Three Irish debaters are traveling to the University of Miami after winning the Irish Times Final. Aisling Tully, Dara Keenan, and Leah Morgan will debate Anna Ivanova, Julia Lynch, and Virgil Capote from the nationally-ranked UM Debate Team on the motion This house believes that democracies should prioritize interculturalism.
“We love hosting the Irish. We have been doing so for many years, and every Irish debater has been fantastic,” says David Steinberg, senior lecturer and director of the University of Miami Debate Team.
For more than 50 years, The Irish Times has sponsored the Irish Times Debating Championship in Ireland. Winners of the debate tour the U.S. in a tradition that began in 1980. This is University of Miami’s 15th year hosting the Irish team.
“As debaters, they value humor and audience engagement, and, of course, they have great accents. They never lose the forest for the trees, and have an uncanny ability to weigh the big issues without getting bogged down in debater’s tricks or technical points” says Steinberg.
This year, the three winning debaters are touring the U.S. from March 15-April 18 with stops at several universities. The last stop on the tour is at the American National Debate Championships where top debaters from across the U.S. compete in one of the largest tournaments in the country.
For the UM debate, the teams compete in a 3-on-3 public debate with time set aside for audience participation.
“The Irish style values the audience and the format is a modified town-hall style, inviting audience questions and participation during a portion of the debate,” says Steinberg.
The Irish Debate takes place on March 27 at 6:30 p.m. in the Shalala Student Center, Senate Room, third floor. This event is free and open to the public The next public debate UM is hosting is the Third Annual ACC Debate Championship, April 1-2. For more information, please visit http://debate.miami.edu/acc-debate-tournament/.
