TALENTED students at Laurel Hill Secondary School came out top of the crop at the 40th All-Ireland Concern Debate competition.
The all-Ireland orators who took home the gold at the national competition were Prisca Afolabi, Aida Hehir, Zoe Norris-Cable, and Ellie McCaffrey, defeating runners up Sanford Park of Ranelagh, Dublin.
The two schools battled it out over the motion ‘the world is more equal now than it was 40 years ago’.
Reflecting on their win, Laurel Hill team captain Ellie McCaffrey said the foursome were “delighted” with the result.
“It’s just so nice to see all our hard work, which has gone into the nine debates to win the contest, pay off and to have that sense of ‘we did it’,” Ellie said.
“I am so proud of the girls and everyone who has helped us.”
More than 170 secondary schools entered this year’s competition, with the finalists competing in eight debates to reach the finals, hosted at The Helix in Dublin.
As winners, the Laurel Hill team received a two-night educational trip of their choice to either Dublin or Belfast.
Concern’s Head of Global Citizenship, Lauren Wright, had high praise for the Laurel Hill foursome, saying “it is an amazing achievement to have prepared and delivered nine debates since October on some of the most pressing global issues of our time”.
The Concern Debates programme, open to schools from all 32 counties, was created in 1984 by the Irish humanitarian organisation to encourage debate and critical thinking about global issues.
