An
Extract from the Minutes
The
Annual Inter-Faculty Debate
11th
February 1965
The
12th Meeting of the Literary and Debating Society was held in the
Greek Hall on Thursday 11th February. During Private Members’ Time,
Mr Ó Tuathaigh proposed “that this Society notes with interest the action
of the Indian Government in shooting those who opposed the national language.”
Miss Gráinne Jennings seconded. Mr King proposed “that the
proposer and seconder of the original motion be shot.” This was seconded. Mr
Sweeney proposed that we all get bullet-proof vests. The original motion was
then carried. Mr Ó Fearceallaigh proposed that the Society send a
telegram to the Ghanaian government asking for clemency for those recently given
the death sentence. This was seconded and carried. The Auditor then announced
that he expected the succeeding committee of this Society to procure medals for
competition in the annual Inter-Faculty Debate.
The
chair was then handed over to guest chairman, the Honourable Mr John Justice
Kenny, to chair the 1965 Inter-Faculty Debate. Mr O’Connor (Comm.) opened
the debate, proposing the motion “that we are prisoners of our past.” He warned
that the opposition would argue on the basis of determinism, of which doctrine
no thinking man could be a party. Mr Hanly (Eng.) said that we are a pawn
on the chessboard of the world, and that although we have thrown off the
shackles of the past we still respect it but certainly are not imprisoned by it.
Mr Colgan (Eng.) speaking for the motion said that besides our history we
have also inherited much mythology. We still cling to Britain and our
conservative past has too great an influence on our present. He cited the
succession bill as an example of our imprisonment by our past. Miss O’Connell (Arts), opposing
the motion, confined the word ‘our’ to Ireland. She said that our past was
sufficient to show that we were never crushed. She gave figures to show our
increasing consumption of electricity, which in turn showed industrial
progress.
Bro.
O’Duffy
(Science) quoted Belloc in defence of the motion to show that we are to a great
extent governed by our past. He took particular treaties in world history that
enchained the actions of future leaders. Mr McDyer (Medicine) on the
opposition said that the social structure of Ireland was not suited to cities
and that the best Irishmen come from the rural areas, particularly the West. The
facts of to-day, a booming economy and new industries oppose the motion that we
are prisoners of our past. Mr John Higgins (Arts) declared that he
purposely misrepresented the motion. He spoke of the glorious medieval
cathedral, with its foundations on a prison, which may have an electrified
Madonna. He recommended 100 watt bulbs for the glorious mysteries, 75 watt for
the sorrowful and 50 for the joyful. He denounced the fallacy that we were
conservatives and said that we merely lacked in
originality.
Mr
McCarrick
(Commerce) opposed the motion, saying that history was philosophy teaching
through example, and with the full benefit of the experiences of our past we
should use it rather than be governed by it, towards the betterment of our
future. Development being a revolution often gives the false impression that we
are prisoners of our past. Mr McCarthy (Medicine) in proposing the motion
said that from the instant Adam and Eve committed the sin of disobedience, man
had become a prisoner to his past. Furthermore the environment framed by a
previous generation moulds the character and is outside the individual control.
Mr King (Science), the last speaker from the floor, in opposing the
motion, defined the past as a subconscious part of our environment. Man is a
master of his individual destiny he said, and cited St. Augustine, Mary
Magdalen, Galileo and Einstein as individuals who cast off the shackles of their
respective environments. The adjudicators, Messrs Townley, Brennan and Garvey
then retired to consider their verdict. The debate was then opened to the House.
Mr Lillis asked why we had not got an economic plan before 1957 if we
were not prisoners of our past. Mr Reidy said that going west from Dublin
the clock is turned back a number of centuries. Mr Brophy told us about
all the ballyhoo that had been spoken, and added in the issue of traditionalism.
Mr Keane said that to say that we are prisoners of our past is an
exaggeration but it is important to realise that we are children of our past.
Messrs Mulholland, O’Toole and Higgins also spoke. Private Members’ Time
was then closed and the adjudicators returned. The winning team was Arts, and
Science were second, while John Higgins was the individual winner with Pat
McCarthy second. After sustained applause for the decision of the adjudicators,
the chairman, the Hon. Mr Justice Kenny, summed up. He said that every country
has a national tradition which cements its people, but we in Ireland have two,
one the Gaelic and Catholic, the other Scotch and Protestant which began with
the victory of William in the Battle of the Boyne. We are prisoners of our past,
he said, but our difficulty lies in being to two traditions, only one of which
we can partake of.
The
Auditor then took the chair, thanked the guest chairman and adjudicators,
congratulated the winning teams and individual speakers and Mr Townley on his
recent election to the Governing Body, and thanked Dr Newell for his visit to
this meeting of the Literary and Debating Society. The motion was then put to
the House and carried, and the meeting was closed.
John
McCarrick
Michael D. Higgins
Secretary
Auditor