Naomi Panovka and Daniela Williams, European Finalists 2023

We are incredibly proud of the entire delegation who represented the Hist at the European University Debating Championships in Bulgaria last week.

Special congratulations to Daniela Williams and Naomi Panovka who reached the Grand Final, with Naomi finishing as the third best speaker overall!

Daniela and Naomi are the first team entirely comprised of women to reach the Grand Final from any Irish university in over ten years! The last Irish team to do so was also a Hist team, comprised of Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin and Catherine Murphy, in 2011.

The Hist has also held the record for most points ever scored at the European Championships for over a decade - a Hist team comprised of Sally Rooney and Michael Barton set this record in 2013 and another Hist team comprised of Jack Synnott and Caoimhin Hamill subsequently broke it in 2021.

We would like to congratulate all the other incredibly talented debaters who competed in a notably competitive Euros this year, particularly the other Irish teams! Special mention to our friends from UCD’s L&H who reached the Quarter Finals.