The first meeting of the joint houses of the great and honourable bastion of knowledge and debate that is The Literary and Debating society and The Law Society took place on saturday11 th February 2006 and was held in a place more holy than Kirwan, St Nicholas Church, currently on loan to the protestant faith. The reason for the joint meeting of these two houses was of course the final of the Galway Intervarsity: The National Law Debates.

41 teams from all over Ireland descended on the ancient city of tribes to compete in what is now becoming the best scoring IV in the country. The weekend came off with few hitches. The fire alarm went off during the second round because someone had tossed a cigarette into a bin. It was probably someone from UCD. They're quite dim I believe. With the concrete they have, there's not much chance something will catch fire.

The motions for the tournament are as follows:

•  TTHW the public school system should integrate secondary school students according to wealth.

•  Cancelled due to fire alarm

•  TTHB citizens should directly elect the EU president

•  TTHW remove the ban on workers striking in sympathy with workers from other industries.

•  TTHW not allow those who appear anorexic to be models.

•  Semi Final: TTHW would give the Iranian council a seat on the U.N. security council

•  Final: TTHW allow the building of casinos in the ghaeltacht.

The meeting was opened and the especially dapper and handsome recording secretary read the minutes to wild laughter and applause. PMT was opened and a motion called for. Mark Hannifey (post-grad) proposed a motion of thanks to the convenors and the joint auditors in their sterling work during the weekend. The motion was passed without objection. The recording secretary would also like to offer thanks for a wonderful weekend. The second motion was proposed by Robert Rooney (law) and was a motion of thanks to the vector and vicar of St. Nicholas for allowing the use of their fine establishment. The motion was passed without objection.

Laura Cunningham, auditor of LawSoc announced the judges:

• Sharon Dillon-Lyons (convenor)
• Colm Flynn
• Ciaran Lawlor (co- chief adjudicator)
• Eoin Casey
• John Harvey
• Eoin Kilkenny
• Niall Kennedy (co- chief adjudicator)

The table was set and the pieces were moving. The motion before the house was “TTHW allow casinos in the Ghaeltacht.” Opening 1 st proposition for the last bastard progeny of the virgin queen for the TCD historical society was Caoilfhionn NicConmara. She said that by opening hotel casinos in the Ghaeltacht we could halt economic migration and bolster a stagnating economy. The ensuing trickle down effect would help the common people. Opening for Ballymun I.T. ( Dublin City University ) was Brendan Kelly who said that the main clash in the debate came down to protecting the identity of the Ghaeltacht versus curing rural poverty. He said that we don't have to compromise culture and heritage to make money. Closing the case for TCD was David Boughton. He said that culture lies in the communities and the churches of these areas, not casinos. He said these tourists would have little interaction with the local people so there wouldn't be any damage to culture. Closing for DCU was Ian Keogh who said that there were enough hotels in Ireland already. He also said that we should be trying to attract individuals with a high net worth, citing rich Americans as an example.

Opening the second half of the debate was Andrea Mulligan of “Ducked.” She said the Ghaeltacht was not suited to other forms of industry due to poor social and productive infrastructure and a largely unskilled workforce. She said that tourism was a viable industry there. Opening for Irish Concrete Ltd. (UCD Literary and Historical Society) was Dan Sinnot. He said he was committed to the Irish language and the irish culture but was against the notion of protecting the Ghaeltacht. The Ghaeltacht has a choice. It can come to the real world or spend the rest of its life cleaning slot machines and dealing cards. Closing the proposition as a whole was Ross Frennet of “Ducked” who ridiculed the idea of abolishing the Ghaeltacht because we should “re-light the fire on the embers,” not launch the language and culture somewhere else. He also said Irish was a handy was to insult foreigners. Closing the debate as a whole was Richard Waghorne who said the Irish language had taken a variety of forms and existed in “social networks” such as culture and sport. It was not tied to the land but to the people.

No vote was taken on the motion as buses were poised to deliver people to the Army Barricks for Dinner and drinks. All those people who participated in the weekend were thanked, along with all those who had helped or contributed in any way.

The adjudication was made after Dinner and delivered by Niall Kennedy and Ciaran Lawlor.

• Winning Team: 2 nd Proposition “Ducked”- Andrea Mulligan and Ross Frennet
• Winning Individual: Ross Frennet, dedicating the win to his grandmother who passed away that morning
• Topping speaker Tab: David Bouton

All those involved in the IV retired to the Barricks bar for cheap tax-free alcohol. The craic raged for hours. Nunc Nunc qui timot eloqui…