Teams from UCD's Literary and Historical Society will constitute at least half of the team competitors in the final of the Irish Times Debate, after strong performances by L&H teams in the semifinals.
In the first semi-final, hosted by the UCG Lit & Deb, the L&H team of James McDermott and Caoileann Gallagher saw off the challenge of three teams from TCD to gain a place in the final. They will be joined by Steven Vaughan of the UCC Law Society, who got through to the final as the best individual speaker on the night.
Last week, a second L&H team got through to the final after a debate held on the team's home ground in UCD. UCD students' union president Ian Walsh and team-mate Rossa Fanning - repeat offenders in the Irish Times Debate who have promised that this year will be their last - took the team place, while Paul Gleeson of the Hist was judged best individual speaker, becoming the first TCD speaker to get through to the final. Again, two TCD teams came off worst from the encounter with the L&H.
The remaining final places will be filled this week, with teams from TCD once again dominating the semi-finalists. Tomorrow, the TCD Hist will host a debate on the motion "That this House would ban fox hunting" at 7.30 p.m. in the GMB. Two Hist teams will face teams from the UCC Philosoph and the UCG Lit & Deb, while the four individual speakers hail from the UCD L&H, the Maynooth Lit & Deb, the UCD Law Soc and the UCC Philosoph.
The last semi-final takes place on Thursday at 7.30 p.m. in UCC, hosted by the Law Society. Teams from the Hist, the TCD Phil, the UCC Law Society and the UCD L&H will debate the motion "That this House would have a public register of paedophiles". Individual speakers will come from the UCC Philosoph, the UCD L&H, TCD Law Society and the TCD Phil. The final of this year's Irish Times Debate takes place in Waterford Institute of Technology on Thursday, February 19th. The motion is "That this House believes that Ireland should put social justice before a tiger economy" and the chairman for the evening will be Dick Spring, TD.
