The inspector's visit to school, Vincent's unfiltered answers to the proverbs question, and the hilarious tinker incident — innocence and mischief at their finest.
Chapter 2 contains two memorable events. First, the school inspector's visit — a major event at the time, as inspectors held significant power over schools and teachers. Maidhc describes how the whole class prepared for the visit, and then focuses on two classmates: himself, a girl, and Uinseann Ó Grifín (Vincent Griffin), whose father was a seanchaí (traditional storyteller).
Second, Maidhc describes the tinker incident — the funniest set piece in the early chapters. A classmate throws a stone into the tinker woman's saucepan of mackerel, causing chaos and earning every boy in the school four blows of the ash rod.
Chapter 2 is excellent for questions on humour (the tinker incident), school life (the inspector, the ash rod), innocence of youth (Vincent's answer), and friends' mischief. It is often used alongside Chapter 1 to show a consistent picture of school life.
This is a gem of a scene that perfectly captures the innocence of youth. Vincent's father is a seanchaí, so Vincent genuinely knows his proverbs — but his answer is too raw and unpolished for the inspector's taste. The inspector had expected a neat, school-appropriate answer, but Vincent gives a real, earthy Gaeltacht response. The teacher ends up furious at poor Vincent, even though he was simply answering honestly. It is both funny and a little sad — punished for being authentic. It is one of the best examples in the whole book of a child's innocent worldview clashing with adult expectations.
This is the most purely funny scene in the early chapters — a wonderful piece of slapstick comedy. The detail of using the shoe to throw the stone is a brilliantly observed, absurd touch. The image of fish and water flying everywhere, followed by the mass panic of children running, is vividly cinematic. Maidhc builds the tension perfectly, showing the tinker woman storming into the school, the principal interrogating every boy, and — crucially — nobody breaking ranks. The collective punishment that follows (four blows each) is unfair by any standard, which adds a bitter-sweet note beneath all the humour.
The "murder squad" is a brilliantly funny detail — the children's own terrifying nickname for what would happen if anyone told on them. It shows how seriously the children took their code of loyalty to one another. The collective punishment is striking: every boy is beaten, even those who had nothing to do with the stone. For a modern reader this collective punishment feels deeply unjust, which is a source of genuine sadness beneath the humour. It is also evidence of the extraordinary power teachers and principals held over children at the time.
This phrase from the sample answers is one of the most useful in the whole text. It applies perfectly to the proverb scene with Vincent. He is not trying to be funny or difficult — he simply answers with the knowledge he has, in the raw, earthy style of his father the seanchaí. His innocence and authenticity are exactly what get him into trouble. The irony is sharp: being honest and culturally knowledgeable earns him a telling-off.
The repetition of the ash rod punishment (we saw it in Chapter 1 too) is significant. It builds up a picture of a school system where physical punishment was automatic and often unjust. Here, children who may not have even been involved are punished simply because no one will confess. This is a very real sadness underneath all the comedy of the chapter — children suffering collectively for the act of one.
The tinker incident is one of the funniest scenes in the whole book. Fish and water flying everywhere, children running in panic, the woman storming into school — Maidhc's storytelling is cinematic and perfectly timed. This is greann rancáis (slapstick) at its best.
Vincent's unfiltered proverb answer is a perfect illustration of the child's world colliding with adult expectations. He is not cheeky — he is simply genuine, and that genuineness is what gets him in trouble. Maidhc tells this with great empathy.
Not one boy breaks the code of silence, despite the threat of collective punishment. The "murder squad" nickname reveals how seriously the children took loyalty to each other. This solidarity is a recurring feature of Maidhc's friendships throughout the book.
Every boy is punished regardless of guilt. For a modern reader this is deeply unfair — collective punishment for the act of one. It is a quiet but important sadness running beneath the comedy, showing how powerless children were in the school system of the time.
Déanann Maidhc cur síos ar eachtra ghreannmhar ag baint leis na tincéirí a bhí suite in aice na scoile. (Maidhc describes a funny event involving the tinkers who were located beside the school.) Bhí na buachaillí ag pleidhcíocht (the boys were messing) agus chaith duine acu píosa cloiche isteach sa sáspan leis an maicréil. Chuaigh uisce agus an t-iasc ar fud na háite. (Water and fish went all over the place.) Theith na buachaillí an áit agus rith siad ar ais go dtí an scoil. (The boys fled from the place and ran back to school.) Mar thoradh ar an eachtra sin, fuair gach buachaill ceithre bhuille ón slat fuinseoige. (As a result of that event, every boy got four blows from the ash rod.) Bhí na buachaillí i dtrioblóid (the boys were in trouble) ach ní sceitheadh aon duine — léirítear dlúthpháirtíocht láidir idir na cairde. (it shows the strong solidarity between the friends.)
The tinker incident and the Vincent proverb scene are two of the most frequently cited scenes in exam answers on this text. Learn at least two Irish quotes from each and practise weaving them into your paragraph. The contrast between the humour of the fish flying and the sadness of collective punishment is the perfect balance examiners love to reward.