The last Challenging Times of the millennium (or the first of the next, depending on the way you look at it) is well under way. The qualifying rounds have left 16 teams ready to compete for intellectual glory, not to mention a hefty cheque for their native institution. The remaining teams, in no particular order, are: NUI Maynooth; Griffith College Dublin; NUI Galway; Mary Immaculate College, Limerick; UCC; Galway-Mayo IT; Trinity College Dublin; Waterford IT; the University of Ulster; Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (long-term holders of the longest college name in Ireland prize); DIT; King's Inns; the National College of Ireland; and the Royal College of Surgeons.
The next round will be recorded in early December and aired on RTE in January.
Tonight sees the first debate of the first round of the 40th Irish Times Debates competition.
The venue will be King's Inns, where teams from TCD Hist, Maynooth Lit & Deb,UCC Philosoph, DCU Debating Society, UCD L&H, UL Debating Union, UCD Law, TCD Law Soc, TCD Phil and the King's Inns will compete. The topic for tonight's contest is "This house would buy VIP magazine".
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