Ucd Literary & Historical Society

The L&H was founded in 1854 by Cardinal John Henry Newman, who believed that there was a lot more to university than just studying for your degree. Now in its 169th Session, the L&H remains known as the definitive College Debating Union. Every Wednesday evening, the Society gathers together to watch as their fellow students, lecturers and international experts are pitted against each other to debate the contentious issues of the day, in the purpose-built Garret FitzGerald Chamber in UCD's Student Centre. In addition to debating, the L&H awards the Honorary Fellowship, also known as the James Joyce Award, to outstanding individuals at the forefront their fields. Past recipients include Martin Freeman, Ralph Fiennes, Will Ferrell, Hans Blix, Bill Browder, Emeli Sandé, Kristian Nairn, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The L&H competes in numerous intervarsity competitions across the UK and Ireland. We hold training sessions for our members throughout the academic year, and run in-house competitions for those who are new to college debating. Over the past five years, our members have travelled to Split in Croatia, Athens in Greece, Novi Sad in Serbia and Thailand to represent UCD in such competitions.