Debating

Debating Update, October 21st, 2009.

Rockwell College has entered two teams in the Munster Schools Debating competition, organised by the UCC Philosophical Society. Both teams have now reached the Quarter-Final stage of the competition. On Tuesday, October 20th, Eva Cummins and Jack Jeffries spoke in proposition of the motion “That This House would condemn the release of the Lockerbie bomber”. They competed successfully against nine other schools in the debate hosted by UL. Their success was followed by Lennard Lowe and Jack Moloney who successfully proposed “That this House supports capital punishment” in their debate in UCC on Wednesday night. Both teams will next compete in December at the Quarter Final stage.

Rockwell qualifies for 2010 Munster Debating Final

Rockwell College has reached the Munster Schools Debating competition final for the sixth time in recent years. Both senior teams came through their respective semi-finals and will compete in the final in the Aula Maxima, UCC on Saturday, February 6th. The final , with the motion “That this house believes neutrality is immoral” , will see the teams competing with speakers from High School Clonmel and Christian Brothers Cork. The competition, organised by the Philosophical Society in UCC, has been running since October last year and involved the teams engaging in a range of motions dealing with issues as diverse as the release of the Lockerbie bomber, the death penalty and the banning of extremist political parties.
This is not the first time Eva Cummins and Jack Jeffries have represented the College at this level. The team also qualified for last year’s final in Cork. Rockwell’s second team, Lennard Lowe and Jack Moloney, are taking part in this competition for the first time. Their success is all the more noteable as Lennard is a German national and therefore debating in his second language. The teams are continuing the strong tradition of debating in the College and their success will no doubt encourage the continued participation of younger pupils.

Debating Clean Sweep for Rockwell

Rockwell College claimed victory in the recent final of the Munster Schools’ Debating competition in fine fashion, claiming first and second place. The Final, which took place in UCC on Saturday February 6th, was also contested by teams from CBC Cork and Ard Scoil na mBraithaire, Clonmel. It was the first time that Rockwell has won the final of this competition, which started last October with seventy teams from across Munster. The winning team, Lennard Lowe and Jack Moloney successfully opposed the motion “That this house believes neutrality is immoral”, while the runners-up, Eva Cummins and Jack Jeffries, proposed the same motion. Simon Covney, TD,was the guest Chairman for the event. The winners will now progress directly to the All Ireland competition while the runners up will have an opportunity to compete for a place in that final against the runners up from Leinster and Connaught. The win is a first for the College, having appeared in the Munster Final on five previous occasions over the last ten years of competing. This competition is organised by the students of UCC’s Philosophical Society which has had many past Rockwell pupils among its members over the years. Rockwell past pupils have also represented UCC and other colleges in national and international debating competitions over recent years, continuing the proud tradition of debating in the school.

Photograph: (Left to right) Pat O'Sullivan (Principal),Eva Cummins (Rosegreen), Jack Jeffries (Cahir), Lennard Lowe (Germany) Jack Moloney (Cork), Audrey Byrne.