Hee-Haw! Welcome to MAGA Land!
6 May 2019Actually, that was just to get your attention: most of the debaters, even those supporting the Bouchier Hayes Plate Debate motion ‘THBT the current American president has made America great again’ quickly disavowed themselves personally from such a position, most hilariously by the impish Sammy Butler. Adam did bravely attest that the motion was irrelevant because America actually never lost its greatness and James H.R. as always, brought a rational evaluation to bear in his evaluation of ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’- noble efforts, indeed; but hardly ones to find traction in this local outpost of the intifada.
This being St. Conleth’s, there was quality up and down the Pro and Con benches with Manus channelling Peter Gallagher; Grace Childs doing the same with both Hillary Clinton and Blanche DuBois; Harry being Harry; Saul, Joe and Robert stylishly making important points; and Frank’s rapier wit and logic winning the ephemeral ‘best individual speaker’ award. John Kelleher made some spot-on comments in his own speech and then prompted Tomás Clancy’s debating-clinching rant with his rather pointed and personal Point of Information. Tomás and his partner, impressive newcomer Oscar, had earlier laid a solid foundation for the win, but it was this spirited, impromptu defence of his own administration, Barack Obama and Western Democracy that sealed it. Or was it truly impromptu? John is good friends with Tomas, and the latter was recently caught reading ‘The Prince’ in History class. Machiavellian, indeed…
The McCarthy and O’Connor Cups followed on this Day of Great Debate, with Past Pupil debating coaches Conor Power and Oisín Dowling clearly earning their break-time sausages, adjudicating three debates in a row. They best adjust their work-rate if they ever want a career in academia or the Civil Service. First Year Turlough Dineen won the McCarthy over some tough competition with a spirited speech on the motion ‘TH would make Irish optional in schools’ and Second Year Coleman ‘InfoWars’ Hegarty took home the O’Connor after debating ‘TH Regrets Acts of Civil Disobedience’ with a lively bunch of Second and Third Years. Messrs. Power and Dowling stumbled out the door at 3:20, exhausted but with a shared, renewed belief that the quality of Conlethian debating remains undiminished.