Aged 19, the number of Sundays where I felt the need to walk out during mass are few and far between. So when the moment arose, I was left with a drumming heartbeat.

When you ask an Irish person about poetry, the majority suffer an acute case of Leaving Cert flashbacks — nightmarish visions of Sylvia Plath and Robert Frost float before their eyes.

The student who earned nine A1s in his Leaving Certificate says it feels a "bit surreal" to have achieved the highest marks in the country.