Pictured left to right: Irish National Debate Champions Rob Fitzpatrick and Adrianne Ward from University College Dublin and Liam Boyce from the University of Galway.
Irish dancing, Irish singing, and Irish debating: Irish Night at Carroll on Thursday, April 10
Helena, MT—Irish dancers will tap, Irish tin whistles will whistle, and champion Irish debaters will show off their accents as the Talking Irish face off against the Carroll College Talking Saints on Carroll’s Irish Night.
The evening starts with the Tiernan Irish Dancers at 6 pm on Thursday, April 10, in the Lower Campus Center.
“We let Butte have St. Paddy’s Day to themselves, but now it’s Carroll’s turn to celebrate all things Irish,” said Brent Northup, Talking Saints debate coach.
Irish Night will begin at 6 pm with a half hour of traditional Irish dancing from the Tiernan Irish Dancers, a troupe with students from ages 3 to 18—complete with costume changes and colorful Irish attire.
Next up, around 6:30 pm, will be Gabe, Maggie plus more branches from the sprawling Brennan family tree! Gabe says the family will “offer up a few tunes” some Irish, some country. Come and enjoy guitars, banjos, tin whistles, mandolins, and harmonicas.
The evening will conclude with the debate, starting around 7:15 p.m., featuring Adrianne, Rob, and Liam against Talking Saint seniors Spencer McDonald, Charlie Said, and Vicente Ortega. Senior June LePage will act as emcee and chair the debate.
The topic: This house believes the American democratic experiment has failed.
The Irish will affirm, agreeing with the topic. The Americans will disagree, defending their homeland.
Lively, fun, perhaps heated. Tripping will result in a trip to the penalty box.
The Irish debaters, Rob and Adrianne from University College Dublin (UCD) and Liam from the University of Galway, won the Irish Times national championship on February 28 in Dublin. Their prize includes a tour of American colleges from Tennessee to California to Colorado to Montana.
Helena is their last stop before returning home on Sunday, April 13.
“Montana has a proud Irish tradition, and Carroll has a long legacy of Irish alums,” said Northup. “All our campus food at Sodexo—every bite—is baked in Irish sounds supplied by the cheerful voice of Clare O’Malley, catering manager.”
The community—from Last Chance Gulch to Anaconda—is invited to attend Irish Night, a free event, beginning at 6 pm (dancing), followed by 6:30 (singing) and concluding with debating starting at 7:15 pm, on Thursday, April 10, in the Lower Cube.
A night full of happy Hibernians.
Oh, yes, and there will be Irish soda bread afterward. But no Guinness—not on campus, anyway.