On the night of Friday, February 27th, debaters Anya Wilson and Athena Wu of the College Historical Society (Hist) won the Demosthenes Trophy in the Irish Times debate final. The Demosthenes Trophy is awarded to the best-performing team. Wu and Wilson were the only Trinity team in the final.
Speaking to the University Times, Wu said, “I’m over the moon. I’m so delighted that I have no words except for those.”
In a statement to the University Times, Wilson said, “Athena and I worked so hard to get to the final, so it feels so rewarding that our hard work paid off, but we also just had so much fun throughout the whole competition. It is such an honour to win such a prestigious competition as the Irish Times Debate and of course I feel so proud to represent the Hist!”
The Hist is the most-winning team in the history of the competition, which dates back to 1960, having now secured their 16th win. The Irish Times is considered the most prestigious debating competition in Ireland. About 300 third-level students compete every year.
The Irish Times Debate is the pre-eminent debating competition for third-level students in Ireland and has been since its inception in 1960. From the starting field of around 300 competitors, three emerge as the winners of the Demosthenes Trophy and the Christina Murphy Memorial Trophy for the best individual speaker.
Wilson and Wu won as a team. The last year Trinity won as a team was 2020, and the last year an individual from Trinity won was 2021.
The debating competition is sponsored by the Irish Times, and the winners receive a month-long trip around America to various universities, with locations including Florida, California, and New York.
Last year, the Hist’s former auditor, Tom Francis, was the runner-up as an individual, and Wu was a runner-up as an individual in 2024.
Past winners have included Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ireland Donal O’Donnell, Supreme Court judge Adrian Hardiman, and High Court of Ireland judges David Holland (judge) and Cian Ferriter. Famous finalists include Mary Robinson, Michael D. Higgins, and Mary Harney.
— Update and Correction February 28th 12:20 —
The above article was updated to include a statement from Athena Wu, and corrected to clarify that Wu was a runner up as an individual in 2024.
— Update March 1st 7:28 pm–
The above article was updated to include a statement from Anya Wilson.
