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Volume 1 (1999/2000) Volume 2 (2000/2001) Volume 3 (2001) Categories
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Gael Linn Debating ChampsIn May 2000 the Convent of Mercy Secondary School, Roscommon won the Gael-Linn All-Ireland Senior Debating Final. The team members were Roisin Ni Dhonnacha, Lisa Oates, Dervla Connaughton (captain). Their coach was Ms. Mary Dolan who is also an Irish teacher in the school. This is a tremendous achievement and what makes the victory so unique is the fact that the girls only graduated to the senior section this year after winning out the junior section the previous year. The girls, who were third year students at the time, made their debut in Irish debating in 1998 when they entered the junior section of Gael-Linn debating. The team consists of three debaters but the Roscommon team was definitely a four-person team. Their coach, Ms. Mary Dolan was the backbone of the team and without her hard work and dedication, the girls would not have achieved so much. A debating team consists of the captain, the second speaker and the third speaker. The captain introduces the team and gives an introduction to the points the team will discuss. The second and third speakers, as well as presenting their speeches, must refute the opposition. This makes the debate interactive and is very exciting to witness. Teamwork and communication are also vital. The captain summarises everything at the end of the debate and must also refute the opposition. However, before any debate, the team must research, prepare and practice. After a series of rounds in the junior section the girls qualified for the regional final. On beating the Loretto College, Letterkenny they proceeded on to the quarterfinal and to the semifinal and finally to the All-Ireland final. Here, in Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge Dublin, the opposition was Clongowes Wood College, a boy's schools from Kildare. The Roscommon girls proposed the motion "We are an Unmerciful Nation". The girls must have shown no mercy as they defeated the boys winning their first All-Ireland title. But it did not stop there. Not content with resting on their laurels the Roscommon team came back the next year determined to be successful again. The competition, from over sixty teams was even more intense this year as the teams competing were older and more experienced in debating. The length of each speech was lengthened by one minute to four minutes and the topics to debate became more varied requiring even more research. Examples of the motions for debating were, "Sinead O'Connor should stick to singing" and "The balloon will burst". However this did not deter the girls from achieving their goal-to win the All-Ireland title in two consecutive years. Another series of victories against teams from Cork, Sligo, and the all Irish speaking school Colaiste na Coirbe insured their place in the All-Ireland final in the Gresham Hotel, Dublin. 'The Media have a Responsible approach in Ireland' was the motion the girls were defending. The final obstacle they had to overcome was to come from the Loretto College, Navan. After thirty minutes of nerve-racking but exciting debating the judges returned with their decision. The judges said that Roscommon had presented their points in more depth and their refutation had been better. The Roscommon team was crowned All-Ireland Champions for the second time, achieving a very rare double. This competition, organised by Gael-Linn, is an excellent way to promote the Irish language. Young people can debate on issues that relate to them and their everyday lives through the medium of Irish. In a time when there is much emphasis on the points system, great satisfaction can be derived from Irish debating. As well as deepening one's understanding of both written and oral Irish, it gives the debaters and indeed all who support the team, a greater appreciation of our native language. |