Dublin's Oscar Despard leads Cambridge team to victory in prestigious BBC quiz University Challenge

Dublin’s Oscar Despard (22) has captained the team from Christ’s College, Cambridge to victory in the final of the prestigious BBC student quiz show University Challenge on Monday night.

Despard is currently studying for a PhD in molecular biology and hopes to “continue in some form of academic research” after completing his studies.

The final - against the University of Warwick - had already been recorded and the broadcast saw a nail-biting finish. The winning trophy was presented to Despard and his colleagues by the actor Sir Ian McKellen.

Despard and his teammates - Linus Luu (maths), Brendan Bethlehem (linguistics) and Anniko Firman (classics) - watched it on a big screen during a special event in their college lecture theatre.

Back home in south Dublin, where his father William owns The Bretzel Bakery in Portobello, another screening took place at his former sailing club in Dún Laoghaire.

Despard said he has been surprised - and delighted - by how many people have been following his team’s progress.

“Lots of people who I didn’t think would be interested have been very enthusiastic and have been wishing us well, which has been very nice to see and to have,” he told The Irish Times.

“You then find out who all the people are [who watch University Challenge], all the other weird people who decide the best thing they can do with their Monday evenings is watch eight university students answer questions.”

While University Challenge is open to UK university teams, Ireland was well-represented this year. Not only did Despard captain the winning team, but another Dubliner, Kevin Flanagan from Dundrum, captained the team from the University of Bristol. The pair faced off in the semi-final, but remain firm friends. Queen’s University Belfast also performed strongly, reaching the quarter-finals.

Despard has long had a love for quizzes. Growing up, he watched The Chase with his grandmother, while he and his mother - Prof Niamh Moran of the Royal College of Surgeons - “always watched University Challenge and Only Connect in particular.”

A stellar Leaving Certificate performance helped bring Despard to Cambridge. He was one of just two students to achieve nine H1 grades in the 2021 Leaving Cert, and in 2020 he won the Individual Award at the BT Young Scientist competition.