WHILE we were away, the quarter final stage of Challenging Times, the Irish Times/RTE third level quiz competition reached its conclusion and the first semi final took place last week.
The advocational skills of the King's Inns team came to naught in the third quarter final. The budding barristers - had their case for a semi final place dismissed by former Challenging Times finalists Cork RTC (Ronan Cosgrave, Robert Hill, Jeremy Kelleher and sub Martin O'Keefe), who dispensed a short, sharp, 165 points to 110 shock to the legal eagles which left them sitting shaken in the art deco dock.
Without the option of leave to appeal, King's Inns (Mark O'Mahony, Daniel Donnelly, Mark Harty and sub Gareth Fleming) were forced once again to make an unsuccessful exit from this televisual court of knowledge.
In the last quarter final DCU (Damien McEvoy, Michael Lonergan, Philip Mansfield and sub Patrick Martin) beat UCC (Shane Power, Ruth O'Neill, Robert McNamara and sub Michael McGrath), former overall winners on two occasions, by 225 points to 65. They now face Cork RTC in the second semi final.
Last week UCG (Maidhc O Cathail, Ciaran MacLochlainn, Constantin Christofides and sub Tiernan McConville), last year's winners of the competition, beat Waterford RTC (Sean Cahill, Damien Wilkinson and Ruth Lynch) by 145 points to 115 in the first semi final.
Challenging Times is transmitted each Wednesday on RTE 1 at 8.30 p.m. The question master is, as ever, Kevin Myers. Sorry, girls, he's taken...
