The 3rd edition of Shamrock Cup English Speaking Contest Final Competition was concluded Saturday morning in Nanjing. Contestants from ten schools across Nanjing participated in this competition and Nanjing Foreign Language School and Nanjing Foreign Language School Xianlin Campus won the final award of a one-week study tour to Ireland.
Jointly sponsored by Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office, Cork County Council and the Consulate General of Ireland in Shanghai, the 3rd edition of Shamrock Cup English Speaking Contest welcomed the presence of Yang Jing, Deputy Director-general of Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office; Eoin O’Leary, Ambassador of Ireland to China; and Therese Healy, Consul General of Ireland in Shanghai. Students from ten schools participated in the heated competition, striking the audience with their talent and versatile performances.
After heated competition and witty answers in Q & A sessions, two teams from Nanjing Foreign Language School and Nanjing Foreign Language School Xianlin Campus demonstrated their research about Ireland and eloquence in speaking English and eventually beat their rivalries, winning the one-week study tour to Ireland totally sponsored by Cork County Council.
Therese Healy，Consul General of Ireland in Shanghai, received the interview from Hello Jiangsu and said: “Already I can see the proficiency in English, is really really high, even higher than the last two years. And that’s because, I think, they have prepared even harder this year because it’s now a well-known competition. I also think the contestants are more creative, using a lot more props, and new ideas.”
Yang Jing，Deputy Director-general of Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office commented that “In these three years, altogether 57 teams from 26 schools have participated in this competition. Young messengers of friendship have been nurtured during the practice. This culture brand also offers a platform to strengthen the relationship between Jiangsu and Cork.”
Carried out for the 3rd time in a row, Shamrock Cup English Speaking Contest is becoming a culture brand to strengthen the sisterhood of Jiangsu and Cork while opening a window to bring in more cooperation between the two sides.
Eoin O’Leary, is Ambassador of Ireland to China. This was his first time participating in this competition. He was glad to see the relations between Jiangsu and Ireland and further commented on the connection between China and Ireland. He said: “Over the 40 years, the political relations have been excellent. Our economic relations have grown hundred-fold, we have now 17 billion Euro in mutual trade, we have 2,500 Chinese students studying in Irish universities as we speak, we have hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists coming to Ireland every year, we have 20,000 Chinese people living in Ireland, working in Ireland. We now have strong Chinese heritage communities. For instance, this year, Dublin had a very developed Chinese New Year Festival, two weeks long. They colored very major building in Dublin red to celebrate the New Year. I was home for that, it was great to be there. I hope in the coming years, we can deepen all of those relationships.”
