UCG'S POLITICAL Discussion Society took the title of National Society of the Year at an awards ceremony in UCC last week.

The society boasts the distinction of inadvertently involving Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness in a road accident when he was on his way to speak to the group several months ago.

Under auditor John Geary, the PDS organised several Northern related events, including addresses by McGuinness - when he had recovered from his first at-tempt - and the Reverend Martin Smyth.

Even more important, to a certain type of punter, were the contributions of the Mayo manager, John Maughan, and the president elect of the GAA, Joe McDonagh, who spoke on the future of the GAA. The PDS also attracted high profile speakers from the world of diplomacy, including the British and US ambassadors.

The Event of the Year award went to the Photographic Society in UCD. Some 5,000 photographs of life on campus made up A Day in the Life of UCD, in which the photographs were displayed in the form of a clock.

These second annual awards were organised by the Board of Irish College Societies and by AIB.