On Thursday, 4th April Mallow Speakeasy Club hosted the Toastmasters Area Final for speech and evaluation contestants. Maire Corbett, from the Galtee Club , conducted a most enjoyable meeting with ease.
Geraldine Conway from the Failte Club created a warm , relaxed atmosphere with her mainly humorous topics.
There were five contestants in the Speech category. Eilish Ui Bhriain from the Fermoy club delivered the first speech ‘ Deoch an Dorais’ . She gave a humorous, evocative speech based on her rural upbringing. It concerned the visit of an official and the improvising skills of her mother to make one bottle of stout go further!
Pat Sexton from Mallow was next to speak with ‘Born to Run’ . In this inspirational speech we learnt about Fauja Singh who distinguished himself at the age of one hundred, in Toronto, by becoming the oldest man to complete a marathon . In his very descriptive talk he reinforced his message that age is merely a number.
‘ The Subconscious Mind, Friend or Foe?’ was the intriguing title of Mallow’s Claire O’Connell’s speech. Claire gave us an insight into the powerful effect of conditioning on people’s self image. She gave a humorous account of how it is possible to achieve your goals through positive thinking before bedtime. She even encouraged us to imagine ourselves out of the Recession!
Ann Lyons from the Galtee Club followed with an uplifting speech entitled ‘Courage’. She described how she was literally lifted out of the doom and gloom by the determination and amazing courage of the athletes in the Olympics and particularly, the Paralympics. She went on to reflect on the courage of everyday heroes. She concluded that ‘courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes it is that little voice that says ‘I will try again tomorrow’.
Kevin Walsh from Fermoy was the final contestant with a speech called ‘Lightening Lines’. In this vividly descriptive speech Kevin gave us an insight into his personal experiences of threatened hearing and sight loss. His great sense of appreciation was infectious. He impressed on us that every moment is precious. Like Louis Armstrong he urged us to realize that it is truly ‘a wonderful world’. Kevin Walsh was chosen to represent the area in the Division final in Oriel House on April 21st.
Bill Doyle from Newcastlewest gave a very humorous, entertaining speech , ‘Bear with Me’ for the Evaluation contestants. Will Finn from the Failte Club was first to evaluate. He was, followed by Kieran Connolly and Kevin Walsh, both from Fermoy, Ann Lyons from the Galtee Club was next. The final two contestants Pat Sexton and Marie Fitzpatrick represented Mallow. Pat Sexton was chosen to represent the area in the Division Final in Oriel House, Ballincollig on 21st April.
Michael Sheehan ,the Area Governor addressed the meeting. He stressed that all the contestants were winners on the night. He expressed the appreciation of all present on the high standard displayed by all those who competed on the night.
Frank ODriscoll from Fermoy acted as Chief Judge on the night and Pat Duggan did the timekeeping.
Speakeasy Toastmasters meets every 2nd Thursday in the Hi-B, next meeting at 8pm Hibernian Mallow April 18th. Non members are most welcome and are never asked to speak. Contact Jerry 086 3752895,or Noel 087 2427485.
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