A team from the UCD Law Society became only the fifth Irish team to reach the semi-finals of the World Debating Competition, which was held earlier this month in Athens.

UCD students' union president Ian Walsh and team-mate Rossa Fanning were one of 15 teams from Ireland which competed in the competition, including teams from UCD, UCC, TCD, UL, King's Inns and the Solicitors' Apprentices' Debating Society of Ireland. In total, 300 teams from 36 countries were involved.

The UCD Law Soc team was the only Irish team to make the final 32, but came a-cropper in the semi-final when proposing the motion "That national treasures should be repatriated to their rightful owners". Walsh and Fanning have also made it through to the semi-finals of the Irish Times Debating Competition and will be hoping to emulate former IT winner Barra Faughnan, who was part of the last Irish team to make it to the semifinals of the "World's" in 1991. Barra went on to win the Irish Times Debate in that year.

"We were scuppered in the final last year, so now it's one more roll of the dice and then we'll retire gracefully," Walsh says.