Denny Schools Debating Competition
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[edit] Introduction
The All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition was founded in 1983 and now provides a growing network of schools and students a platform for the discussion of issues and ideas. The competition is the largest non-sporting secondary schools competitions in Ireland and is organised by student volunteers from NUIG, UCD, TCD and UCC. The Competition is sponsored by Denny who provide significant backing and resources to the Competition, making it the most well-funded and resourced initiative of its kind in Ireland.
The competition has three regional legs in Munster, West of Ireland and Leinster which select the provincial champions who progress to the Grand Final. It is run jointly by the Literary & Historical Society, University College Dublin, the College Historical Society Trinity College Dublin, The Literary & Debating Society (National University of Ireland, Galway) and the UCC Philosophical Society. This competition has no equal. The duration of the competition itself is an entire academic year, with a total of over 800 students and 120 rounds, ensuring maximum exposure to the Competition's philosophy of encouraging analytical thinking and helping students to have fun debating. The competition reaches far beyond just its competitors, with many schools preparing speeches as an exercise within the classroom. When the large groups of supporters attending are also taken into account, the scale of this competition far exceeds its competitors.
The style of this competition is one of its biggest advantages to the students who participate in it. Entrants are given approximately a week to prepare for a motion that they have been given. For first-time speakers, it allows them the opportunity to work out their speech and benefit from presenting their speech in front of a crowd and debating its substantial points while challenging the arguments of the opposition. For more confident and experienced speakers, the week’s preparation allows them to delve deeper into the issues surrounding the motion and when it comes to the debate, become more comfortable with their individual style of presentation. For all students the Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition is about becoming more comfortable with various issues and, above all, gaining a sense of confidence and enjoyment from debating and public speaking.
The winners of a debate are chosen by their oratory style and their ability to convince the audience that they are right and not simply by their statistical analysis of a problem.
The Schools’ debating competition has become an intrinsic part of the school system in Ireland, with the debate topics often being discussed in class and great encouragement given to participants. Teachers see the benefits their students accrue from the Schools; there are the academic benefits of research and speechwriting, as well as the oratorical experience it gives. When considered along with the unique opportunity this competition gives second level students to form their own opinions on topics ranging from the smoking ban to the middle east, and to have those opinions heard, the importance of this competition cannot be underestimated. The Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition is of enormous benefit to secondary schools students, both the competitors and their classmates who come along to the debates to support them.
[edit] Format
Normally two teams of two persons may be selected to represent each school, but numbers allowing a third team may be allowed to enter. The debates in the Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition are of the same format as The Irish Times Debating Competition with the first speaker of each team going first, followed by summation speeches from their team-mate. There will be several knock-out rounds in each region culminating in regional finals. In the first round, all speeches are five minutes in length. For all subesquent competitive rounds speeches are seven minutes in length. While the format of the Competition is initially a team-based one, both teams and individuals progress from the first round of debates. The winning team and individual from each regional final is then entered into the Grand Final, which traditionally takes place in April. The runners-up in both the team and the individual categories from the Regional Final are then entered into a Repechage Debate in which the last place in the Grand Final for the team and individual is decided. The winning team of the Grand Final is then selected to represent Ireland at the ESU International Schools' Mace.
The Competition has also advanced in many ways. The administration of the Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition is run electronically via the regional websites with both Order Papers and Application Forms being placed online. Each regional leg of the Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition also hosts a Debate Workshop designed to teach both previous entrants and students new to the Competition how to debate and to encourage their participation in the Competition. The Workshops are an invaluable exercise that allows many students to, for the first time, become comfortable with the forms and styles of debating. They generally consist of a short introductory lecture followed by a Showcase Debate with Ireland's finest competitive debaters.
[edit] 2005-2006
The year 2005-2006 was the largest and most successful year for the All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition in its twenty-two year history. Over 800 students entered the competition making it the largest non-sporting event at second-level in Irish history. The Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition also saw the highest number of entrants from schools with no previous history in debating than ever before, demonstrating the reach and value of the Competition. Workshops were held in each region with those in Leinster being given by the Convenor of the World Universities Debating Championship 2006. The Grand Final of the Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition 2005-2006 was chaired by Enda Kenny T.D., leader of the Fine Gael party, the leading opposition party in Ireland and attracted an audience of over 320. The motion for the Grand Final, "That This House Would Legalise Prostitution" proved extremely engaging and controversial, demonstrating the oratorical and analytical excellence of those who took part in the Denny All-Ireland Schools' Debating Competition 2005-2006. Last year's winners were Catherine Murphy from Mount Sackville Secondary School, while Colaiste an Spiorad Naoimh took the team prize. The convenors for the 22nd year of the competition were Siobhan Greaney (UCC Philosophical Society, University College Cork), Irwin Gill (Literary & Historical Society, University College Dublin), Bartley Rock (College Historical Society, Trinity College Dublin) and Roisin McGrogan (Literary & Debating Society, National University of Ireland, Galway).
[edit] 2006-2007
This years competition is currently underway with the largest uptake yet. The current convenors are David Jones (Literary & Historical Society, University College Dublin), Andrea Mulligan (College Historical Society, Trinity College Dublin), Cian Hargrave-Murphy (UCC Philosophical Society, University College Cork) and Zoe McNair (Literary & Debating Society, National University of Ireland, Galway). The Denny All-Ireland School's Debating Competition 2006-2007 was launched in Trinity College Dublin by the Minister for Education & Science, Mary Hanafin T.D.
