Tipperary's Anna Bradish is a Europe Direct soapbox winner 2018

Loughmore native Anna Bradish has been announced the national winner in the 18-and-under category of the National Europe Direct Soapbox Winners 2018.

Anna and Robert McDaid, from Rathcormack, Sligo, were announced as winners by Minister Sean Canney TD, following a grand final debate in Dublin on Tuesday, 27th November.

At the event in the Royal College of Physicians, Dublin, each of 16 finalists had three minutes to make their case for or against the theme ‘European Elections: Every Vote Counts’, convince the judges and win over the audience.

Anna, aged 15 and a student in the Ursuline convent, Thurles, was the national winner in the 18-and-under category.
Robert McDaid from Rathcormack, Sligo was the national winner in the adult category.

As well as their prestigious titles, they win €1,000 and a trip to Brussels including a visit to the European Parliament.
Seán Canney, T.D., Minister of State for Rural Affairs and Natural Resources and Gerard Kiely, Head of Representation, European Commission in Ireland presented the overall winners with their prizes.

All through the autumn, contestants have been battling the length and breadth of the country, passionately defending or attacking the idea: ‘European Elections: Every Vote Counts’.

The regional finals were held in the eight Europe Direct Information Centres in public libraries around the country, which hosted lively discussions on this topical subject, giving the public the chance to have their say.

Echoing its Hyde Park London origins, the soapbox is the perfect way to showcase our proud tradition of public speaking and this annual competition is a very popular forum for the country’s budding and practiced public speakers.

Nenagh library is the Europe Direct Information Centre (EDIC) for counties Tipperary, Limerick, Cork and Kerry; it serves as a point of contact and information between the European Commission and Irish citizens in this region.

“We are delighted with Anna’s success at the National Final and congratulate her and the Ursuline convent, Thurles on her win. The Soapbox competition has rounded off a very successful programme of events for Nenagh EDIC which included a talk in June by Dr. Brian Lucey on Brexit (Brexit: Not as Bad as you Think?) and a Citizens Dialogue in September on "Irish Food and Farming in a Changing Europe", with speakers Thomas Ryan, Senior Policy Executive, Irish Farmers Association and Gerard Kiely, Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland”.

The Europe Direct Information Centre network in Ireland is funded by the European Commission with co-funding from local authorities who deliver this service regionally through the network of our public libraries. It is managed by Libraries Development, Local Government Management Agency.