the general committee with an ordinary member chairing. The motions debated by the society tend to be varied and wide-ranging, giving students an opportunity to debate with experts on the specific motion chosen, sometimes based on an important issue taking place in current affairs. The society has addressed several controversial issues. In 2005, over 500 people attempted to gain access to a debate on abortion which was targeted by Youth Defence protesters and a debate on euthanasia was recorded for a documentary on the pro-euthanasia group Dignitas for the Canadian Discovery Channel. Politicians such as David Ervine, Jeffrey Donaldson and Nobel Peace Prize winner John Hume have spoken in debates on Northern Ireland. In 2005, the then Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell unveiled proposals for reform of the legal profession at a society debate on the matter. The inaugural meeting of the 236th session, in 2006, was addressed by Mary Robinson, a former President of Ireland, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Chancellor of the University of Dublin. The society has been addressed by every Taoiseach and President of Ireland. Competitive debating Before the creation of a competitive debating structure, representatives of the society were invited to speak at similar societies internationally. As early as 1932 James Auchmuty and Garrett Gill travelled to Moorhead to speak at Minnesota State University. The society's best debaters compete nationally and internationally against other societies in competitions, most usually of the British Parliamentary debating style with the notable exception being the Irish Times public-speaking competition. The society fielded teams in the Grand Final of The Irish Times Debating Competition in 2006, and won it in three consecutive years, in 2007, 2008 and 2009. It is second to the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin when it comes to individual and team victories. It has also competed internationally, competing at foreign Inter-Varsities and at both the World Universities Debating Championship and European Universities Debating Championships (the society having hosted the former in 1992). The society held the European record for most wins at a single European Championships, after the performance of two speakers at the 2021 Championships in Madrid. The society jointly hosts the Trinity Women's Open, the Robert Emmett Invitational summer Open, and the Dean Swift Intervarsity (Trinity IV), the largest Irish Inter-varsity, with the University Philosophical Society. The society also fosters development and competition within itself, running workshops and