FOREWORD
Dear
Reader,
The Lit & Deb is proud to present to you the
College Annual for 2002-2003. Its late appearance, caused partly by choice and
partly by circumstances, is hopefully made up for in the quality of the
publication. With debaters being such trustworthy and dedicated folk, the
publication of this annual since the Lit & Deb was entrusted with the task
in 1913 has been at best sporadic, but this year marks nearly a decade of
regular appearances of what has been both an organ for the students of the
college and a significant contribution to the historical record of the
university.
For the Lit & Deb, the 2002-2003 session has been in many ways an eventful one. It has been a
year when the fortunes of the Society have been definitely seen to be on the
rise once again, in terms of attendances, involvement and external
achievements. It has been an interesting and somewhat challenging year for the
Lit & Deb and all societies in the College from the point of view of
administration. It has been a year when foundations have been laid for the
future in a very concrete way with the development of the Lit & Deb Fund
for graduates, the continued compiling of our records and the initial planning
for a home of our own on campus. And we are glad to say that our efforts have
been recognised with the award of NUI, Galway's Society of the Year title for
2002-2003.
The past year has had many highlights. From the
record nineteen first-year competitors we had on Gibs'
Night, the level of interest in debate among the students of the college never
waned, giving us the largest Maiden Speakers' and Inter-Faculty competitions in
some years. Twenty-six Galway teams, many of them first-time competitors, took
part in the Irish Times Debates, and our own Mr Martin Collins and Ms Shauna Gillan reached the final of the Glasgow Ancients, a
distinction never before achieved by this generation of Lit & Deb speakers.
We can surely be content with these real and incontestable signs that the
future is bright for the Society.
The Lit & Deb has been steered through the 156th
session by a very able and resourceful committee, to whom I would like to
express my heartfelt thanks. Despite the ups and downs without which life would
be much less entertaining, we have all worked well together. A huge number of
people have contributed to the smooth running of the Lit & Deb over the
past year - as adjudicators, as guest chairmen, as drivers, and in many other
capacities. All deserve our sincere gratitude. On a personal note, I must thank
those people who put up with my incessant Lit & Deb related ranting over
the past year - the personal psychiatrists, bouncers-off of ideas, providers of
endless excuses for coffee and other beverages, and string-pullers of what was
at times a puppet regime. Prime among these was my principal co-conspirator and
Vice-Auditor Mr Martin Collins, to whom I wish every success in his role as
Auditor for next year. Any fleeting thoughts that what we do might not be quite
as worthwhile as we think it is were dispelled for me
by Mr Ray Cooke, who shows that the passage of forty-five years cannot dull an
auditor's enthusiasm for this Society. Too many must be thanked for their
support and inspiration, and I will not attempt to do so here.
The Literary and Debating Society's central role in
the educational, social, and collegiate life of the University is of an
importance which cannot be over-estimated. It embodies the finest traditions of
the College, and does its best to keep the spirit of the true university alive
in an age which often seems to have forgotten its relevance. Let us hope that
its success continues far into the future. In the words of the annual of 1907: mqy the star of our S ociery
never wane, or its shadow grow less.
Mark
Hanniffy (4th Science)
Auditor
of the 156th Session
Literary
and Debating Society