News

Thanks to our relationship with the US Consulate Belfast and thanks to Professor Tony Gallagher, several members of the Literific had the unique opportunity to attend US President Barack Obama’s address to young people at the Waterfront Hall prior to his journey to Lough Erne for the G8 meeting.

It was a wonderful opportunity to hear President Obama’s thoughts on a shared future in Northern Ireland and an honour for our members to see the President’s rhetorical style up close and personal (some of us even from the second row!).

The council is appreciative for our ongoing relationship with the US Consulate in Belfast and looks forward to future events we can collaborate on!

This summer, the Literific has had two major firsts! In one day, we had both our first Literific Trust meeting and our first alumni debate as facilitated by the QUB Alumni Office.

After setting up and ratifying members to the Literific Trust during the 164th Session, the Councils from the 164th and 165th Sessions met with trustees Professor Tony Gallagher, Basil McCrea, and Paul Shannon on Sat. 15 June at Riddel Hall to discuss accomplishments in the past year and plans for the upcoming session. We would like to thank them for taking time from their day to provide invaluable advice and for the Queen’s University Belfast Alumni Office for providing us with a space at Riddel Hall.

The first Literific Trust meeting was followed by a debate at the Golden Reunion with Literific alumni from the 1950s and 1960s.  The motion was “The Future Isn’t What It Used to Be” with former Literificans Mike Douse & Denis Tuohy proposing and current debaters Andrew Carruthers and Julia Andrade Rocha opposing the motion. Former Literifican Brian Garrett chaired the debate while recent graduate and Literific trustee Paul Shannon acted as timekeeper. Images from the debate can be found here at the QUB Alumni Office’s Facebook page.

The debate ended in a draw (!) and Literificans old and new had a chance to partake in drinks at the pub (of course) while discussing the Literific during its heyday.

In order to continue fostering these connections with former Literific members, the council have decided to set up an alumni network. Anyone who is a former Literific member and who is interested in keeping up to date with our debates, special events, and formals, please fill out our form at the Get Involved page.

On 22 May, members of the Literific had the opportunity to participate in BBC Free Speech, a live debate show on BBC Three that was filmed in Derry~Londonderry.

Several Literificans, including Adam Kydd, Paul Shannon, James McAlister and Julia Andrade Rocha, were able to pose questions to the panel concerning youth unemployment, Stormont’s handling of the economy, equal marriage and several other pressing issues.

We are hoping that the Literific will be able to attend similar events and debates in the future should they happen in Northern Ireland. If there are any debates you would like to see the Literific attend, please contact us at internal@literific.org.