HistOracle (The Hist)

Contents Auditor’s Address Hist History The GMB Freshers’ Week Timetable Chamber Debating Termcard Upcoming Guests Past Members & Guests Membership Deals Getting Involved Competitive Debating Inaugaral Schools Debating Equity Ents Members of Committee

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Editors: Catherine O’Brien Avalon Kennedy Astles Nam Ngheim

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Contributors: Catherine Kelly Luke Fehily Doireann O’Brien MJ Gillen Donnchadh Curran Caoimhin Hamill Sophie Furlong Tighe Hugh O’Laoide Kayleigh Newcomb Niall Maher

Thank you so much to Sophie for helping organise sponsorship, but also for introducing me to new coffee shops so I expand my horizons.

Thank you to everyone who checked and helped proofread everything, especially Kayleigh for helping to edit and check the bios and make sure they were equitable! And to Sarah McGuinness for offering constructive criticism every time I finished a new page.

And thank you to everyone who bought me coffee while I was working on this to help keep me alive- the list is too long but you know who you are and you’re all amazing!

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History of the Hist The College Historical Society is the oldest student society in the world, with origins dating back to the foundation of Edmund Burke’s Club in 1747.

This year marks our 249th session, our first meeting having been held in 1770. During those 249 years, the Society and its members have affected significant change within politics and society, proving itself to be a leader in debate in the College and Ireland as a whole.

As can be expected, the Hist has lived through times with different views and attitudes towards social issues. It has, however, promoted debate and discussion throughout. In fact, it was expelled twice - once in 1794 for debating ‘questions of modern politics’ and again in 1815 for debating whether Brutus was justified in killing Caesar. It was later re-admitted so long as it did not debate the ‘politics of the day.’

As such, you can imagine members of the Hist have been influential in shaping the course of Irish history. Eight Hist members (including rebel leader Robert Emmet) were expelled in 1798 for taking part in the Rebellion led by former auditor Theobald Wolfe Tone. Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, served as Auditor in 1862. Further notable members include Samuel Beckett, Oscar Wilde, Ernest Walton and Mary Harney - the Hist’s first female Auditor.

Since 1904, the Hist has been based in the Graduates Memorial Building in Trinity College Dublin and holds debates every Wednesday. These chamber debates deal with issues in current affairs and have featured prominent politicians John Hume, Michael McDowell and Mary Robinson.

Indeed the Hist has attracted many notable guests from all disciplines since its foundation, including Winston Churchill, Gordon Brown, Judith Butler, Mary McAleese, Desmond Tutu, Bob Geldof and W.B Yeats. Notable guests in the past year include Anne Anderson, Reverend Al Sharpton and Ha-Joon Chang.

The Hist has of course long been a force in competitive debating, with members having won the Galway Open, Maynooth Open, Trinity Womens’ Open and the Irish Mace competition in just the last year alone, and playing host to both the Trinity IV and the Trinity Open each year. Indeed the current president of the society is Prof. David McConnell, former Auditor, winner of both the Irish Mace and the Irish Times debate competitions, leading geneticist, and Chairman of the Irish Times Trust.

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This year, the society celebrates its 50th anniversary of women’s admission to the society, and next year marks 250 years since its foundation. Having been labeled the ‘greatest of the school of the orators’ by US Senator Edward Kennedy, the Society looks forward to continuing to be an influential force in Irish politics while furthering Trinity’s intellectual tradition for the for the foreseeable future.

The

GMB

The College Historical Society has been based in the Graduates Memorial Building since 1904. The building houses the Hist, the University Philosophical Society (the Phil) and the College Theological society. The GMB was damaged by a fire in December 2000 which destroyed the upper floors of the building. Repairs were completed in 2002. Today, the building stands strong. Here’s a quick guide to where everything is located in this building which we call our home!

Third Floor

The third floor of the GMB is home to a computer room, which tends to be rather quiet. Our library is also here, which is where we store our books and records from long ago!

Second Floor

Hist members have free access to the five pool tables and three snooker tables that are located on the second floor of the GMB. It can be a nice and quiet place to chill. The Theo also have their library on this floor, the Bram room.

First Floor

The Hist resides here! Well, that is, both the Hist Committee room and Hist Conversation Room (also known as convo) are here. All Hist members are welcome to use the latter whenever it is open- the couches are good for naps in the middle of a hectic day!

Ground Floor

The debating chamber is located here, where our weekly debates are held on Wednesday nights. The other debating society in Trinity, the Phil, also have their rooms here.

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Comrades and new recruits! Welcome to the Hist! Chamber Debating at the Hist is an integral part of the Hist’s legacy and is brought to you by the CorrSec Department. Every Wednesday, the society meets together in our ambient debating chamber located in the GMB in which students and guests are pitted against each other on opposing sides in a battle of wits, words and wisdom to debate on the motion of the day. Every debate is sure to lead to quite the entertaining evening and we hope that you will leave having your perspective and opinions changed as well as your craving for spicy discourse filled!

Private Business

Private business is a humorously archaic tradition held at the beginning of each debate and is open to all members of the society. Firstly, the Auditor, Catherine calls the house to order before our Records Secretary, Caoimhin will read the minutes of the last private business meeting, which usually involves making light of members of committee and the general happenings within the Trinity community. Then, Luke, the Treasurer, will impose fines, which, by the way, rarely happens. The Librarian, Donnchadh, will then ask if there is any other business, before Private business comes to a close. At this point, committee leaves the chamber to plot world domination before returning with the guests after which public business begins.

Public Business

The chair takes their place in the grand chair at the head of the table and calls the house to order, at which point Caoimhin arises to read the minutes of the last public business meeting. Several minutes later the debate begins. Arguments are made, tears are shed, POI’s thrown and hearts broken. The debate comes to a close after eight speeches. The chair responds with a short speech, commenting on the debate as a whole, before putting the motion to the House, asking the audience to call ‚aye‘ to pass the motion, or ‚nay‘ to reject it. The Auditor informs the audience and members of the society of upcoming events before extending the invitation to attend a reception upstairs, bringing the evening to a close.

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Hugh O’Laoide

Burke Chair Man. Hugh-nit. Twitter influencer. Not that you need to read of these descriptions here, for he will simply tell you himself.

Hugh possesses a self awarness of such magnitude that he will ensure that you too are just as aware of everything about him.

It has been ingrained into his mind that nothing good is worth doing unless absolutely everyone is reminded of it every second, preferably on a public social media platform. This man will carry the weight of your problems with you, much like he carries the weight of many heavy gym objects, and shares with everyone just how heavy it was, because, and this cannot be emphasised enough, everyone wants to know.

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Do you like arguing and listening to the sound of your own voice? Are you looking for a way to boost your confidence and public speaking skills? Or are you just looking for an adrenaline fuelled way to make friends and have fun? Then you should try competitive debating!

Here in Trinity, the Hist is the heart of competitive debating, having had multiple European finalists and winners of international competitions in the last few years. Arguing in front of a bunch of strangers might seem intimidating to begin with, but once you’ve spoken in a few debates or attended a few workshops you’ll be wondering why you were ever nervous (just try not to start picking arguments with everyone you know!). There’s no need to have any previous experience, in fact some of our best debaters picked up debating in university, so feel free to come to the Hist to give debating a try.

Generally a debate plays out like this: you get given a topic, such as whether or not we should legalise drugs, as well as being told whether you are speaking for or against it. You then get 15 minutes to prepare. While that sounds like a ridiculously short time at first, it’s part of the challenge, and you’ll be surprised at what you

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and your partner will be able to come up with!

If your partner knows some spec knowledge about the topic then all the better, or if not then you can become fast friends by bonding over your shared cluelessness.

We send people to competitions all over the world, like Oxford, Cambridge, Mexico and Greece, as well as more exotic places like Cork, Galway and Belfast. Most of them are two day competitions, so we head off for the weekend to party, with the occasional debate thrown in to justify the money we spend on team spots.

We also host our own debating competitions, the Trinity IV and Trinity Women’s Open in January, as well as some competitions just for first years later in Hilary Term. Even if you don’t feel like debating at those, be sure to turn up to volunteer in exchange for free food and friendship.

The first competitions of the year begin in October, with a one day competition, the UCD Novice IV, being held to help ease you into debating on the 19th of October. There will be sign-up sheets in the conversation room (on the first floor up), as well as on Facebook, or you can email Doireann at debateshist@gmail.com.

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Do you have thoughts on things? Do you like to hear people express thoughts on things? If you answered yes to either or both of these questions, sounds like you’re an ideal member for the College Historical Society. The Hist is an extremely diverse community with over 9,000 members, containing Trinity students from all over Ireland, and much further afeild.

We regularly come together for Debates, Derbies of Rhetoric, and just to hangout in the Hist Conversation room where discussion and, most importantly, debate around any topic you can think of, are a staple. As you can imagine, with such a wide range of topics for discussion, our members come from all backgrounds and have highly varying sets of beliefs, opinions, and experiences. While a diverse community is something we pride ourselves on, this clash of cultures and lifestyles can sometimes be a source of misunderstandings and conflicts; my role as Equity Officer is to prevent these situations, and to quickly resolve them if they arise.

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Ultimately, I exist to ensure everyone always feels welcome, so if something seems ‘unequitable’, inaccessable, or makes you uncomfortable, give me a shout.

My personal goal is to provide every member of the Hist with and equal opportunity to participate in and enjoy the society’s events. If there are any problems or tensions that arise throughout the year, feel free to report them to me either by phone, by Facebook, by email, or in person. All complaints will be treated in a confidential.. discreet, manner, and I’ll never do anything without clearing it with you first. Whether it is to make an equity complaint, discuss an upsetting situation, or if you’d simply like to know a bit more about the society, or any aspect of its running, (this is my third year on committee, so I know too much), I’m always happy to meet for a coffee (this is a lie, I don’t drink coffee, but I do like hot chocolate and fruit juice) and a chat.

Ents? Ents. Look, debating is great, but you know what makes it better? Free food and beverages. At the Hist our plan is to make your first year as memorable as possible. And the way we at the ents department want to do that is with this aforementioned free food and beverages. The receptions at the Wednesday night debates are the perfect opportunity to make new friends, eat copious amounts of hummus crackers, and chat about the discourse. As well as this, we’ll be hosting the Hist Ball, an excellent opportunity to reuse the debs dress/suit you spent an extortionate amount of money on. We all meet up in the convo room, get the bus to a fancy location, and pretend we’re terribly civilised and cultured people, before becoming slightly less civilised and cultured people.

Our goal for freshers week is also to show you Dublin! More specifically, show you the best bits of Dublin. Look at our freshers’ week schedule to see how we can do this for you. We have pub quizzes, speed friending, and our headline event- the night out. And we will be at all of this, looking very glittery and slightly dead.

Throughout the year, we’ll have various secret events to keep you going throughout all of the lectures you’ll definitely be going to.

Mystery tour? Christmas dinner? Kareoke night? I know, you don’t.

This is where I derive my power. Secrecy.

It’s 249, a year of fun is ahead of you all. And we’re delighted to welcome you to the Hist.

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Meet our

Members

Pierce Sinnott - Senior Member of Committee

One of the highest ranked YuGiOh Duellists in the world, Pierce is not just SMC of the Hist, but also our Defender. He has often sent debaters, members of the Other Society, and moderately sized plot holes to the Shadow Realm. This Dark Magician is also an expert in ranting, thermodynamics, and incomplete epic fantasy series. If you have a few days to spare, ask him how those three things relate. No one really knows but he. No one knows why he keeps trying to warn us of the impending heat death of the Universe either. Or why he always looks so terribly guilty.

Actually now that we think about it there’s a finite probability that Pierce has come back in time to save us from universal destruction - an apocalypse for which he’s responsible. We’re not saying it’s likely, just that hair that big MUST be full of secrets.

Alex Soo - Pro-Librarian

A professional athlete, Alex Soo is well known for his legendary performance at the Quidditch World Cup. After viewing his skills basketball player Lebron James is reputed to have personally called Alex, concluding that their combined skills would make them an unstoppable on-court duo. Sadly for the Cleveland native he was rejected by Mr Soo as the young man is also occupied by winning debating tournaments and views both Mr. James’ athletic and verbal skills as amateurish compared to his own. The one thing to remember is that you must not boo the Soo.

Avalon Kennedy Astles - Pro-Censor

Has Avalon ever told you that in her native California, she was president of the Marine Biology Club? Or that she wants to prove that unicorns exist in the near future? Avalon is known for her outgoing personality and an endearing wholesome light whose voice can be heard from all corners of the Graduates Memorial Building. She is also a master at being a full time mom for college students who can’t sort their daily schedule out.

Bríd O’Donnell - Pro-Events Convenor

A master of computing, Brid, is known for her efforts to use quantum computing to build a machine capable of doing her chamber speeches for her. Don’t be fooled by her thick American accen, Bríd O’Donnell is NOT a yank. Suspiciously nice for a STEM student, she claims to be from Dalkey, in Dublin. Either way, Southside or USA, we think where she’s from is reason enough to impeach her from the society.

Caitlín Cooney - Pro-Records Secretary

She struck at midnight or so they say, those whispers in the wind. Alarms blared and the spotlights frantically searched the complex. But, alas, she was nowhere to be seen. And neither were the chocolates. She claims to work at Butler’s Chocolate Factory. But where do these chocolates come from? Is she who she said she is? Originating in another nearby college, she decided the GMB was her true calling, switched courses and now graces our hallowed halls instead.

Casper Kurpan - Pro-Debates Convenor

One fateful eve, the bedazzled Elders of the George and Grindr convened to fill a deep void in the hearts of people. Huddled around a cauldron, they cast mighty spells and added the finest ingredients they could muster, amongst them a the softest, shiniest hairs of the land, and whole jar of attention-seeking into the mixture, And so he emerged from explosions of glitter ready to steal yo’ man. The 249th session of the Hist began with this resplendent creature gracing us with his presence from a gay nightclub in Vietnam via video call, enough said.

Ciarán Heelan - Pro-Correspondence Secretary

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Despite attending one of the world’s most renowned institutions for homo-eroticism, he is perhaps the most notorious womaniser the hallowed halls of Trinity College have ever borne witness to. And ladies, what’s a bigger turn on than knowing he’s an active member of Young Fine Gael?

Outside of his relentless pursuit of the fairer sex and unfairer distribution of wealth he has other interests. He claims his time as Librarian of Laurentians to have not been totally useless, despite Catholics only really needing like… one book.

of Committee Constance Quinlan - Pro-Debates Convenor

“Did you know I’m a vegan?”, a phrase she once took great pleasure in shouting at random strangers. Then alas she crossed swords with the Records Secretary. Now, a shell of her former green, mean, veggie munching machine self she stumbles along the streets of Dublin muttering it repeatedly to herself in the hope it may one day come true again. She is also known for her inability to feel pain. A grown man might weep when impaled, but to her, it’s only a scratch.

Harry Humes - Pro-Correspondence Secretary

Sir Harold Humes, First of his Name, the Fox of Fermanagh, and Warden of the North. He carries himself with an upper-class Protestant swagger that lets you know that he could steal your girl or evict you from your home at any moment. Any man seeking to challenge his honour should be aware Mr Humes is in possession of both a rapier and a moustache. A moustache well known to have only once received a trim, during a duel that was a particularly… close shave.

Sameer Shaikh - Pro-Treasurer

A master of secrecy Sameer has never engaged in gossip a day in his life. Repeating the timeless words of Michelle Obama “When they go low we go high” he sits above it all. Arguably the most fashionable MC, Sameer is easily recognisable by his excellent clothing choices and is always prepared to critique your outfit of the day and help you become a more fashionable version of you. Also, he vehemently disagrees that Coffeeangel could possibly be preferred to Dublin Barista School.

Tatiana McNamara - Pro-Correspondence Secretary

“Ello, Ello, Ello - from the other side of campus” Tatiana can be heard booming from all corners of Trinity with her imperialist Essex twang. She would have you believe she was born in Donegal, but don’t be fooled. Born to the late Viceroy of Arabia in England, Tatiana has been conniving to use her increasing knowledge of Jewish and Islamic Civilisations, and her role as Secretary of Sofia, to restore her family to its previous position of power.

Jack Synnott - Pro-Records Secretary

Jack is pretty mysterious. Who is he really? If our suspicions are correct, he’s really an undercover police officer, trying to infiltrate our esteemed Society. Don’t ask him about it though, because he’ll send you an article a month about how Undercover Cops are like, totally ruining the fabric of our society. One thing is for certain, he is a big fan of Doctor Who, and can easily impress you with more niche knowledge on this BBC show than you could ever believe possible for one individual to possess.

Laura Crean - Pro-Librarian

Though not obvious at first with all the straight white men here mansplaining women’s rights, but as Champion of Harneys 2018, Laura is officially the wokest person in the Hist. Is there any man she cannot wipe the floor with in a debate? Furthermore, is there anything about science she doesn’t know? Renowned for her… interesting experiments she seeks to uncover the truths of debating. Despite claiming the results of her research have been “inconclusive”, the Hist has gotten closer to reaching its gender quota.

Nam Nghiem - Pro-Censor

After having topped the tab of Maidens this year, you might have thought Nam would have a big head. But he assures us that as well as being the cleverest debater who always has the best thought out arguments, he’s also super modest about it. A Law and Business student, Nam probably could kill us all in our sleep, and obviously get away with it. But Nam is too nice for that, right?

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