Blackhall Place students are among those through to this year’s final of The Irish Times Debate.

Speakers from UCD and the Solicitors’ Apprentice Debating Society of Ireland (SADSI) are all through to next month’s final.

Blackhall competitors Conor White and Ross Merriman of SADSI won the team contest, last night (10 February) while Pierce Lyons won the prize for top individual speaker.

Longest-running contest

This is the 62^nd year of Ireland’s longest-running third-level debating competition, and the final will take place in UCC next month.

Semi-final speakers included teams and individual speakers from the Cadet School, King’s Inns, UCD and UCC.

They debated the motion that: ‘This house believes that RTÉ is not fit for purpose’.

Former debate winner and judging chair Aislinn Carty said that the debate had been thought-provoking on the topic of what should be expected from a national broadcaster.