Since 1993 I have been an active member of the University of Limerick Debating societies. Prior to coming to University I had never spoken in a debate at any level.

 "Debating" basically involves arguing either for or against a motion, "This House believes ........". There are very strict rules and regulations in debating and it isn't simply a case of a few people having a discussion. Competitive debating in Ireland is based on the "British Parliamentary" system. This involves speeches of 7min length. Competitors on the other side are allowed to offer "Points of Information" between the 2nd and 6th minutes of a speech. (for a more detailed outline of debating please see "How to Debate" on this web-page or on the University of Limerick Debating Union Web-page).

 The Debating Union in U.L. meets every Wednesday in "Main Session" at the Charles Parsons Lecture Hall in the U.L. Main Building. Here a main motion is debated while members can propose shorter motions in Private Members Time. P.M.T. is usually a chance for people to make a more light hearted and fun motion.

 However I prefer more competitive debates. In Ireland the national championships are sponsored by the "Irish Times" newspaper. All third level colleges are permitted to enter upto 12 teams into this competition (However some of the larger colleges, UCC, UCD, TCD, UL, UCG) are permitted to enter 12 teams per deabating society. This means that there can be over 150 teams of two entered into this competition. The first rounds can have 8-10 teams in each round but the later stages (semi-finals(*4) & final) have 4 teams and 4 individuals. In the three years I have entered the "Times" a member of my team has always reached the Semi-final stage as an Individual. In 1995 my team mate Seamus Doran (Irish Times Team winner 1997) made it to the semi-finals (I was knocked out) in 1996 Brian O'Farrell (Irish Times individual runner up 1994) made it and finally in 1997 I qualified for the semi-finals, however my teammate Aoife Gibson was knocked out.

 The top competition in the world is the World Debating Championships. This is held every year in a different College. In 1996 the championships were held in Cork where I competed with Padraig O'Halloran (Irish Times Individual runner up 1995 & Team winner 1997) the official results were never released and ourselves and several other teams still have appeals pending on the preliminary results. In 1997 the Championships were held in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Unfortunately I had to pull out of the championships because of academic pressures. While the "Worlds" are a great event I was after all in University to study (although my college supervisor might have argued that) and had exams a week after the championships. In 1998 the Championships were held in Athens Greece. As I was no longer a Student (having graduated the previous September) I went as an adjudicator. While the rankings of the Adjudicators were never reveled I was adjudicating break rounds during the preliminary rounds and in round 8 got to adjudicate the Top break round.

There are several smaller competitions based on worlds format. The most prestigious of these include the Glasgow Union Aincients Debate and the Strathclyde Cup. Both these competitions are held on the same weekend and I have competed in both. Other top competitions include Oxford, Cambridge and the Hibernian Challenge.

 Detailed History

University of Limerick, Debating Union Web page

How to Debate

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