Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas Season

The Mistletoe Party was  a great success last night. The Grinch it was agreed is much better when there is plenty of mulled wine and Christmas goodies.

The Philosoph want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Good luck to everyone heading to Worlds in Botswana on Saint Stephens Day. Do us proud!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Mistletoe Party

Well done to Sopie Scannell and Maureen Haverty who won the Internal Mace last night and so have become this years Mace Bearers. A special congratulations to Sophie who also won best speaker.

The Mistletoe Party takes place this Monday, December 13th. Following tradition the night is starting in Boole 1 with a Christmas movie and Christmas treats before moving to Sober Lane. Everyone must dress in appropriately festive outfits. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Good luck to everyone heading to Worlds on Saint Stephen's Day! And to everyone not heading to Botswana for the new year the Philosoph wish you a traditional Irish Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Final House Meeting

The last House Meeting of the semster takes place tonight at 19.30 in the Freemasons Lodge on Tuckey Street.

The final of the Internal Mace is taking place tonight. The motion is that This House Would Allow Citizens Erase some or all of their memories assuming it is allowed and there are no ill effects. Former Supreme Court Justice and current head of the Law Reform Commission Catherine McGuinness will chair the final. Tea and coffee will be served on arrival and afterwards we are heading to An Spailpin Fanach. We are meeting at the Student Center at 18.45 to walk down, otherwise you can meet us there!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Cork IV

The Cork Invitational and Inter Varsity Debating Competition took place over the weekend. Thursday saw the action kick off with the Invitational, a small select competition of a very high standard but with a very relaxed atmosphere. Thank you to everyone who participated and judged especially our CA Mark Collins. Well done to everyone who broke and in particular congratulations to Barbara Streisand (aka Muireann O’Dwyer and Niall Sherry) who won the competition in flamboyant style.



The IV kicked off in the Boole basement on Friday afternoon with mince pies. After debating the contentious issues surrounding banning private schools and Wikileaks, a barbeque dinner of hot dogs, burgers, salads and mulled wine awaited the competitors before they headed to the Old Bar for an intense and fiery karaoke session.


Despite the epic Friday night social everyone managed to make it pretty much on time to the waffle breakfast on Saturday morning. After blowing the power however, the breakfast was reduced to the old reliable bread and butter and the waffles were served for brunch. Throughout Saturday the pension, assassinating Korea’s Kim Jong Il and defaulting on the bailout and pulling out of the Euro, were debated and the best were separated from the rest. The best were rewarded with the opportunity to debate the legitimacy of protests and everyone was given plenty of mulled wine throughout the day to drown their sorrows. Christmas dinner was provided in the Main Rest with delicious apple crumble for desert and plenty of complimentary beverages.


Running very close to time for a debating competition (thank you competitiors for turning up on time and judges for being so efficient), the final kicked off before 21.00 in the majestic Aula Maxima. Cambridge, UCD, Leiden and Manchester got to argue about Irish sovereignty while the assembled crowd embraced the festive spirit in true Irish style and departed to Scotts nightclub with a glass of yakka in their hand. The announce was finally made after 01.00 in the morning, with Trinity taking the novice title and Leiden taking the IV win.


If you thought that was the end, it wasn’t! A house party followed, Times rounds took place in the Council Chambers on Sunday, UCC Maidens rounds are taking place all week, Friday will host the last House Meeting of the semester (Internal Mace Final in Freemasons Lodge at 19.30 with Catherine McGuinness) and the Mistletoe party on Monday December 13th kicks off with a Christmas movie at 18.30.



So to Anne the IV Convenor, congratulations. You ran a fantastic IV. To the CA, Ross Frenett and Tabmaster Stephen Goodman thank you for being so amazing all weekend. And to all competitiors and judges thank you for coming, we hope you had a great time and if you are still in Cork join us for our last House Meeting and Mistletoe party in the coming days!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Update

Maidens starts tonight. Good luck to everyone taking part! If anyone is interested in judging any of the rounds get onto the forum or email Sophie at competitive@uccphilosoph.com.

Development is on tonight so meet outside the Kane at 19.00. In preparation for the IV it will take the format of a judging workshop. Anyone judging at the IV is urged to attend! Also possibly shooting the final IV video so lots of fun to be had!

Internal Mace preliminary rounds are on Wednesday. Keep signing up on the forum! Final will be on Friday December 10th in the Freemasons Lodge. Catherine McGuinness will be giving an address.

The Invitational is on Thursday. Seriously excited! Registration is at 13.30 in the vicinity of the Tower Rooms. Drop in at any stage during the day! Social in Sober Lane.

IV kicks off on Friday! Even more serious excitement!!! Registration is at 14.30! Call into the Boole Basement at any stage over the weekend. Karaoke social in the Old Bar Friday night and heading to Scotts on Oliver Plunkett Street on Saturday. If you want to be involved in any way email Anne at iv@uccphilosoph.com or just call into us at any stage over the weekend. Also if anyone can offer crash please do!

Lots planned for the following two weeks too. We have more Maidens rounds, the Internal Mace Final and the Mistletoe Party! Going to be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, November 29, 2010

House Meeting CANCELLED!!!!!!!

We regret to inform you that tonights House Meeting, The Week in Politics with Fergus Finlay is cancelled due to the bad weather preventing Finlay travelling from Dublin. We apologise for the inconvenience.

In happier news the last House Meeting of the year is taking place in the Freemasons Lodge on Tuckey Street on Friday December 10th with Catherine McGuinness. In the meantime the IV is happening this weekend. Call into the Boole Basement on Saturday or into the Old Bar Fridauy Night for karaoke.

Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Week in Politics with Fergus Finlay and Senator Dan Boyle

Just to let everyone know The Week in Politics will now feature Senator Dan Boyle alongside Fergus Finlay. Be in Kane G19 at 19.30 on Monday Novemebr 29th!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Week in Politics with Fergus Finlay

On Monday November 29th at 19.30 in Kane G19 the Philosoph will take a look back at the week in politics. Fergus Finlay, former Labour press secretary, adviser to Dick Spring and potential Presidential candidate will address the House on the current political crisis and recent political developments. With the IMF and EU in Dublin, a general election on the way and a budget nobody is certain will pass we hear from the man the Sunday Business Post termed "one of the great backroom operators of Irish political history, a strategist, tactician, and media briefer par excellence". There will also be an opportunity for the audience to address questions to the Labour party activist, chief executive of Barnardo's and Irish Examiner columnist or to share their views on the state of our nation.

Friday, November 19, 2010

That This House Would Reintroduce Third Level Fees

We saw riots in Dublin. Then London copied us! The USI are preparing for another march in Cork on December 1st. In the meantime the Budget looms ever closer and the EU and IMF hover. The Philosoph want to know what you think about the concept of reintroducing third level fees!

Third level education is a right, claim the opposition. We need to continue to provide free education in order to fuel our recovery with a"smart economy". On the other side we hear that the Universities, not alone the country, cannot keep going on the current level of funding. Is it a case that fees secure a better future for us all in the long term? Who is right? Who is thinking of their own interests? Who is thinking of the national interest? And who's interest are you going to act in? Join the Philosoph on Monday Novemebr 22nd at 19.30 in Kane G19 to explore these questions and more.

In proposition Dr Declan Jordan of the UCC Economics Department will address the House. A USI Officer will stand in opposition. The discussion will then be opened to the floor. Whether you want to observe or contribute it is up to you but what we will ensure is that you have a good time. With a topic so close to students hearts there will no doubt be many passionate speeches and stimulating arguments. And to top it all off we have organised free pizza in Sober Lane for afters.

FEES DEBATE : Monday Novemebr 22nd, 19.30, Kane G19

Sunday, March 14, 2010

EGM

The EGM will take place this Tuesday at 18.00 in Western Gateway Building G.01. If you would like any information on the Constitutional Amendments or would like a list of them then please e-mail our Director of Elections, John Beechinor at: competitive@uccphilosoph.com.

TTHW Reject Atheism

The Special Projects Committee will be hosting their very own debate tomorrow on the motion "TTHW Reject Atheism" Speaking at this shall be: Michael Nugent, Peter Cave, Brian Bocking and Arpad Szakolczai.

This will take place on Monday 15th of March, 19.30 in UCC Kane G19. For more info contact Marie at: firstyearrep@uccphilosoph.com

Maidens

Congratulations to Sophie Scannell for winning the UCC Maidens final, and congrats as well to Anne O' Donovan for coming in second. Commiserations to the rest of the finalists and good luck to everyone taking part in the Maidens final in Galway!

Cork Open 2010

Registration for the 1st Annual Cork Open opens tomorrow at 10am. Email: corkopen@uccphilosoph.com. Make sure you register early - only 40 team spaces available!


For more info contact the Cork Open Convenor Alanna at: corkopen@uccphilosoph.com

Monday, March 1, 2010

Election Nominations

Elections nominations are now open for the UCC Philosoph committee of the 161st session. For more information check out the "election season" forum of the Philosoph boards or e-mail our external vice-auditor, and director of elections, John Beechinor@ competitive@uccphilosoph.com.

Munster Mace 2010

Last Saturday, the 27th of February, the UCC Philosophical Soiety hosted the annual Munster Mace. Here are the rounds motions:

1st round - TTHW Ban Gangsta Rap
2nd Round -TTHW Introduce Mandatory Voting
3rd Round - TTHW only give aid to democratic countries.

Final Round - TTHB That the public have a right to know if there is a sex offender living in their area.

Winners: Eva and Jack from Rockwell

Saturday, February 27, 2010

EGM

The UCC Philosophical Society is proud to announce that we will be hosting an EGM, in order to vote on some constitutional ratifications.

The time, date and venue of the EGM are yet to be confirmed.

Ammendements will be placed up on the board soon.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Embryonic Stem Cell Debate Tonight!

Be sure to come to the Embryonic Stem Cell Debate tonight guys! We are going to have Sen. Ronan Mullen speaking in opposition of the topic. It looks like its going to be pretty good, we already have 91 people confirmed on facebook so be sure to come! It's on tonight, in UCC Boole 4 and 19.30.

Social afterwards in the New Bar with concessions for Gorbys!

Development League

ATTENTION ALL:

The long-promised, oft whispered-about Development League will begin next tuesday, 23rd February.

--WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?--

*Over the next four weeks, those who sign up will take part in one debate a week, at the regular development time of 7:30pm tuesday.

*This is a team competition, in the British Parlimentary (BP) format, so teams of 2.

*Debates will be competitively judged, with both a team table and an individual speaker table maintained over the 4 weeks.

Can't attend every week?
No problem, each team and speaker will be marked on their best 3 performances, so if you only come to 3 of the next 4 weeks, you'll be fully eligible to win the competition.

-----WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?-----

This is a competition solely for those new to debating. This provides a non-threatening atmosphere for those who've been coming to Development all year to see how far they've progressed and for those who have just recently joined to dip their toes in the sea of persuasive speech.

If you want to improve your public speaking and debating skills, this is the best opportunity you'll get,as we are providing quality judges who will point you in the right direction and smack you if you persistently ignore advice .

Even more importantly than that, we will be providing a CASH PRIZE for both the highest-ranked team and highest ranked individual at the end of the league!!!!
The winners will be announced at a house party towards the end of term, and those in the top spots will have more money than they have ever dreamed of lavished upon them.

-----"THAT SOUNDS AMAZING! TELL ME WHAT TO DO"!-----

Sign up here with your teammate.

If you are partnerless, we would urge you to please sign up anyway - it is very unlikely that we will not be able to find you a partner.

-----TO REMEMBER-----

Every tuesday at 7:30pm sharp outside the Kane building, commencing next week!

Free food provided throughout the competition!

Millions of (Zimbabwean) dollars in cash prizes!

Any problems, questions, inquiries, or contact details for discrete ladies of virtue, please email me at development@uccphilosoph.com.

Looking forward to your participation,

Conall ó Deasmhúnaigh.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Irish Mace Semi-Final

Embroynic Stem Cell Debate

Development Term 2

All development workshops take place on Tuesdays at 19.30 in UCC Kane G19.

Every week we have a judging workshop which allows speakers of all
levels from beginners, to WUDC speakers to take part and
debate amongst one another. If you have no experience
in public speaking then don't worry and come along.
All speakers are paired with those at their own level.

Next week we are starting the development league! For more details come to the house Meeting

For more info contact Conall @ development@uccphilosoph.com

Galway IV

Congratulations to John Beechinor and Mark Collins who broke at the Trinity IV!
Congratulations aswell go to Conall O' Deasumnaigh and Mark Collins who made it
to the final of the Galway IV.

Embryonic Stem Cell Debate - Monday 22nd of February - UCC Boole 4 - 19.30

For our third debate of the year, we will be joining with the UCC Science Society,
for a debate on the topic of Embryonic Stem Cells and whether or not we
should allow this type of stem cell research to go ahead.

For more info contact Claire @ events@uccphilosoph.com

Irish Mace Results and Semi-Final

First off, congratulations to John Beechinor, our External Vice-Auditor, and Kieran
Murphy, our Society Archivist, on getting through to the semi-finals of the Irish Mace!

Secondly, the UCC Philosoph is proud to announce that we will be hosting one of the
semi-finals of the Irish Mace, here in UCC. The semi-final will take place in the Council
Chambers of UCC at 19.00 on Wednesday the 24th of February.

The motion is: "TTHW ban those under the age of 18 from attending religious
services and receiving instruction in religious practices and beliefs."


For more info contact John @ competitive@uccphilosoph.com

First Year Rep and SPC

The SPC is still looking for any and all enthusiastic members who want to
become a bigger part of the Philosoph. Any and all are welcome to join.

The SPC is currently working on it's debate of the year, and are having a
meeting this Tuesday in the Student's Centre at 18.30 for all those who
want to help out, If you are interested in helping out or taking part
then be sure to contact Marie Dromey, our first year representative.



For more info contact Marie @ 1styearrep@uccphilosoph.com

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Questions and Answers House Meeting

Press Release

To whom it may concern,

Just a quick note from UCC's Philosophical Society on a matter we thought may interest you. Please do also pass along the word to any interested colleagues.

Next Monday, the 25th of January we will be hosting a house meeting, in which we have invited speakers from all the major political parties to be a part of. The house meeting will be based on RTÉ'S Questions and Answers, and the house meeting will follow a similar format to the show. The special guest host for the evening will be Newstalk's Marc Coleman. Here are a list of speakers confirmed thus far:

Green Party - Sen. Dan Boyle
Labour - Alan Kelly MEP
Socialist Party - Cllr. Mick Barry

Others speakers are to be confirmed, we will give you more details as we have them.

Amongst topics up for discussion will include the current financial crisis, the civil partnership bill and the possible reintroduction of college fees.

We shall be having this debate, this coming Monday the 25th of January, in Boole 1 in the Boole Basement in UCC, at 19.30.

Feel free to contact me for anymore information, by replying to this e-mail, or by contacting our Internal Vice-Auditor, Claire O' Sullivan Greene at events@uccphilosoph.com.

Many thanks,

Emmet Curtin

Friday, January 1, 2010

UCC Philosoph at Worlds - Break

Unfortunately, none of the UCC Philosophical Society or UCC Law Society teams managed to break in Worlds. Commiserations to them, but they did a brilliant job of representing UCC in the largest student debating competition in the world. The UCC Law Society judges did not break either, however congratulations to Deirdre Milner of the UCC Philosoph who managed to break as a judge.

Well done guys and enjoy your time in Turkey!