National Junior Mace Debating Championships

​Congratulations to James O'Donoghue who won the Leinster Final of the National Junior Mace Debating Championships on Saturday. In order to get to the final, James had to compete against 300 other students from schools around Leinster in three preliminary rounds. On Saturday, the top 72 speakers arrived in CBC to compete in the finals day. There were four debates before the top eight speakers were announced for the final. 

Joining James in the final were Leon Reilly from CBC as well students from Belevedere College, Loreto Beaufort, Castleknock Community College and PS Setanta. They debated the motion was that "this house believes social media has a positive influence on politics". James was on the opposition side during the debate. The final was chaired by Keelin Shanley from RTE's SixOne news. 

There was also success for CBC students Conor Coveney and Charlie Garland O'Connor who both qualified for the national finals day based on their performance. This was the first time we have hosted a round of the competition and are delighted that the day went so well. Particularly thanks must go to all the students who helped out on the day, in the setting up of rooms and the hall, the serving of lunch and the other duties needed to run the day so well.