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Subjects · Leaving Cert Geography

Leaving Cert Geography: Settlement

How often Settlement comes up on the Geography papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 2 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2023.

OL Asked on 8 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

June 2028 is the first exam on the new Geography course. These come from the 2016–2026 papers, so read them as a guide.

Settlement, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Settlement.

(a)Settlement pattern of scattered individual farmhouses?
  1. Nucleated
  2. Dispersed
  3. Linear
(b)Reason many Irish towns grew where a route crossed a river?
  1. It was the source of the river
  2. It was the highest land nearby
  3. It was the lowest bridging point
(c)Settlement pattern in which houses are grouped closely together?
  1. Clustered (nucleated)
  2. Linear (ribbon)
  3. Dispersed (scattered)
Show the answers

(a) Dispersed

(b) It was the lowest bridging point

(c) Clustered (nucleated)

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Settlement.

Higher Level

Asked on 2 of the last 10 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2023.

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Not asked
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Q4C
2022Not asked
2021Not asked
2019Not asked
2018Not asked
2017Not asked
2016Q6C

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Settlement questions

Settlement, 2 marks

The name Droichead Átha (Drogheda) gives evidence of which settlement factor?

  1. A defensive hilltop fort
  2. A monastic settlement
  3. A bridging point at a ford
Show the answer

A bridging point at a ford

Droichead Átha means bridge of the ford. The Boyne crossing made it a route focus, port and market town.

Settlement, 2 marks

Irish placename element inis, as in Ennis, refers to what?

  1. A ford or shallow river crossing
  2. An island or river meadow
  3. A church or monastery
Show the answer

An island or river meadow

Ennis (Inis) grew on land beside the River Fergus. Inis can mean an island or low, river-side ground.

Settlement, 2 marks

Traditional cluster of farmhouses with no church or shop, once common in the west of Ireland?

  1. A clachan
  2. A townland
  3. A market town
Show the answer

A clachan

Clachans were linked to rundale farming. Most broke up into dispersed farms after land reform in the late 1800s.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 8 of the last 10 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q6C
2025Q6C
2024Q5C
2023Not asked
2022Q6B
2021Q5B
2019Q5B
2018Not asked
2017SQ6
2016Q5C

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Settlement questions

Settlement, 2 marks

Settlement pattern where houses are clustered around a crossroads or church?

  1. Dispersed (scattered)
  2. Linear (ribbon)
  3. Clustered (nucleated)
Show the answer

Clustered (nucleated)

Buildings gather tightly at a central point such as a church, crossroads or bridge, which is the usual pattern of an Irish village.

Settlement, 2 marks

Settlement pattern where houses are strung out along a road?

  1. Dispersed
  2. Linear
  3. Nucleated
Show the answer

Linear

Building along a road gives every house access and services, so ribbons of houses develop, common on approach roads to Irish towns.

Settlement, 2 marks

Irish place name element cill, often written Kil, usually marks what?

  1. A church site
  2. A ring fort
  3. A river crossing
Show the answer

A church site

Cill means a church or monastic cell, so names such as Kilkenny and Kildare mark early Christian sites in the landscape.

Other Geography topics

All of Leaving Cert Geography