CONGRATULATIONS

The Winning Team!

To the debating team from St Goban’s College, who won the West Cork Credit Unions Schools Debating Competition 2008. Represented by Deirdre Hurley (Captain), Siobhan Hickey, Mark Holland and Elaina O’Brien, the Bantry school beat Mercy Heights Secondary School, Skibbereen, in a keenly contested and absorbing final at the Parkway Hotel, Dunmanway, on 9 April.

Now in its fifth year, the competition is one of a number of joint initiatives undertaken by the West Cork Credit Unions. This year fourteen schools from throughout West Cork participated in the competition, which consists of two phases: local and regional. In the local phase, schools within each credit union area compete against each other, and the winners of these local competitions represent their area in the West Cork phase.

The local Bantry debate was held in late November. Debating the motion ‘That excessive consumption of alcohol is the most important problem facing Irish society’, the St Goban’s team of Deirdre, Elaina, Mark and Siobhan defeated a very good Ardscoil Phobal Bheanntraí team who themselves were doing well in another debating competition.

Next up was a trip to Kinsale in early February to take on Kinsale Community School in the quarter-final. Opposing the motion ‘That community spirit is a thing of the past’, and with Carmel O’Sullivan deputising for Siobhan Hickey, St Goban’s debated with great composure and confidence to win the unanimous verdict of the three adjudicators.

A home semi-final followed in early March against Ballincollig Community School. This time the motion was ‘That the United States of America is a positive influence on the world’. Again the team of Deirdre, Elaina, Mark and Siobhan proved too strong for the opposition and won by a unanimous decision to secure a place in the final.

On 9 April the hall at the Parkway Hotel, Dunmanway, was packed with fellow-students, teachers, parents and credit union officials. Faced with the anxious faces of their families, friends and teachers, the students from Bantry and Skibbereen displayed tremendous maturity and confidence as they debated a very topical motion: ‘That Ireland has little to fear from the Lisbon Treaty’.

The motion was proposed by Mercy Heights Secondary School, who were represented by Karen Newman (Captain), Elaine McCarthy, Aisling Ryan and Rachel Looney and were coached by their teacher Mary Lordan. Introducing the motion, Karen emphasised that the positives in the Lisbon Treaty far outweigh the negatives. The EU, she said, would be more transparent, more democratic, more efficient and more secure as a result of the Treaty.  Urging the audience to reject the scare-mongering and paranoia of the anti-Treaty side, Karen appealed to them to come on a voyage of change and support the Lisbon Treaty.

Elaine dealt with the economic aspects of the debate. Ireland never had is so good, she said, and the EU had played a crucial role in our economic success. Claiming that ratification of the Treaty would safeguard jobs and ensure ongoing investment in research and development, Elaine urged support for Lisbon for the sake of Irish prosperity.

Aisling focused on social justice and environmental issues. She emphasised the role of the EU in bringing about social change and greater equality in Ireland in the past few decades, particularly through the European Court of Justice. Lisbon would continue that role by addressing climate change, which is the most important issue facing us. Justice, equality and climate change are all addressed in a positive way by the Lisbon Treaty, Aisling summed up.

Rachel addressed the military aspects of the debate. Pointing out that peacekeeping not war is the purpose of the European Common Security and Defence Policy, she welcomed the greater transparency and efficiency that the Treaty would bring. On the contentious issue of neutrality, Rachel asserted that Lisbon copperfastened Irish neutrality rather than undermining it.

St Goban’s College were again represented by Deirdre, Siobhan, Elaina and Mark and were coached, as they had been throughout the competition, by their teacher Donal McGrath. Opening the case for the opposition, Deirdre reminded the audience that Ireland is the only country where the people are being given a chance to vote on the Lisbon Treaty by means of a referendum. Arguing that the Treaty is effectively the same as the European Constitution that was rejected a few years ago, Deirdre claimed that the Treaty would erode democracy and threaten our sovereignty.

Siobhan dealt with the military aspects of the debate, claiming that Ireland would be forced to pay for increased military spending by the EU even if we did not join a European army. Foreign policy would be set by an all-powerful EU Foreign Minister and no member state would be able to have its own foreign policy. As a result, Siobhan asserted, Irish neutrality would be diminished and our independence eroded.

Elaina addressed environmental issues. Arguing that the Lisbon Treaty’s provisions in relation to climate change are purely symbolic and short on facts, she said that the Treaty contains vague aspirations rather than definite policies on this most important issue. Elaina also dealt with health and labour issues, claiming that Lisbon could result in the privatisation of healthcare and the lowering of terms and conditions of employment.

Mark focused on political and constitutional matters. The Lisbon Treaty, he asserted, would undermine national sovereignty by transferring power from the member states to unelected officials and institutions. The new EU President and Foreign Minister, together with the European Court of Justice, would have huge powers in relation to the introduction of legislation and the formation of policy in what would amount to a bureaucratic dictatorship, Mark argued.

All contests must have a winner, and the unenviable task of deciding that matter fell to the three adjudicators Finbarr O’Donovan, Finbarr O’Sullivan and Katherine Spillane. Speaking on behalf of the adjudicators, Mr O’Sullivan complimented both teams for a debate of the highest standard. They showed evidence of great research and marshalled this research in the making of their arguments with great skill. The motion, he said, was a good one, being open to both points of view and with a raft of material available. Explaining that the momentum swung back and forth throughout the debate, Mr O’Sullivan said that the decision came down to a few very fine points of argument, with the Bantry team prevailing.

Mr O’Sullivan also paid tribute to the original foresight and ongoing good work of the West Cork Credit Unions in establishing and continuing to run the competition, which, he said, has improved as it has evolved over the past five years.

Guests of honour at the debate were Con O’Brien, Director of the Irish League of Credit Unions, and George Cantwell, Vice-Chairman of Cork Chapter XI of Credit Unions. Mr O’Brien complimented all involved in the running of the competition. He was so impressed by the standard of the debate and the competition in general that he urged the organisers to consider broadening it to include the whole country!

Mr Cantwell said the standard of debating skills displayed by both teams filled him with hope and encouragement for the future. He thanked both teams for enlightening all present on the issues surrounding the Lisbon Treaty and he thanked the school teachers, principals and parents for their involvement and support. Finally, Mr Cantwell paid tribute to the leadership being shown by the West Cork Credit Unions in promoting youth involvement in credit unions.

Mr Cantwell then presented the competition’s Perpetual Cup and a cheque for €2,000 to Mr Donal McGrath on behalf of St Goban’s College and a cash prize of €800 to the winning team. Mr O’Brien presented a cheque for €1,000 to Ms Mary Lordan on behalf of Mercy Heights Secondary School and a cash prize of €400 to the beaten finalists.