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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I hope you don't expect us to win': rival Irish University Challenge captains join forces for a fiendish pub quiz
Oscar Despard and Kevin Flanagan were recent opponents on a semi-final of the long-running BBC show. Louise McLoughlin takes them to a London pub to see how they fare with a less academic test I've never been great at pub quizzes. So the opportunity to team up with two of Ireland's best and brightest minds promised some vindication – even if only as part of a team. On a personal level, a friend had suggested beforehand that the experience had the potential to be humiliating. I suggested 'humbling' was perhaps a better word. A win is a win, after all. In all honesty, I expected my contribution to be minimal. The two other members of my team were Dubliners Oscar Despard (22) from Portobello and Kevin Flanagan (29) from Dundrum, who recently went head-to-head in the semi-finals of University Challenge. Despard, who is studying for a PhD in molecular biology, went on to lead Christ's College Cambridge to its first ever victory on the show, winning a tense final by just five points. Flanagan captained the team from Bristol University, where he is doing a PhD in AI.
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
Sunny weather here to stay for next week with temperatures hitting 25-degree high, but no talk of hosepipe bans
Ireland is set to bask in almost uninterrupted sunshine from Wednesday – with blue skies continuing for about a week, according to weather forecasters. All the relevant indications suggest that daytime temperatures could reach a 25-degree high, with only an occasional cloud or a slight easterly breeze to cool us down. However, there will be showers in parts of Munster and south Connacht through Wednesday afternoon and evening, some of which will be heavy with a chance of thunderstorms. The wet weather will be shortlived, with any showers dying out early on Wednesday night, leaving clear skies nationwide. Some mist and fog patches could appear along with a light easterly breeze, but temperatures will not dip below seven degrees. READ MORE Into Thursday, high pressure will bring warm, dry conditions and more sunshine. Highest temperatures will generally reach 18 to 22 degrees, but it will be slightly cooler near eastern coastal areas due to moderate northeast winds. Night time will remain dry with clear skies. Temperatures will hover between seven and 11 degrees with a light easterly breeze felt in places. Friday will be another dry and largely sunny day. Highest temperatures will reach 17 to 21 degrees. Once again, it will be marginally cooler in the east due to light-to-moderate winds. [ 'Very satisfying, but madly fortunate, to have won': student Oscar Despard on his University Challenge victory Opens in new window ] [ Ireland is running out of priests. There is an obvious solution Opens in new window ] The weekend will stay sunny and warm, with highest temperatures of 17 to 23 degrees. Coolest conditions will again be in eastern coastal counties, according to Met Éireann . The national forecaster said that, according to current indications, it will 'stay settled and warm for the early days of next week', with temperatures in the high teens or low 20s. Uisce Éireann has said it is too early to consider issuing a general hosepipe ban. The Irish Framers' Association said a warm spell for about a week would be a good thing. Alan O'Reilly of Carlow Weather noted that there was lightning in Limerick on Tuesday, but added that this had dissipated by late that evening. Uisce Éireann spokesperson Colm Ward said hosepipe bans were issued in three places last week – Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Kells, Co Meath and Milford, Co Donegal. He added that these were necessary because it had been a comparatively dry winter and some areas were experiencing low water levels. He said the situation in the Dublin region was different. The difficulty there did not relate to a supply of 'raw water', but limits to the capacity of the system to treat and purify water. He said the Dublin region was capable of producing 630 million litres a day and demand was still behind that.
Irish Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘It was strangely nerve-racking watching it back' – Dubliner Oscar Despard on University Challenge triumph
Dubliner Oscar Despard has said it was nerve-racking watching back the final of University Challenge, despite knowing the outcome, after he and his Christ's College Cambridge teammates edged out Warwick in a dramatic victory. The 22-year-old from Portobello captained his team to a nail-biting 175-170 win in a match that went right down to the wire, ending with a final-minute comeback and a winning buzz from teammate Brendan Bethlehem. Related topics Sarah Burke
RTÉ News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
University Challenge winner Oscar Despard
Oscar Despard told Oliver what it was like to captain the winning Cambridge team in the final of the University Challenge that aired last night.
The Journal
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Journal
Dublin's winning University Challenge captain on revising everything and the reaction back home
FOR THE FIRST time ever, Christ's College Cambridge won the long-running BBC quiz show University Challenge last night – and did so captained by a Dubliner. Oscar Despard, a PHD student in Cambridge, said he had the idea of one day appearing on the show for some time, but was still surprised when he led his team to victory. In last night's closely contested final, Christ's College won the competition over the University of Warwick 175 – 170. 'We got the first question, and thought maybe this will be smooth enough,' Despard told The Journal . 'But then they just steamed ahead, kept beating us to questions where we thought we knew the answer, and we were trying to butt in. But they were just quicker than us for the first maybe ten minutes. 'I think that kind of reversed towards the end. I think they also knew the questions that we were getting right towards the end, but were just a few seconds too late.' Despard's team won a narrow victory in the show's final yesterday evening. BBC BBC The 22-year-old filmed the final a number of months ago and kept the results under wraps for the duration of the show's time on air, not even telling his parents. Advertisement Yesterday, his family and friends at home gathered in Despard's old sailing club in Dún Laoghaire to watch the final and see Despard take the trophy for Cambridge, presented by actor Ian McKellan. In Cambridge, Despard and his team watched the final in the one of the university's lecture theatres, where there was a big reception planned afterwards. 'There was a bigger audience, I must say, than I that I could have expected last night in the college to watch it.' The reaction from home has been immense. President Michael D Higgins issued his congratulations, saying today, 'Congratulations to Oscar Despard on captaining his team from Christ's College, Cambridge, to victory in the final of University Challenge.' 'My mother's got even more [messages] than I had from all her colleagues at work and her friends,' Despard said. 'I've been surprised at the amount of attention it's gotten – it's all very positive though.' Despard's mother is Professor Niamh Moran of RCSI, while his father runs the popular Bretzel Bakery in Portobello. Through marriage, he is also related to activist and novelist Charlotte Despard . Ian McKellan presenting the trophy to Oscar Despard on the programme yesterday. BBC BBC The quiz show has been running since 1962. It is known for its incredibly difficult questions that span across history, literature, geography, politics, music, sport, drama, film, art, and many more topics. Related Reads Dublin student Oscar Despard leads team to victory in final of BBC's University Challenge Quiz: Could you make it to the University Challenge final? Christ's College were caught out when a question on Premier League popped up in another episode, but they made great efforts to revise for the programme. 'We try to kind of cover as much as we can,' Despard said. 'Part of it is in selecting the team, we try to select a group of people who all have complimentary knowledge, so that you try to cover as much as possible.' Despard's team was made up of three others: Brendan Bethlehem (Linguistics), Linus Luu (Maths), and Anniko Firman (Classics). The team made a spreadsheet with topics and items to revise, divvying out various areas to study in depth. The questions can span so widely that the team had someone revising video games, he said. 'I mean, to be honest, revision helps a little bit, but also most of the time, you'll get things that are the things you happen to know and have collected over years, gathering random facts.' Once a student has appeared on University Challenge, even if only for one episode, they are then excluded from participating again. Despard said that he may have some role in encouraging his university's team next year. In the meantime, he is continuing his studies for his PHD in molecular biology, and enjoys taking part in quizzes off-screen. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
