The Literary and Scientific Society (commonly referred to as the Literific) of the

Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

is the university's debating society. The purposes of the Society, as per its Laws are to "encourage debating, oratory and rhetoric throughout the student body of the University and beyond".

History

The Society was founded in 1850 as a paper-reading society for students of the new Queen's College, with its first president being

Edwin Lawrence Godkin Edwin Lawrence Godkin (2 October 183121 May 1902) was an American journalist and newspaper editor. He founded ''The Nation'' and was the editor-in-chief of the ''New York Evening Post'' from 1883 to 1899.Eric Fettman, "Godkin, E.L." in Stephen ...

. The Literific was also used, during its early years, as a democratic body which could negotiate with the College on behalf of the students until the formation of the Students' Union Society and the Students' Representative Council in 1900. The Society established itself as the principal debating body of the University, however in the 1960s the Literific came under fire and was banned for several weeks in 1964 "in view of the disorders and improprieties of conduct and obscene language". Later in the decade the Society merged into the Union Debating Society (later the Debating and Mooting Society) from which it re-emerged in 2011. Currently the Society operates as the sole debating society at QUB and has an affiliation with the

Queen's University Belfast Students' Union Queen's Students' Union (QSU) is the official representative body for students at Queen's University Belfast. Membership of the union is automatic and currently totals 24,560, making it one of the largest unions on the island of Ireland and in ...

as well as to the University itself. The Society holds weekly meetings on a particular motion of interest during term.

Presidents

List of Presidents (1850-1967)

List of Presidents (2011-present)

Events

Irish Times

In 2018 the Literific, supported by the QUB Law Society, hosted the 58th Grand Final of the Irish Times Debate at which the Training Officer of the 170th session spoke as an individual finalist. The Event saw 12 speakers discuss the motion: “This House Believes That Ireland Has Failed Its Youth”. The debate was chaired by Lord Justice Stephens and judged by Irish Times editor Paul O’Neill, Queen’s Professor Adrienne Scullion, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Margaret Elliott who is a governor of the Irish Times Trust and Professor Brent Northup, the chair of communications at Carroll College in Montana.

LitTalks and Great Debates

In 2020, the Literific launched two new series called LitTalks and Great Debates. The first LitTalk took place in February 2020 with

James Brokenshire James Peter Brokenshire (8 January 1968 – 7 October 2021) was a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in Theresa May's cabinet as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2018 and then as Secretary of ...

, then

Minister of State for Security The minister of state for security is a senior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom, falling under the Home Office. The post was created by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 3 June 2009 by splitting the now-defunct post o ...

and former

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (; ), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The offi ...

. Other LitTalks have included

Mary Lou McDonald Mary Louise McDonald (born 1 May 1969) is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition in Ireland since June 2020, as President of Sinn Féin since February 2018, and as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Central constituen ...

Ian Blackford Ian Blackford (born 14 May 1961) is a Scottish politician and investment banker who served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and ...

Naomi Long Naomi Rachel Long MLA (née Johnston; born 13 December 1971) is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive since February 2024, having previously served from January 2020 to October 202 ...

and

Doug Beattie Douglas Ricardo Beattie (born 13 October 1965) is a Northern Irish politician and former member of the British Army, who was leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) between 27 May 2021 and 28 September 2024. He has been a Member of the North ...

. In November 2020, the first Great Debate was held on the motion: This House Regrets the Decriminalisation of Abortion in Northern Ireland. The debate attracted much controversy on social media, particularly due to the inclusion of former Shadow Home Secretary Anne Widdecombe on the proposition. The motion was defeated by 472 votes to 159.

Notable people

- First president of the Society, later editor of

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

and the

New York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost.com; PageSix.com, a gossip site; and Decider.com, an entertainm ...

. *

Robert James McMordie Robert James McMordie, King's Counsel, KC (31 January 1849 – 25 March 1914) was an Irish barrister, politician, and Lord Mayor of Belfast. Son of the Rev. J A McMordie, he was born in Cumran, County Down, and educated at the Royal Belfast Ac ...

- President 1871-72, barrister, M.P. and

Lord Mayor of Belfast The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the city's 60 councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcoming guests from across the U ...

. * Thomas Teevan - President of the Society, barrister and Ulster Unionist West Belfast MP - Youngest Chairman of a local Authority in Northern Ireland at 21 (Limavady Urban Council). He was also President of the Queen's Law Society and Chairman of the Unionist Association. *

Sheelagh Murnaghan Sheelagh Mary Murnaghan, (26 May 1924 – 14 September 1993) was an Ulster Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Northern Ireland at Stormont, Belfast, Stormont from 1962 to 1969. Early life Sheelagh Mary Murnag ...

- President 1946-47, barrister and Ireland Women's hockey player, later Northern Ireland M.P. for the

Ulster Liberal Party The Ulster Liberal Party was a liberal and non-sectarian political party in Northern Ireland linked to the British Liberal Party. The party was officially neutral on the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. Members expressed different v ...

. *

Eamonn McCann Eamonn McCann (born 10 March 1943) is an Irish political activist, former politician and journalist from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 to 2017. In ...

- President 1964-65, writer and political activist. Only individual Q.U.B. winner of the Irish Times Debate. * Cyril Toman - President 1965-66, Northern Irish political activist.The Irish Times, 6 April 1965, p. 7.

References

{{Reflist * * * Student debating societies Clubs and societies of Queen's University Belfast Student organisations in Northern Ireland