UCC (University College Cork) Philosophical Society Munster Schools’ Debating Competition
A team of 5th year students, namely, Bobby Quigley, Emmet Kennedy, Donagh McSherry, Adam Hassett, Peter Slattery and 3rd year, Ian Shanahan, coached by Ms Alison Collins and Mrs Helena O’Gorman have been travelling to Cork all year. Through a combination of excellent preparation and the development of good public speaking skills, the team has made it all the way to the Grand Final of this prestigious and long-running competition.
They were the only school from outside of the city of Cork to progress to this stage. This was a fantastic achievement for the boys and their mentors. The motion for debate on the day was, ‘The House regrets the glorification of military conflict and of those involved.’ There were ten participating teams of two speakers. Congratulations are therefore due to Emmet and Bobby who were in contention to the end. Donagh McSherry made it to the quarter finals of the event and Adam Hassett made it to the semi-final stage. St. Joseph’s CBS extends its congratulations to worthy winners Ms. Christina Long and Ms. Faustina Dowdall, St Aloysius School, Carrigtwohill who won the team event and Mr James O’Connor, Douglas Community School who won the gold medal for best individual speaker.