetry and an triail for only just over 16%! Do you think if I knew Maire and a basic understanding of the play that I would be alright? Are the questions usually phrased difficultly too! Sorry for all the questions, I'm just clueless about the An Triail part because my school done the 5 higher level poems instead!

I suggest knowing the summary very well be able to discuss characteristics of the main characters ie Marie,her mother padraig and kinsella woman who she worked for in Dublin. Molly is Also important. have a look at the techniques also as this is nb. its all about society in the 60s and the influence of catholic Ireland.

anonomous97

was told to write when and how the play an triail shows hypocricy but i dont even know how to start it does anyone have any idea ?

Do You Even Squat

The joys of pass irish......

Jijsaw

anonomous97 wrote: »

was told to write when and how the play an triail shows hypocricy but i dont even know how to start it does anyone have any idea ?

Haven't looked at the bloody thing in 5 months but the mother's "Catholic nature" whilst trying to force her daughter to abort a baby to keep up appearances for the neighbours is hypocritical.

That's all I can think of at the moment