The Bugler Shield was initiated in 1986 when Dr. Harry Bugler (from Ennis and practicing as a GP in Ballinasloe) gifted the Shield to the school. His daughter Shelia Bugler was a boarder in the school at the time. She is now an established writer living in England.
This year the house debated the motion – Social media has enabled fake news and damaged free speech.
The team for the proposition was captained by Mya O’Connor alongside Ayanda Sengwayo and Dara Olaniyan-Collins. The opposition was captained by Zainab Khan with teammates Roisin Mulvihill and Patricia Fernadez Martin.
The afternoon’s proceedings were chaired by Ébha Crehan and Marianna Doolan.
Well-honed skills were on show and lively debate ensued between the speakers. Clear and well thought out arguments were put forward, with all debaters expressing their own points and building on their teammates arguments.
The audience showed great interest throughout and did not shy away from expressing their views on the motion when the time came to open the debate to the floor.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to Senator Gabrielle McFadden who always gives her time so willingly to the school for our annual debate. Before announcing the winning team and this year’s recipient of the Bugler Shield, Ms. McFadden shared her knowledge and expertise in the debating arena. She provided constructive criticism to the debates on ways that they can continue to develop their skills.
Congratulations to the team for the opposition who were named overall winners and team member Patricia Fernadez Martin who won the much coveted Bugler Shield.
We look forward to seeing our Bower debaters going from strength to strength in the next academic year as they participate in weekly lunchtime debates and workshops as part of our Junior and Senior Alpha deBata Society.