The Laois County Council chamber was filled on Monday afternoon for the final of the Laois inter-schools debating competition.
Coláiste Íosagáin from Portarlington took on Portlaoise College in the senior final while there was also a Best Speaker event with representatives from both the finalists and from schools who took part in the earlier rounds of the competition.
The motion debated in the team event was: “That in the 100 years since we gained independence Ireland has lost its cultural identity”.
The debate took place in the Laois County Council Chambers which was filled with family and friends who came to support the teams.
It was a really tough debate with Colaiste Íosagáin proving themselves to be a brilliant team but in the end it was Portlaoise College who were victorious and managed to take home the senior trophy for the first time since 2014.
The Portlaoise College team consisted of Catriona Dillon (Captain), Fionn Abbey, Callen Dunne, Suzanne Gabrysiak and Noor Fatima (who unfortunately missed the competition due to illness)
On the same day shortly after the debate the Best Speaker Shield took place. This was a competition for people who had been a member of a team in previous rounds of the competition and had been selected by the judges as the best individual speaker in that debate.
There were speakers from St Mary’s CBS, Scoil Críost Rí, Heywood Community School, Colaiste Íosagáin and Portlaoise College in the competition.
The topic given was “I want to believe”.
Ben Campbell from Portlaoise College made it a great day for the school by claiming the gold medal.
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