Page 131 - Gonzaga at 60
P. 131
Minister for Education
Micheál Martin presenting
the trophy for Best
Individual Speaker to
Paul Brady
In 2005 the Literary & Historical Society of UCD (the ‘L&H’) celebrated its 150th year with the publicaion of
a two-volume history of the society. In the essays of the second volume, which in covering the society’s inal
ity years efecively spanned the lifeime of Gonzaga, it was remarkable how many Jesuit and, in paricular,
Gonzaga alumni featured prominently. Indeed, as I noted in that book’s epilogue, when the irst volume (the
re-issued Centenary History) is also consulted, “one could be forgiven for considering that the irst half of
the twenieth century marked the apotheosis of the Clongowes L&H debater, and the later half that of the
Gonzagan.”
As it happened, I had no idea of any of this (in)famous patrimony when I entered UCD in 1998 and, eager
to pursue the abstruse adrenalin of compeiive debaing which I had enjoyed so much at school, immediately
signed up for the L&H. For at that point, despite some notable excepions throughout the nineies such
as Marcus Dowling and Ronan McCrea, Gonzaga’s star had waned and there were no past pupils on the
commitees of the L&H or the UCD Law Society, or for that mater on those of the Hist and the Phil in Trinity.
But, for whatever reason, that year seemed to mark a turning point. Of the class of ’98 Seán O’Quigley, Donall
Crehan and I went on to head the Law Society, Phil and L&H respecively and in every subsequent graduaing
year debaters from the school also went on to paricipate acively in every aspect of the life of these socieies.
Today, as a result of the depth and the vitality of the renewal, orchestrated by Lar Dufy, of Gonzaga’s
erstwhile debaing tradiion, it is once again not a quesion of whether a past pupil will be appearing in the
inal of an inter-varsity compeiion or judging the inal or serving on a commitee, but rather how many past
pupils will be doing so at any one ime. Whether this return to form has been a posiive development for these
university socieies is for others to judge. What can be said without doubt or fear of immodesty, however, is
that it has had the happy efect of forging a type of bridge or mentoring-connecion between the oten remote
worlds of second and third level educaion, which has been of great beneit to those pupils and alumni alike for
whom argument and debate is a shared passion and a passion worth sharing.
Paul Brady
Class of 1998
Paul Brady won the Best Individual Speaker Award in the ESB Irish Schools Debaing Compeiion 1998. Two
years later, along with team mate Colin Walsh, he won the Internaional Mace Debaing Compeiion for UCD’s
L&H. The inal took place in London in the House of Commons.
Micheál Martin presenting
the trophy for Best
Individual Speaker to
Paul Brady
In 2005 the Literary & Historical Society of UCD (the ‘L&H’) celebrated its 150th year with the publicaion of
a two-volume history of the society. In the essays of the second volume, which in covering the society’s inal
ity years efecively spanned the lifeime of Gonzaga, it was remarkable how many Jesuit and, in paricular,
Gonzaga alumni featured prominently. Indeed, as I noted in that book’s epilogue, when the irst volume (the
re-issued Centenary History) is also consulted, “one could be forgiven for considering that the irst half of
the twenieth century marked the apotheosis of the Clongowes L&H debater, and the later half that of the
Gonzagan.”
As it happened, I had no idea of any of this (in)famous patrimony when I entered UCD in 1998 and, eager
to pursue the abstruse adrenalin of compeiive debaing which I had enjoyed so much at school, immediately
signed up for the L&H. For at that point, despite some notable excepions throughout the nineies such
as Marcus Dowling and Ronan McCrea, Gonzaga’s star had waned and there were no past pupils on the
commitees of the L&H or the UCD Law Society, or for that mater on those of the Hist and the Phil in Trinity.
But, for whatever reason, that year seemed to mark a turning point. Of the class of ’98 Seán O’Quigley, Donall
Crehan and I went on to head the Law Society, Phil and L&H respecively and in every subsequent graduaing
year debaters from the school also went on to paricipate acively in every aspect of the life of these socieies.
Today, as a result of the depth and the vitality of the renewal, orchestrated by Lar Dufy, of Gonzaga’s
erstwhile debaing tradiion, it is once again not a quesion of whether a past pupil will be appearing in the
inal of an inter-varsity compeiion or judging the inal or serving on a commitee, but rather how many past
pupils will be doing so at any one ime. Whether this return to form has been a posiive development for these
university socieies is for others to judge. What can be said without doubt or fear of immodesty, however, is
that it has had the happy efect of forging a type of bridge or mentoring-connecion between the oten remote
worlds of second and third level educaion, which has been of great beneit to those pupils and alumni alike for
whom argument and debate is a shared passion and a passion worth sharing.
Paul Brady
Class of 1998
Paul Brady won the Best Individual Speaker Award in the ESB Irish Schools Debaing Compeiion 1998. Two
years later, along with team mate Colin Walsh, he won the Internaional Mace Debaing Compeiion for UCD’s
L&H. The inal took place in London in the House of Commons.
