The Hist at Trinity sets world record for longest debate

Mike Finnerty 25 Oct 2023

The Hist at Trinity College has set the Guinness World Record for the longest debate marathon.

The student debate went on for 27 hours, 58 minutes, with eight speakers, addressing 26 motions run back to back, all under careful supervision of Guinness World Records.

Trinity College Dublin’s “Hist” student debating society, which recently claimed the record for being officially the world’s oldest, have added to their tally.

The student debate, which began on Sunday morning, went on for 27 hours, 58 minutes with 26 motions run back to back, all under careful supervision from the Guinness World Records.

Brief breaks were allowed, for the sake of safety and presumably, clarity.

Motions included “Is Luxury beneficial to Society?”, “That a System of Proportional Representation is desirable” and “That Record-Breaking Competitions are Absurd”.

The Hist auditor Áine Kennedy said “we are thrilled to have broken our second Guinness World Record. We are exceptionally proud of the speakers, organisers and volunteers – it was a huge team effort and it was so encouraging to see the level of support from students, the College and our alumni. Everyone at the Hist is just delighted but I think any celebrations will have to be put off until we all have a big sleep.”

To achieve the recognition, photographic evidence had to be provided, as well as proof it had been in operation without interruption since its establishment.