Gráinne O’Neill Memorial National Legal Essay Competition Merit Winner

Matias Ó Conaill was presented with his Law Society of Ireland National Legal Essay Merit Winner’s medal and certificates of achievement by College Principal, Mr. David Lordon, in CBC this week. Matias was unable to attend the awards ceremony at President’s Hall, Blackhall Place, Dublin in May. Of the 500 entries for the Gráinne O’Neill Memorial National Legal Essay Competition open to Transition Year students across Ireland, 30 students were selected by a panel of legal professionals ahead of the national final. Matias - along with fellow CBC students Oscar de Róiste, Michael Keane and Kevin McCarthy - reached the final.

Matias’s 1500-word essay on the topic Protecting Voices, Preventing Harm: Legal Challenges in Online Freedom of Speech won acclaim by a panel of legal professionals and was selected as one of five essays for a Merit Award.

Students were asked to submit a 1500-word essay on the topic Protecting Voices, Preventing Harm: Legal Challenges in Online Freedom of Speech.