Foreword to the

Journal of the Literary and Debating Society

Since 1913, the Literary and Debating Society has taken upon itself the responsibility of publishing the College Annual. In the upkeep of this fine tradition I must begin by complementing Mr Nelson on his editorial endeavours.

It was with pride that I presided over the society in a year in which it expanded. A year in which it spread its tentacles, and in many ways, a year in which it reinvented itself. The Society has been a forum for many debates; often contentious, sometimes humorous, but always thought provoking and unique. From the private members’ time motion declaring war on the Isle of Man, to the potency and raw emotion of the guest speaker feminist debate, the society has proven to be a welcome outlet for much varied conjecture. When pondering the past session, recent memories ostensibly flood the mind.

The almost holy silence as Patsy McGarry read eloquently, the poem that Michael D. Higgins wrote about his father, as the emotional Bard looked on. Or the vehemence and sincerity of the longest serving Irish member of the European Parliament, Joe McCartin, as he dismissed proposition views, contending that the European Union model holds the best future for the citizens of Europe. As a sharp contrast, we had the utter frustration of Eamon Ó Cuív TD, grandson of the senior surviving officer of the 1916 Rising, proposing the motion ‘That this House would rejoin the commonwealth’. He rebuked those who spoke of tolerance and pluralism, yet opposed the most credible way in which they could illustrate this. At time of going to press, we look forward to a guest speaker debate on abortion, as well as hosting the final of the John Smith Memorial Mace International Intervarsity Debates Final.

There is nothing like the Literary and Debating Society. It is not only unique within this University, but among societies generally. It is dedicated to pure unmitigated debate; nothing more, nothing less. It is the only forum in which no point of view is given an unqualified platform. When organising debates, we ensure that all points of view are aired. This is achieved by ensuring that any speaker who takes the floor is challenged by an opposition speaker of an equally high calibre, who is privy to the same information. This is one of our distinct features, and will, I trust, remain to be our core quality; our very ‘raison d’être’.

I must thank the help and support of the committee, without whom the society could not be a success. In epitomising my own past year as Auditor, I find it impossible to put in words my heartfelt thoughts for the Lit’n’Deb. Not only because of the brevity of this short piece, but also because such things belong to the heart, and any endeavour on my part to write about them would he a grave injustice. I end in the knowledge that in the past year a new momentum has been created, a fresh dynamism has developed which leaves the society in a healthy position as it looks to the future.

In conclusion, I turn to the words of Shakespeare, ‘that there is nothing either good or had but thinking makes it so.’ In an era of such staunch political correctness, where it is easier to conform to the clichéd, populist opinion of the day, institutions such as the Literary and Debating Society are more important than ever. As a facilitator of varied and original thought, long may it survive.

Ronan O. Feehily B.Comm. (2^nd LLB)

Auditor 1998/99