Trinity team make it through to The Irish Times debating final

TCD Phil team have won the last available place in The Irish Times debate final which is now in its 65th year.

The team of Mathilda Brewe and Annika Ramani “communicated complicated ideas very well” in the judges’ view.

The last semi-final took place at The Fitzgerald Chamber in the UCD student centre. The motion was, “This house believes that justice is better achieved outside the courts”.

The team from Trinity Phil will join two teams from UCD L&H Society in the final. The UCD pairings are made up of Rob Fitzpatrick and Adrianne Ward and Stéphane de Baréid and Coleman Hegarty. David Rattigan and Emer Nolan, from the Solicitors’ Apprentice Debating Society of Ireland, have also qualified for the team final.

The winning individual speaker was Liam Boyce of the University of Galway Literary and Debating society who “presented a very distinctive angle and spoke with clarity”, the judges decided.

He will be joined by Tom Frances and Mary Wood, both from the TCD Historical Society, and Irene Kellegher, from the Cadet School, in the final.

The final of Ireland’s premier debating competition which has been running since 1965 will take place on February 28th at Queen’s University Belfast. The finalists will contest the motion “This House believes that dialogue is dead”.