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Speakers from TCD, UCC, Maynooth University, the Solicitors’ Apprentice Debating Society of Ireland (Sadsi) and King’s Inn are among the competitors in the 61st Irish Times Debate Final this evening.
The event, which is Ireland’s longest-running third-level debating competition, will take place at an outdoor black-tie event in the gardens of the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLI), St Stephens’s Green.
More than 240 debaters from 120 teams had entered the competition.
The competition is being live-streamed on https://youtu.be/-YPT2oUKiMA. (Click on the link or paste it into your browser to watch the debate.)
The motion for the debate is: “This house believes privacy is dead”.
Finalists will compete for the Demosthenes and Christina Murphy Memorial trophies. The final features 12 speeches with each finalist speaking for seven minutes.
Speakers are being assessed across a range of competencies including reasoning, examples and rebuttals and how well constructed their arguments are.
The debate is chaired by Liam Herrick, executive director, Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
The finalists are Tony O’Halloran (UCC Law Soc), Matt Mallen (UCC Law Soc), Kate Maher (TCD Phil), Megan O’Driscoll (TCD Phil), Rí Anumudu (Maynooth University), Chikemka Abuchi-Ogbonda (Maynooth University), Caoimhin Hamill (TCD Hist), Jack Synnott(TCD Hist), Daire McMullin (Sadsi), Ellen McHugh (TCD TCD Hist), Fionnán Long (King’s Inn), and Gabrielle Fullam (TCD Hist).
Judges are Paul O’Neill, Editor of The Irish Times (presiding); Dr David Kenny, associate law professor at Trinity College Dublin and team winner in 2008; Clíodhna Ní Chéileachair, individual winner, 2016; Dara Keenan, team winner in 2017, and Aishling Kinsella, individual runner-up in 2019.
Previous winners of the debate, which was first held in 1960, include the late broadcaster Marian Finucane, comedian Dara Ó Briain, writer Gerry Stembridge and the late Adrian Hardiman.
President Michael D Higgins and former president Mary Robinson were finalists.