Holy Family argue their way to the top

The finals of the inaugural Clare Primary schools debating competition were held last week in the Clare Education Centre, Ennis.

The motion for the semi-final was Every Child Should Have A Mobile Phone and this was keenly contested among the four schools involved. In the first semi-final, Holy Family Senior National School narrowly defeated Stonehall National School while, in the second semi-final, Barefield National School got the better of Raheen Wood Steiner School by a narrow margin.

The motion for the final was If You Are 13 Years Or Over You Should Be Allowed to Vote. After some excellent debating, Holy Family Senior School emerged the winners by a one-point margin.

Pat Hanrahan, director of Clare Education Centre, congratulated both finalists and acknowledged all schools that participated.

He also acknowledged the dedicated work of the teachers in the participating schools. He went on to acknowledge the adjudicator, Liam Lawlor (former principal at Catherine McAuley National School, Limerick) and administrator of Clare Education Centre, Evelyn Murray.

Presentations were made to both finalists and the inaugural Clare Primary Debating Trophy was presented to the Holy Family Senior captain, Mary Tiernan.

The participating teams were: Holy Family Senior School, Mary Tiernan (captain), Elizabeth Adesiyan, Mia ­Kavanagh, Emer Nelson, Niall Gantley and Hannah Keane; Barefield National School, Ailbhe Cannon (captain), Ava Glynn, Dylan Nolan, Shona Power, Roslyn Cuffe Kelly (captain in semi-final) and Niamh Moroney; Stonehall National School, Conor McMahon (captain), Cara O’Brien Riordan, Jack Martin, Gearóid McMahon, Diarmuid Fitzgerald and Conn Laffan; Raheen Wood Steiner ­National School, Rabea Seidel, Uisca Hammond, Molly Vincent, Nadine O’Sullivan and Maya Leszczynsksa.