The Irish National Championships are sponsored each year by The Irish Times Newspaper.  Each year 150-170 teams enter the competition and this is down to 4 teams and 4 individuals for the Final.  The preliminary rounds start in November and are held in colleges throughout the country.  The Semi-Finals & final are usually held at the end of January/ start of February
The competition is slightly different from other Debating competitions as it has both Teams and Individuals in the latter Rounds.  The First rounds contain only teams but the adjudicators can put through Individuals as well as teams from each round.
The speaking order for the final & semi-finals is as follows.
(1.) 1st speaker from opening prop.
(2.) 1st speaker from opening opp.
(3.) 1st speaker from 2nd prop.
(4.) 1st speaker from 2nd opp.
(5.) 1st proposing individual.
(6.) 1st opposing individual
(7.) 2nd proposing individual.
(8.) 2nd opposing individual.
(9.) 2nd speaker from opening prop.
(10.) 2nd speaker from opening opp.
(11.) 2nd speaker from 2nd prop.
(12.) 2nd speaker from 2nd opp.
The team trophy is called the Demosthenes trophy and the individual prize is the Christina Murphy Memorial trophy.

Finalist Teams
1st Gov:      Vincent Nolan and John Gallagher (Kings Inns)
2nd Gov:    Yvonne Campbell and Brid McGrath (TCD Hist)
1st Opp:     Caoilfhionn Gallagher and Bernadette Quigley (UCD Literary & Historical Society);
2nd Opp:     Pat English and Eoin Hyland (UCC Philosoph).

Finalist Individuals
1st Gov Ind:    Darren Lehane (UCC Law Society);
2st Gov Ind:    Rossa Fanning (Kings Inns);
1st Opp Ind:    Eoin MacGiolla Ri (Kings Inns)
2st Opp Ind:    Padraic Lyons (TCD Law Society).

Team Winners: Caoilfhionn Gallagher and Bernadette Quigley (UCD Literary & Historical Society)
Individual Winner: Rossa Fanning (Kings Inns)
Team Runners-Up:   Yvonne Campbell and Brid McGrath (TCD Hist)
Individual Runner Up:  Eoin MacGiolla Ri (Kings Inns)

Adjudicators
Mr Tim O'Leary (presiding)
Former Convenor and team winner and barrister
Prof James A Johnson
Professor Emeritus of Economics, The Colorado College, Colorado Springs
Mr Brendan Goggin
Registar, Cork Institute of Technology
Mr Don O'Sullivan
Former Team winner and lecturer in Marketing, UCC
Ms Caroline Walsh
Literary Editor, The Irish Times

The below is an article taken from the E&L section of the Irish Times about the Semi-Finals.
Dublin Dominates
The First round of the Irish Times Debates Competition has been completed with only two colleges from outside Dublin having reached the semi-finals.  The Law Society and the Philosoph from UCC and the Debating Union from UL are the only teams from outside the capital left in ght competition.
TCD and UCD are well represented as usual.  Trinity's Historical, Philosophical and Law societies have seen seven of their teams progress to the penultimate stage.  UCD's L&H and Law societies provide another three of the Teams, while the two teams representing the King's Inns are made up of former Belfield debaters.  The Solicitors and Apprentices Debating Society provides the last of the 16 teams to reach the semi-finals.
Also in the semi-finals are 16 individuals.  UCD's L&H and Law societies provide four of the individual semi-finalists, TCD Law Soc and Phil provide a further three, while the two individuals from the King's Inns have surived the first round.  NUI galway, Waterford IT, UCC, DCU, and NUI Maynooth are home to the remaining individual semi-finalists.

Host: Waterford Institute of Technology
Final Motion: "That this House believes that Ireland should put social justice before a tiger economy",
Convenor: Helen Boyle
Chair: Mr Dick Spring T.D.

Finalist Teams
1st Gov:      Ian Walsh and Rossa Fanning (University College Dublin Literary & Historical Society)
2nd Gov:    Muireann Ní Chinnéide and Elizabeth Barrett (University College Cork Philosophical Society)
1st Opp:     James McDermott and Caoilfhionn Gallagher (UCD Literary & Historical Society);
2nd Opp:     Bairbre O'Neill and Gillian Sinnott (UCD Literary & Historical Society).

Finalist Individuals
1st Gov Ind:    Mr Stephen Vaughan (UCC Law Society);
2st Gov Ind:    Ms Bríd McGrath (Trinity College Dublin Historical Society);
1st Opp Ind:    Mr Colm Ó Conaill (UCC Philosophical Society)
2st Opp Ind:    Mr Paul Gleeson (TCD Historical Society).

Team Winners: Muireann Ní Chinnéide and Elizabeth Barrett (University College Cork)
Individual Winner: Mr Paul Gleeson (Trinity College Dublin Hist)
Team Runners-Up:  Caoilfhionn Gallagher and James McDermott (UCD L& H)
Individual Runner Up: Bríd McGrath TCD Historical Society

Adjudicators
Síle Sheehy, head of Education Services, The Irish Times
Prof Robert Trapp, Willamette University, Oregon and president of the National Parliamentary Debate Association;
Mr M.R. Griffin, Director, Waterford Institute of Technology;
Ms Ella Shanahan, Editor, Education & Living, The Irish Times,
Mr Tim Murphy, lecturer in law, University College Cork.

Finalist Teams
Gillian Sinnott and Bairbre O'Neill (UCD Literary and Historical Society)
Jackie O'Hara and Adrian Langan (TCD Historical Society)
Ian Walsh and Rossa Fanning (UCD Law Society)
Séamus Doran and Pádraic Ó Halloran (UL Debating Union)

Finalist Individuals
Fergal Crehan (UCG Literary & Debating Society)
Mary Cosgrove (UCG Literary & Debating Society)
Andrew Beck (TCD Law Society)
Matthew McCabe (Solictors' Apprentices' Debating Society of Ireland SADSI)

Team Winners: Séamus Doran and Pádraic Ó Halloran (University of Limerick Debating Union)
Individual Winner: Matthew McCabe (Solicitors' Apprentices' Debating Society of Ireland)
Team Runners-Up: Gillian Sinnott and Bairbre O'Neill (UCD Literary and Historical Society)
Individual Runner Up: Rossa Fanning (UCD Literary and Historical Society)

Adjudicators
Ms Síle Sheehy (presiding), Head of Education Services, The Irish Times
Prof Gary Holbrook, Metropolitan State College, Denver, Colorado
Mr Conor Bowman, barrister, songwriter and former individual winner of The Irish Times Debate
Ms Geraldine Kennedy, Political Correspondent, The Irish Times
Mr David Keane, barrister and former team winner of The Irish Times Debate.

© 1998 Colm Flynn. All Rights Reserved.