Rob Fitzpatrick and Adrianne Ward of UCD’s Literary & Historical Society (L&H) have been crowned team winners of the The Irish Times Debate, Ireland’s longest-running third-level debating competition.
The individual speaker’s award went to Liam Boyce of University of Galway’s Lit & Deb society.
The judging panel praised the high standard of this year’s finalists and said the margins between the contestants were “exceptionally tight”.
Speakers were competing for the Demosthenes Trophy for best team, and the Christina Murphy Memorial Trophy for best individual, as well as places on an all-expenses-paid tour of the United States for the three winning speakers.
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Runners-up in the team competition were Stéphane de Bairéid and Coleman Hegarty of UCD’s L&H, while the individual runner-up was Tom Francis of TCD’s Hist.
A dozen speakers took part in the final at Queen’s University Belfast, the culmination of a competition that began last autumn and attracted about 250 third-level contestants. It was hosted by QUB’s Literific debating society.
The debate was chaired by Mrs Justice Siobhán Keegan, Northern Ireland’s chief justice.
The judging panel included Irish Times editor Ruadhán Mac Cormaic; Prof Geert Dewulf, pro-vice chancellor for engineering and physical sciences at Queen’s University Belfast; Hugh Guidera BL, a team winner of the competition in 2015; Ceara Tonna-Barthet, a team winner last year; and Prof Brent Northup, chair of communications at Carroll College Montana and organiser of the US tour since 2000.
Students debated the motion: “This house believes that dialogue is dead.”
Contestants who argued in favour of the proposition said the development of social media meant more people were “unmoored from reality” in a world where disinformation was rife and fewer people were listening to each other, creating “monologue, not dialogue”.
Those arguing against said dialogue and understanding had led to considerable political achievements such as the Belfast Agreement, and that healthy debate was alive and well among friends, families and loved ones.
Other contestants in Friday night’s final included team members Matilda Brewe and Annika Ramani of TCD’s Phil, David Rattigan and Emer Nolan of the Solicitors' Apprentices Debating Society (SADSI).
Individual contestants included Cadet Irene Kellegher of the Cadet School in the Curragh, and Mary Woods of TCD’s Hist.
[ Students from UCD’s L&H through to final of The Irish Times DebateOpens in new window ]
The Irish Times Debate competition, which began 65 years ago, is an all-island debating championship, open to any full-time third-level student.
Former winners include comedian Dara Ó Briain, film director Gerry Stembridge, broadcasters Marian Finucane and Henry Kelly, Supreme Court judges Adrian Hardiman and Donal O’Donnell and former attorney general Dermot Gleeson. President Michael D Higgins, former president Mary Robinson and former tánaiste Mary Harney were also finalists.
This year’s debate convener was Louise Cullen, a runner-up team competitor in the 2024 final.
