Two Trinity teams took first and second place at the Irish Times Debate Final this evening, with Daniel Gilligan and Ronan Daly from the College Historical Society (the Hist) winning the competition.
Harry Higgins and Rory O’Sullivan represented the University Philosophical Society (Phil) as first proposition and finished in second place, while the winners represented the second proposition on the motion “This House Would Rescind Ireland’s Position of Neutrality in Favour of a European Standing Army”.
The two teams competed in the final this evening after success in their respective semi-finals. The Hist team won the fourth semi-final whilst the Phil team won the third semi-final earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Kevin Roche from the King’s Inn won the individual speaker competition, with Aishling Kinsella from UCD Literary and Historical Society taking the runner-up position.
The final of the Irish Times debate was hosted by University College Dublin (UCD) Law Society. Jack Chambers TD, Fianna Fáil spokesperson on defence, chaired the debate.
The Irish Times Debate is an annual debating competition for third level students in Ireland with around 300 competitors every year. The overall winners are awarded the Demosthenes Trophy for best team speakers and the Christina Murphy Memorial Trophy for the best individual speaker.
Niamh Egleston and Rory O’Sullivan represented Trinity last year in the final of the competition and were narrowly beaten out.
