‘This house believes privacy is dead’ Maynooth University team wins Irish Times Debate final
about 4 years in The Irish Times
Rí Anumudu and Chikemka Abuchi-Ogbonda of Maynooth University have won the final of The Irish Times Debate.
Speakers from TCD, UCC, Maynooth University, the Solicitors’ Apprentice Debating Society of Ireland (Sadsi) and King’s Inn were among the competitors in the 61st Irish Times Debate Final this evening.
The event, which is Ireland’s longest-running third-level debating competition, took 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 was live-streamed on https://youtu.be/-YPT2oUKiMA.
The motion for the debate is: “This house believes privacy is dead”.
Finalists competed for the Demosthenes and Christina Murphy Memorial trophies. The final featured 12 speeches with each finalist speaking for seven minutes.
Speakers were assessed across a range of competencies including reasoning, examples and rebuttals and how well constructed their arguments are.
The debate was chaired by Liam Herrick, executive director, Irish Council for Civil Liberties.
The finalists were 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 were 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.
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