Mayo Association Dublin is delighted to announce that our fourth annual Mayo Schools’ Debating Competition, which will take place this year online for the very first time due to the ongoing pandemic, is coming ‘zoom’ with the semi-finals taking place on Friday 27 November!
Two motions – ‘That this house would ban facial recognition technology’ and ‘That this house would make voting compulsory in Ireland’ will be hotly up for debate amongst Mayo’s secondary school students during both semi-final stages of this year’s competition in just under two weeks, before the Grand Final will be Zoomed on Friday 11 December (from 12pm to 2.30pm).
DEBATING MOTIONS AND SPEAKERS WILL BE IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER:
10.45am – 11am (15 mins Zoom rule review and technology check)
Round 1: 11am – 12.30pm
MOTION: “THAT THIS HOUSE WOULD BAN FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY’
1st Proposition – Scoil Muire Agus Padraig, Swinford
1st Opposition – St Gerald’s College, Castlebar (A)
2nd Proposition – St Muredach’s College, Ballina
2nd Opposition – Balla Secondary School
12.45pm – 1pm (15 mins Zoom rule review and technology check)
Round 2: 1pm – 2.30pm
MOTION: “THAT THIS HOUSE WOULD MAKE VOTING COMPULSORY IN IRELAND’
1st Proposition – Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh
1st Opposition – Ballinrobe Community School
2nd Proposition – St Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar
2nd Opposition – St Gerald’s College Castlebar (B)
CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL RULES OF THIS YEAR’S ONLINE COMPETITION.
Finally, we would like to wish all students participating in this year’s competition online every good wish and success on Friday 27 November next. And so it remains to be seen who will win this year’s perpetual trophy at the Grand Final on Friday 11 December – an early Christmas present for one lucky school!
Here’s a look back to last year’s winners Ballinrobe Community School who won the Mayo Schools’ Debating Competition in both the team and individual speaker categories. ‘THAT THIS HOUSE BELIEVES THAT SOCIAL MEDIA IS DAMAGING DEMOCRACY’ was the motion for the third year of the competition, which returned to Trinity College Dublin on Saturday 30 November 2019.
Team members Olivia Borek and Viktorija Jersova, who were awarded the perpetual trophy, while AJ Carpio won the medal for the best individual speaker, are pictured with Justice Mary Laffoy, who chaired our independent panel of judges, and their teacher Ms Esther Burke (who coincidentally is the sister of Elijah and Simeon Burke, Burke Christian School from Castlebar, who won the trophy in our inaugural competition in 2017!).
