Kingsmill-Moore Invitational

The Kingsmill-Moore Invitational is a one-day invitational debating competition held in the Graduates' Memorial Building of Trinity College, Dublin, organised by the College Historical Society and the University Philosophical Society, traditionally on a Thursday late in January. It is part of the annual Trinity College Intervarsity.

Format

In its current format, it is a knock-out competition comprising of sixteen invited teams from all over the world - with teams from as far afield as Harvard, Oxford and Sydney all competing. The competition has three rounds during the day - a seeding round followed by quarter- and semi-finals. The final takes place in the evening in the chamber, with a wide audience drawn from around college and a special guest chair - past chairs for such events have included Trinity Senator David Norris and Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore.

In the past, the competition had been a one-day tabbed competition, breaking to the final. Under this format, each team got three debates over the course of the day.

Origin

The competition derives its name from the former Chief Justice of the Irish State T.C. Kingsmill-Moore, a former Auditor of the College Historical Society. The competition was originally simply an annual debate with four teams. Similar to the Dean Swift Intervarsity - named for former President of the University Philosophical Society author Dean Swift - it was originally a single-society event that was merged into a jointly-run competition coming under the umbrella of the Trinity IV.

Scheduling

It is traditionally held the day prior to the commencement of the the Dean-Swift Intervarsity competition in late January. The event itself is co-hosted by the College Historical Society and the University Philosophical Society. As such, the event is the first day of the three-day competition. Unlike the Dean Swift (when rounds start in late afternoon or evening of the Friday before a full day on the Saturday), rounds start at 10am or 11am in the morning and run throughout the Thursday, essentially closing the building to college students for the day (save access to computers or the Snooker Rooms).

External links

• Trinity IV Homepage
• The College Historical Society Homepage
• The University Philosophical Society Homepage

Past finals

• Photos & Recordings of the final of the Kingsmill Moore in January 2008, with Labour leader Eamon Gilmore in the chair.
• Recordings of the final of the Kingsmill Moore in January 2007, with Senator David Norris in the chair.