On Thursday, August 20th, representatives from each of our school Houses gathered in the DBC to contest for the Simon Curran Cup for Excellence in Public Speaking. This annual event also awards House points for placing and participation, so the stakes were high.
Head of Department, English, Ms Kary Bodreau commented: “The quality of the speeches on the night was outstanding. Each young man presented himself with poise and dignity and spoke with confidence, passion and a unique personal insight”.
The two awards Best Overall Speaker and Most Promising Speaker were presented by Old Boy, Mr Luke Stopford,
This year’s most promising speaker, Armagh House’s Jaden Nyamusoro, spoke about how we could be more dangerous men in our everyday lives, particularly highlighting the need to show up for others and to take risks, even when it feels hard. The judge particularly noted his strong voice, stage presence, and the way he memorised his 8-minute speech.
The 2026 winner of the Simon Curran Cup for Excellence in Public Speaking was Year 13 student Ramahl Achee, who spoke about his journey at Dilworth School and recognised his peers as already dangerous men, rewriting Darragh Fleming’s poem Dangerous Men (the focus of this year’s Headmaster’s Series) to reflect his cohort.
Here are some excerpts from Ramahl’s rewritten poem:
“My boys’ vulnerability is strength. They don’t let their crest separate them from the rest”.
He made a powerful point about acceptance at Dilworth: “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like”.
And finally, as a Year 13 student about to leave Dilworth, posed the question, “How can we be dangerous men beyond Dilworth, beyond the green gates?”
Many congratulations to our 2026 Senior Speech winner, Ramahl Ah Chee and to all those who took part.