The Debate Goes On!

We have the Leinster Debating crown…again… and we plan on holding it! (By the way… as with rugby, in debating, Leinster is bigger than Ireland!). And what has made St. Conleth’s such a perennial challenger for the Leinster, national and international titles? Well, it is our returning alumni coaches! Oisín ‘Opie‘ Power (Class of 2022) is the latest in a long line of Past Pupils who have paid back their alma mater with expert coaching of the next crop of Conlethian rostrum rulers. And all they get in return is a bag of Haribo jellies (albeit, the big ones from the Tuck Shoppe) and whatever is left over from the Junior Infants’ lunch! Oisín, with his life partner Colman Hegarty (2023), is still debating internationally for UCD and just recently returned from a year in China, teaching debating in both Mandarin and Irish, between shifts in a Temu factory. All Oisín and current Auditor of Debates, Milo Smith, have managed to do is get the largest number of debaters through the early rounds of Leinster and the national Maces… in the history of St. Conleth’s! Take that, White, Gilligan, O’Dwyer, Duplaa, Costigan, Ward… et al! Below you see the massive cohort of debaters who either won or finished second in their qualifying debates. We also see Auditor Emeritus Finley O’Dea (returning, especially, from the dreaming spires of Belfield), current holder of the Leinster trophy, along with Oisín, Milo and Debating Custodian, Mr. Latvis. Stay tuned for more news of our high-fallutin’ haranguing!

by Charles Latvis