If you’re passing Room 1 at lunchtime, you’ll hear the sound of lively conversation, impassioned refutation, and a few dodgy statistics being thrown around. This is the home of Beaufort’s Debating Society.
This year, Beaufort has been doing very well in inter-school competitions. Three second-year teams, Amy Doolan and Isabelle Cahill, Eimear McLoughlin and Leah Meanaghan, and Emma Evoy and Catríona Gildea, entered the Loreto Junior Mace competition. All our teams got through the first three rounds, which were held in Loreto Dalkey, with flying colours. We hosted the semi-finals in the school, and both Leah and Emer and Amy and Isabelle qualified for the finals, which made for a tense debate on the motion, ‘That this house would de-friend Facebook’. Amy and Isabelle came in at second place overall.
Aisling Leavy, Aisling McCormick, Mary Hastings, Eimear O’Connor, and Hannah Mullen all got through to the second round of the Junior Dennys tournament. Unfortunately, Aisling and Aisling were narrowly beaten in the third rounds. Moira O’Connor and Ailbhe Kelly are also competing in the Senior Dennys.
As usual, debaters of all levels have been keeping in practice by going to weekend Mace competitions (teams were sent to Maces held by Belvedere, Wesley, the Trinity Hist, St Mary’s, and so on) and discussing current affairs and recent motions. Mary Hastings and Aisling McCormick performed very well in the St Conleth’s Mace last Saturday, and broke to the finals which were chaired by Ruairí Quinn.
The next big event for the debating society is the Senior Loreto Maces in Dalkey which are on Tuesday 28th.
Wishing our teams the best of luck.
