Literary and Historical Society, University College Dublin
Encyclopedia
| Founded | 1855 |
|---|---|
| Home Page | LiteraryAndHistorical.com |
| President | Dr. Hugh Brady Hugh R. Brady Hugh R. Brady, FRCPI, is President and Chief Officer of University College Dublin. He was one of the two Professors of Medicine and Therapeutics in UCD before becoming the eighth President of the University.... |
Committee Members of the Literary and Historical Society, 157th Session |
|
| Auditor | Christine Simpson |
| Honorary Treasurer | Mark Haughton |
| Honorary Librarian | Brendan Lannoye |
| Honorary Public Relations Officer | Hannah Lucey |
| Honorary Correspondence Secretary | James Fagan |
| Honorary Record Secretary | Aengus Boyle |
| Honorary Debates Convenors | Peadar Keegan, Hannah Lucey |
| Honorary Social Secretary | Daisy Vera Onubogu |
The Literary and Historical Society (L&H) is the oldest debating society
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
in University College, Dublin (U.C.D.), and is the official College Debating Union. Founded in 1855 by Father John Henry Newman (the future Cardinal Newman), it is one of the most prestigious and well-known student societies in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The society has over 5,100 enrolled members and is the largest student society in UCD.
House Debates
The Society gathers once a week to debate a topic of the day. This is the main activity of the society, and typically takes place on Wednesday evenings in the college's lecture theatres. Personalities central to the topic being discussed are invited to enlighten the house with knowledge and arguments specific to the motion. The porn debate and Battle of the sexes debates in 2007 attracted the largest crowds to ever attend an L&H debate. Attendance at house debates varies weekly, with debates attracting between 20 and 300 people. Motions have ranged from those concerning the death penalty and abortion to pornography and the existence of God.Guest speakers and L&H Accolades
The L&H also regularly invites speakers outside of debates. Recently these speakers have included Sir Roger MooreRoger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
, John Hume
John Hume
John Hume is a former Irish politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. He was a founding member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, and was co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, with David Trimble....
, Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
, John Nash
John Nash
John Nash may refer to:*John Nash , Anglo-Welsh architect*John Forbes Nash, Jr. , American mathematician, 1994 Nobel Economics laureate, subject of the book and film titled A Beautiful Mind...
and Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
. Guests range from academics to activists, and sometimes controversial figures.
The Society awards Honorary Fellowships and James Joyce Award
James Joyce Award
The James Joyce Award is an award given by the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin for those who have achieved outstanding success in their given field...
s to individuals who have "contributed significantly to a field of human endeavour". Recent recipients of either of the two awards include F. W. De Klerk, Rev. Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
., Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
and Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, actor Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, actor Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
, Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
JK Rowling, former UN Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix
Hans Blix
is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs . Blix was also the head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission from March 2000 to June 2003, when he was succeeded by Dimitris Perrikos...
, celebrated novelist Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
, former England soccer captain Gary Lineker
Gary Lineker
Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...
, producer of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, Sir George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
, Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
member Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin, CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter best known for being one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and for his travel documentaries....
and writer Sir Salman Rushdie.
Since the foundation of the Irish state, every President
President of Ireland
The President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
and Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
has addressed the Society.
UCD Vice Presidents' Cup IV
The VPC is one of the longest running and most prestigious IVs on the Irish debating circuit, as well as being one of the largest with up to 80 teams in recent years. It draws teams from across the IONA circuit, alongside European and American teams. It is uniquely acclaimed for a remarkably high level of competitors and adjudicators, and continues to increase its numbers and quality annually.Occurring in the last week of October each year, its place on the calendar makes it the opening event of the Worlds preparation season.
| Year | Winning Team | Top Speaker on Tab | Chief Adjudicator | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine Murphy & John Engle (TCD Hist) | 2010 | Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin & Ctolm Denny (TCD Hist) | Gregg O'Neill & Ruth Faller | ||
| 2009 | Catherine Murphy & Huw Duffy (TCD Hist) | Eoghan Casey (Kings Inns) | Will Jones & Marguerite Carter | ||
| 2008 | Anne Byrne & Josephine Curry (TCD Hist) | Brian O'Beirne (TCD Phil)/Brendan Bruen (Kings Inns) | Declan Bruton & Noel McGrath | ||
| 2007 | Shane Farragher & John Moriarty (TCD Hist) | Brian O'Beirne (TCD Phil) | Ciaran Lawlor | ||
| 2006 | David Boughton & Ciaran Denny (TCD Hist) | Jess Prince (Oxford)/David Kenny (TCD Hist) | Derek Lande | ||
| 2005 | Barry Glynn & Morgan Shelley (Kings Inns) | Sam Collins (ULU) | Paul Brady | ||
| 2004 | Richard Osborne & Alexis Hearnden (Inner Temple) | Richard Osborne (Inner Temple) | Jeremy Brier |
The Strauss Ball
Each year, the Society hosts UCD's only white tieWhite tie
White tie is the most formal evening dress code in Western fashion. It is worn to ceremonial occasions such as state dinners in some countries, as well as to very formal balls and evening weddings...
ball, the Strauss Ball. Each lady attending is given a dance card
Dance card
A dance card or programme du bal is used by a woman to record the names of the gentlemen with whom she intends to dance each successive dance at a formal ball....
, which they fill with ten different names. After waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
es with each person on the card, the orchestra moves aside for the DJ. The Society also hosts various nightclub events throughout the year.
Competitive Debating
The L&H is the most successful competitive debating society in Ireland by a significant margin. The Society has won a number of international debating competitions and has enjoyed dominance in The Irish Times and Mace debating competitions as well as international and national intervarsities. The Society has attended the World Universities Debating ChampionshipWorld Universities Debating Championship
The World Universities Debating Championship is the world's largest debating tournament, and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. It is a parliamentary debating event, held using the British Parliamentary Debate format. Each year, the event is hosted by a university...
, and progressed further, more than any other Irish society, and has sent teams as far afield as Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. In 1987 & 2006, UCD hosted the World Universities Debating Championship
World Universities Debating Championship
The World Universities Debating Championship is the world's largest debating tournament, and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. It is a parliamentary debating event, held using the British Parliamentary Debate format. Each year, the event is hosted by a university...
.
The Society also promotes and organises competitive debating in schools across Ireland through the Schools' Mace, the Denny Schools Debating Competition which reach secondary schools throughout the country.
Foundation
The L&H was founded in 1855, a year after the foundation of the Catholic University of IrelandCatholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational...
, the precursor to UCD. Both the university and the debating society were founded by Father John Henry Newman (future Cardinal Newman). One of the Society's most famous members from this era was James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, who presented his paper "Drama and Life" before a crowd of assembled members in 1900. Conor Cruise O'Brien served as Vice President of the Society during his time in UCD.
Most of the College's societies, including the UCD Student Union itself can trace their roots to the L&H.
Earlsfort Years
Before the university moved to Belfield, the debates were held on Saturday nights in the PhysicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
Theatre, in Earlsfort Terrace
National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall is a concert hall located on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin, Ireland, close to St. Stephen's Green, and is the principal national venue for classical music concerts in Ireland....
. Here, the popularity and renown of the L&H flourished and the Society first became known on a national scale. Quite often, events occurring at the Society's debates made front page news in the national press.
At various occasions, college authorities and external bodies attempted to shut the Society down, most memorably in 1961, when the L&H was suspended by UCD authorities. No such attempts have been successful.
On the Belfield Campus
In 1972, the Society again relocated, this time to UCD's Belfield campus, where the majority of students now studied. Since this time the Society has grown in size and popularity and continues to be the 'bearpit' for debate that it was renowned for since the 1950s.Centennial and Sesquicentennial Histories
A 150th Anniversary book, edited by Frank Callanan SC, has been published to update James Meenan’s centenary history of the society, published in 1955. The book, together with the reprinted centenary history, details the complete story of Ireland's most famous debating society and comprises a range of articles by various personalities from the L&H's past on the last 50 years of the Society.Auditor and Committee
The L&H is run by a committee of enrolled members, each with a specific portfolio of responsibilities. The committee is chosen by the Auditor, who is elected on a yearly basis by the enrolled membership of the Society. The Auditor is the head of the committee and responsible for the general running of the Society. Each Session begins in or around the beginning of the month of March, on the date of the annual AGM. The new Auditor for the coming year is appointed at this meeting, either as the result of an election from the enrolled membership or, in cases where a single candidate is unopposed, by nomination.Previously in the 153rd session of the Society recorded record membership for any University society in Europe. The membership exceeded 5,000 members, surpassing by several hundred the previous record also set by the L&H in its 150th session.
President and Vice-Presidents
These roles are largely ceremonial. The President of the L&H is Dr. Hugh BradyHugh R. Brady
Hugh R. Brady, FRCPI, is President and Chief Officer of University College Dublin. He was one of the two Professors of Medicine and Therapeutics in UCD before becoming the eighth President of the University....
, the President of UCD. There are a number of vice-presidents, mostly made up of former members.
Funding
The Society has received an increased amount of funding in recent years, due to corporate sponsorship and college contributions. The Society receives far less funding from College authorities than its yearly calendar of events demands, and as such seeks corporate sponsorship to cover the costs of each Session.See also
- List of L&H auditors 1855-2010Auditors of the Literary and Historical Society (University College Dublin)The Auditor of the Literary and Historical Society at University College Dublin, Ireland is a position elected by the members of the society. In this setting, the term auditor has no connection with accounting but means "a position corresponding to that of President of the Union at Oxford or...