A third group of finalists for the annual Irish Times Debate has been confirmed, with students from Trinity College and the Army Cadet School advancing from Friday night’s semi-final.
Anya Wilson and Athena Wu of the TCD Historical Society progressed as the top team members, while Cadet Lehane of the Cadet School was the best individual speaker.
The Irish Times Debate is now in its 66th year. The competition’s third semi-final took place in the President’s Hall at The Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, with contestants debating the motion that “this house regrets the decline of formality in social and professional life”.
Friday’s debate featured 12 competitors, comprising four teams of two and four individual speakers. Ms Wilson and Ms Wu spoke in favour, as did a team of Stéphane de Bairéid and Coleman Hegarty from University College Dublin’s Literary & Historical Society (UCD L&H).
Individual speakers in favour were Cadet Lehane and Cormac McSparron of Queen’s University Belfast’s Literary Society.
Speaking against the motion were Molly McHugh and Darragh Gorman of the Solicitors’ Apprentice Debating Society of Ireland (SADSI), and Dónal O’Byrne and Niall Martin from the UCD L&H.
Individual speakers in opposition were Caoimhe Molloy of SADSI and Keela Plunkett of UCD L&H.
Ciara McLoughlin, a team winner from 2024, is the convenor of The Irish Times Debate for 2025/26. Irish Times journalist Nadine O’Regan was the chairwoman for Friday’s semi-final.
The adjudicators were: John O’Donnell SC (presiding), a team winner in 1979; Aisling McCabe, group strategy and business development director at The Irish Times; Dearbhla O’Gorman, a team winner in 2014 and tax director at PwC Ireland; and Conor White, a team winner in 2022 and associate at Arthur Cox.
The final will take place on Friday, February 27th in Dublin City University, and the chairwoman for that debate will be human rights lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC.