The O’Shea Shield being held from the 15th to 17th May 2025 is an annual public speaking and drama competition requiring our students to be on their feet, thinking, talking, debating and entertaining the audience. Since 1946 students from the seventeen Catholic secondary schools in the Wellington Archdiocese and Palmerston North Diocese have met (almost annually) to test their skills around a central topic. In 2025, it will be “Pilgrims of Hope”.
This is a very auspicious occasion involving 17 Catholic schools who compete in Debating, Junior Prepared Speech, Oratory, and Impromptu Speech, Religious Questions, Scripture Reading in English and in Te Reo Māori, and Drama. Close to 300 secondary school students will descend on Whanganui from as far afield as the Hawke’s Bay and Nelson. Counting their cohorts, teachers and whanau, we are expecting close to 400 people to descend on the college for the events, and 500-600 people to attend the Drama performances at the Royal Whanganui Opera House. All events will be held at Cullinane College in Peat Street, with the exception of drama, which will be held at the Royal Opera House. All events are open to the public, free of charge.
The impact for Whanganui is far spread with accommodation, cafes, restaurants and tourist sites expected to be very busy with the influx of visitors to the city. The event itself is a huge undertaking for a small school, with the logistics of running the event and providing hospitality to a large number of people quite daunting. We have approached numerous businesses and organisations in Whanganui and outside the environs, for financial support or donations of food to assist us with the cost of this event. We know times are tough out there but we would be appreciative of any support our community can offer whether this be in the form of volunteers to help at the Thursday evening meal or during Friday and Saturday to ensure everyone is fed and taken care of, cash or food donations or sponsorship, or just being present at the events to support our tamariki.
We only get the opportunity once every 17 years to host O’Shea Shield and we want our visiting schools to remember and experience the outstanding manaaki Cullinane College and the Whanganui community are famous for.
Please contact the College on 3490105 if you wish to donate money, time, food/baking or offer practical support during O’Shea.
Our past students say it best:
‘Attending and competing in the O’Shea Shield was a formative experience for me. I vividly remember the terror and thrill of having a couple of minutes to prepare an ‘impromptu speech’, and the sense of relief when the audience laughed at my first line, which luckily, was meant to be a joke. The lessons I learned competing in the O’Shea Shield have stayed with me all my life, as has the memory of camaraderie, friendly rivalry and the realisation that you didn’t have to be a ‘sporty kid’ to be a star at school’- David Downs, CEO NZ Story. St Augustine’s College 1984-1988-Dux 1988
‘O’Shea Shield provided an overwhelming sense of connection for me. The friendships I made with other students and lessons I learned are both still very present in my life to this day. On top of that, being able to see the values of our catholic school alive and vibrant was a special experience that we had the privilege of sharing with many schools across the motu’ – Daniel Hiroti, Head Boy Cullinane College 2023
‘Oratory moves beyond speaking words. Moves beyond the beauty of movement, annunciation and confidence. Standing amongst a crowd eager to hear your words is an opportunity either perceived as ‘frightening’ or ‘driving.’ However, saying ‘yes’ to competing in the Oratory of O’Shea Shield was a decision that opened the door to finding what I am most passionate about; pointing me towards my next step once my secondary education concluded’ – Elena Solomona, Deputy Head Girl 2024 at Cullinane College
I am looking forward to being part of this event and I hope to see you there.
Together in Christ
Tony McBride
Principal