This year I joined the senior debating team in Moyle Park College with
Ms Lyons. I have always had a keen interest in debating since a very young
age and have learned much about preparing and presenting a decent
argument. My fellow debater, James White of 3rd year, and I got through to
the Denny Leinster Schools Debating Championships in November which was
immensely enjoyable and we both learned much.
Our topic was "That this house should put a tax on fatty foods." We were on the
con side which meant that we had to present a quite difficult speech and we
were thrown in at the deep end. We practised every day after school: researching,
rehearsing, building confidence and trying to get experience. Ms Lyons was
a real help. We could not have done it without her. There was plenty of research
needed to present an argument. This was hard work and got very stressful at
times. But it did pay off in the end.
On the night the debate took place in University College Dublin, our nerves
nearly got the better of us as it was a very worrying experience. Mr Clarke,
Mr Connolly and, of course, Ms Lyons, all turned up on the night to support us
and they were a great source of encouragement. The opposition were
extremely competitive which was a bit scarey, but we had to overcome this
and look confident.
Although it was hard work with many stressful afternoons, we still had a great
time and James and I got though to separate debates in Trinity College. We
owe it all to Ms Lyons.Debating is a great thing to have as it allows you to get your point across in
an intelligent and dignified manner. I will definitely keep on debating in the
future and would encourage anyone else who is interested in it to do so too.
